Knowing the Computer
Parts of a computer
Name the main parts of a computer system, say what each one does, and follow the input-process-output cycle.
A computer is not one machine but a set of parts working together. The system unit is the box that holds the processor and the memory — the parts that do the actual work. Everything plugged into it is there so that you and the computer can pass things to each other: a keyboard and a mouse to send things in, a monitor and a speaker to send things back out.
Hardware and software
Hardware is any part you could pick up and carry: the monitor, the keyboard, the hard disk, the processor. Software is a set of instructions written for the computer to follow. You cannot touch software, and no computer does anything useful without both.
Have a play
Each part of this computer has a name — find out what each one is called.
Tap any part of the picture.
Worked example
What happens between pressing a key and seeing the letter appear?
You press the K key. That is input.
Input is anything going into the computer from outside — a key press, a click, a spoken word, a scanned page.
Try it together
Let us take one more job apart: you scan a photograph and print it.
Every stage below is one of the three — input, processing or output. Name the stage each time.
1.The scanner reads the photograph and sends it into the computer. Which stage is that?
Have a go
Have a go: a microphone is plugged into a computer. Which stage does it belong to?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.