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1. bit   2. Byte   3. Code   4. Data   5. Program   6. Chip   7. CPU   8. RAM   9. ROM   10. Computer   11. Peripheral   12. System


Computer
Machine that Inputs, Processes, Outputs, & Stores instructions & data.
Acronym: Com = mt-IPOS-id (pronounced Em-tee II-pawss II-dee).

Although we typically think of a machine as something moving and mechanical, a computer is a machine in the sense that it consists of interrelated parts with separate functions that perform work

The main work a computer performs is to process, or change, raw data into meaningful information. Hence, another name for a computer is a data processor.

Computer Phases

  1. Input--You type in or select instructions and data with the keyboard or mouse, or load pre-existing instructions and data from a disk.
  2. Process--The computer follows your instructions and changes the data into useful information.
  3. Output--The computer displays the processed data on screen and/or you print it on the printer.
  4. Store--You save the processed data to disk for future use.

 

Analogy: Data processor = Food processor.
To make a salad, you follow recipe instructions to "input" raw vegetables into a food processor, then push the On button to "process" them into a more useful salad. You then "output" the salad to a bowl, and "store" it in a refrigerator for future use.

Computer = Motherboard
If you opened a computer case, the largest circuit board (fiberglass impregnated with copper wiring) you'd find is called the motherboard. In a strict sense, the motherboard, with its CPU, RAM, and ROM, is the computer. Everything else (printer, disk drives, monitor, keyboard, etc.) is attached to the motherboard, either directly or via smaller circuit boards, called daughterboards (aka interface or expansion cards).

 

Computer Hardware AcroMap--Complete
 Here is the complete Computer Hardware (CHW) AcroMap. As you did with the Software AcroMap, get some scratch paper and draw it over and over again until you can draw it perfectly from memory. Then, when you need to answer a computer hardware question, you'll be able to sketch out or visualize the CHW AcroMap and "pick" the answer off of it.

 

CHW Spine Acrostic
 To memorize the spine of this AcroMap, imagine you are at an exotic restaurant and the waiter explains the best way to eat, RoCom (roh-cuhm), the house specialty.
He says you should: Chip sip raw RoCom.

 

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