Chapter 1: Hardware and Software 1. Explain the difference between hardware and software. Provide an example of each.

Hardware is a device or piece of technology that exists in the physical world. Software is programs and data that dont have a physical existence. An example for hardware would be a TV and a software example would be Microsoft Word. 2. Define, explain the function of and provide an example (where possible) of the following: a) Systems Unit - The outside, protective metal shell of the computer. Holds the processor, memory, and input and output devices inside. b) Main Memory - Close the the processor and interacts with it millions of times a second. Holds the tasks the processor is currently working on. Data can be changed very fast. Example - RAM c) Secondary Memory - It is connected to the main memory, but goes through the bus and a controller first. It is used to store long term data and is slow compared to the main memory. Data stored on it must be copied to main memory before use. Example - Hard Drive d) Input Devices - Bring information into the computer. Example - Mouse e) Output Devices - Sends information out of the computer. Example - Speakeres 3. Explain the difference between application programs and systems programs. Provide examples of each. Applications are programs that people want to run and are not essential to a computer. System programs keep a computer running and are need by the computer to interact with its hardware. An example of an application would be Internet Explorer. An example of a system program would be Windows. 4. What is the Operating System? Explain its function. The operating system is a system program that coordinates all the computers hardware and its software. Its makes sure all the input goes where it is supposed to go and usually provides a user interface. 5. What is meant by booting a computer? Where does the name come from? Booting is when the computer turns on and starts to load the operating system from the secondary memory. Its got its name because the process it uses to start is like someone pulling themselves up by there bootstraps. 6. What is a network? A network is when computers are linked together so that they can share information with each other. In a network data stored on one computer and be accessed by another computer.

7. Explain the difference between a local-area network and a wide-area network? A local-area network is a small amount of computers, usually in the same building, that and linked together by cables or radio waves through their network accesses cards. A wide-area

network links thousands of computers across thousands of miles using all different forms of communication. 8. What is a network protocol? Name a commonly used network protocol. A protocol is an agreement on how to send and receive data over a network. TCP/IP is a commonly used network protocol. 9. What does URL stand for and what does it identify? It stands for uniform resource locator and it identifies a specific computer and the web page on that computer. Chapter 2: Analog and Binary Signals 1. What does Binary mean? It means two states. The states are usually called 1 and 0, or true and false, or on and off. 2. What is a Bit? It is a single on or off value. 3. Explain some of the advantages of using Binary? They are very easy to build, the signals are hard to be misunderstood, very easy to replicate and make more, and can make anything that is a pattern into binary. Chapter 3: Computer Memory 1. Explain the difference between a bit and a byte? A bit is one on/off value, while a byte is a group of 8 bits. 2. What is a kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte? A kilobyte is 1,024 bits, a megabyte is 1,048,576 bits, a gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 bits, and a terabyte is 1,099,511,627,776. 3. What is a memory address? It is where the byte is stored on the computer. It is not part of the byte, the computer just knows how to find it.

4. What is a file? It is a collection of information that has been given a name and is stored somewhere on the secondary memory. Chapter 4: The Processor 1. Explain the following terms: a. Executable program - A collection of machine instructions on the main memory that tell the processor to perform machine operations. The processor only does one of these machine operations at a time.

b. High Level language - Uses a high level language that creates powerful operations that are later converted into machine operations. c. Source program - Its a text file that has instructions written in a high level language. The computer can not understand this file without some extra steps being done to it. d. Compiler - Translates the source file into an executable file. The source file is kept along with the new executable file on the hard drive. e. Software portability - Is the ability of a program to run on computers with different systems without much human effort.