Chapter 4
1. Differentiate among the various styles of system units on desktop computers, notebook computers, and mobile devices On desktop personal computers, the electronic components and most storage devices are part of the system unit. An all-in-one desktop personal computer is an exception, which houses the monitor and the system unit in the same case. On most notebook computers, including netbooks, the keyboard and pointing device often occupy the area on the top of the system unit, and the display attaches to the system unit by hinges. The system unit on an Ultra-Mobile PC, a smart phone, and a PDA usually consumes the entire device. On these mobile computers and devices, the display often is built into the system unit. 2. Define the term, motherboard. Identify components that attach to the motherboard.
3. Define the term, computer chip.
4. Describe uses of chip implants. Shelters and animal control centers routinely scan runaway pets for chips in an attempt to reunite animals with their owners, and some animal hospitals scan pets to determine whether they have been reported lost or stolen. Most shelters require pets to have the implant before the animals are adopted. In addition, breeders, farmers, and animal associations implant the chips to thwart thieves. Researchers also use this technology to track migration of wild animals and fish. 5. A processor is also called a CPU, which stands for _____.
A processor is also called a CPU, which stands for central processing unit. 6. Describe the purpose of a processor. Describe multi-core processors. The processor, also called the central processing unit (CPU), interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate a computer. A multi-core processor is a chip with two or more separate processor cores. 7. Explain the role of the control unit and ALU in a computer.
8. Explain the four steps in a machine cycle.
9. Identify the purpose of the system clock. Explain its relationship to the processor and devices.
10. One _____ (GHz) equals one billion ticks of the system clock per second.
11. The leading manufacturers of personal computer processor chips are _____ and _____. . 12. Explain how processor manufacturers identify their chips.
13. Define the term, bit. The two digits used to represent bits are the _____ and _____.
14. Describe how a series of bits represents data.
15. Define the term, memory. Describe three types of items it stores.
16. Explain how a memory uses addresses.
17. Differentiate among a kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, and terabyte. State their 18. Explain the difference between volatile and nonvolatile memory.
19. Explain how program instructions transfer in and out of memory.
20. Differentiate among DRAM, SRAM, and MRAM.
21. RAM chips usually reside on a _____ module.
22. Describe how to determine the amount of RAM necessary in a computer.
23. State the purpose of memory cache. Describe three types of memory cache.
24. Define the terms, ROM and firmware.
25. Define flash memory. Identify examples of its use.
26. Describe the advantage and uses of CMOS technology.
27. Define access time.
28. Differentiate among a millisecond, microsecond, nanosecond, and picosecond. State their abbreviations. Millisecond (ms) - One-thousandth of a second Microsecond (Îźs) - One-millionth of a second Nanosecond (ns) - One-billionth of a second Picosecond (ps) - One-trillionth of a second 29. Describe the purpose of expansion slots and adapter cards.
30. Differentiate among a sound card, network card, and video card.
31. Differentiate among a memory card, USB flash drive, PC Card, and ExpressCard module.
32. Explain the difference between a port and a connector.
33. Differentiate between a USB port and a FireWire port. A USB port, short for universal serial bus port, can connect up to 127 different peripherals together with a single connector. A FireWire port is similar to a USB port in that it can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data transmission speeds. A FireWire port allows you to connect up to 63 devices together. 34. Explain the purpose of USB and FireWire hubs. A USB hub is a device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and contains multiple USB ports in which you plug cables from USB devices. A FireWire hub is a device that
plugs in a FireWire port on the system unit and contains multiple FireWire ports in which you plug cables from FireWire devices. 35. Briefly describe the purpose of a Bluetooth port, SCSI port, eSATA port, IrDA port, serial port, and MIDI port. Bluetooth technology uses radio waves to transmit data between two devices. A special high-speed parallel port, called a SCSI port, allows you to attach SCSI peripherals such as disk drives and printers. An eSATA port, or external SATA port, allows you to connect a high-speed external SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard disk to a computer. Some devices can transmit data via infrared light waves. For these wireless devices to transmit signals to a computer, both the computer and the device must have an IrDA port. SAS (serial-attached SCSI) is a newer type of SCSI that transmits at much faster speeds than parallel SCSI. A special type of port that connects the system unit to a musical instrument, such as an electronic keyboard, is called a MIDI port. 36. Explain the purpose of a port replicator and docking station.
37. Define the terms, bus and bus width.
38. Describe the purpose of a front side bus, backside bus, and expansion buses.
39. Explain the purpose of a power supply.
40. Describe Moore’s Law.