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PUSAT PERKEMBANGAN KURIKULUM

KEMENTERIAN PELAJARAN MALAYSIA
 MODULE 3
SYSTEM UNIT

Curriculum Development Centre

Ministry of Education Malaysia

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1. Name of Module : System Unit

2. Learning Outcomes: Students should be able to:

a. identify the components of a system unit

b. state the functions of the main components of a system unit
c. state the functions of CPU, RAM, ROM and expansion slots found on
the motherboard

3. Knowledge and Skills

1. identify the main components in the computer system

4. Module Summary: At the end of the module, students should be

1. identify the main components of a system unit and motherboard

2. state the functions of the main components of a system unit
3. state the functions of CPU, RAM, ROM and expansion slots

This module contains 2 activities:

Activity 1 : Identify the components of a system unit

Activity 2 : Identify the components of a motherboard

Note :

As you are doing this module, use a computer in the lab to identify the components in the
system unit.

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Activity 1 : Identifying the components of a system unit

a. What is system unit?

System unit is a box-like case that contains electronic components of the computer. It is
sometimes called chassis. Figure 1 shows a few examples of system unit.

Figure 1 Examples of System Unit

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b. Inside view of system unit

Figure 2 Internal view of a System Unit

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c. Front layer of a system unit

Figure 3 Front View of a System Unit

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d. Input / Output port ( I/O port )

Mouse

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Figure 4 Back View of a System Unit

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e. Functions of the main components of a system unit

No. Components Functions

1. Input / Output port A port is the point at which a peripheral attaches to a system unit so
(I/O port) that the peripheral is able to send data and receive information from
the computer.

An external device, such as a keyboard, monitor, printer, mouse

and microphone, that is attached by a cable to a port on the system
unit.

The back of the system unit contains so many ports. Some newer
personal computers also have ports on the front of the system unit.

Ports have different types of connectors. A connector joins a cable

to a peripheral. One end of a cable attaches to the connector on the
system unit and the other end of the cable attaches to a connector
on the peripheral.

2. Power button To turn the computer on

3. Reset button Restating the computer, instructs the computer to go through the
process of shutting down, which would clear the memory and reset
devices to their initialized state. It simply removes power
immediately.

4. Motherboard Main circuit board of the system unit, it has some electronic
components attached to it.

5. Power Supply Converts standard electrical power into a form that, the computer
can use. If a power supply is not providing the necessary power,
the computer will not function properly.

6. DVD-ROM drive A device that reads DVD-ROM, audio CDs, CD-ROMSs, CD-Rs
and CD-RWs.

7. CD-ROM drive A device that reads audio CDs, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

8. DVD/CD-RW drive A combination drive that reads DVD and CD media, and writes to
CD-RW media.

9. Zip drive A high-capacity disk drive that reads from and writes on a Zip disk.

10. Floppy drive A device that reads from and writes on a floppy disk

11. Hard disk drive A Type of storage device that contains one or more inflexible,
circular platters that store data, instructions and information.

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 Activity 2 : Identify the components of a motherboard

a. Components of a motherboard

The motherboard is the main circuit board of the system unit, it has some electronic
components attached to it. Figure 5 shows the components of a motherboard.

for RAM

Expansion
slots
( look at figure 6 )

Figure 5 Layout of a motherboard

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CPU

Expansion
Slots

Expansion
Card

Figure 6 Examples of Expansion Card and Expansion Slots

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b. Functions of the components of the motherboard

No. Components Functions

1. Central A Central Processing Unit or CPU is a microprocessor

Processing Unit (processor for short). It is an integrated circuit chip that is
(CPU) capable of processing electronic signals. The CPU is the most
important element in a computer system.

A CPU interprets instructions given by the software and carries

out those instructions by processing data and controlling the
rest of the computer’s component.

2. Random Access RAM is installed inside computers. RAM is also known as a

Memory (RAM) working memory.
The data in RAM can be read (retrieved) or written (stored).
RAM is volatile which means the programmes and data in RAM
are lost when the computer is powered off.
A computer uses RAM to hold temporary instructions and data
needed to complete tasks. This enables the computer' s CPU
(Central Processing Unit) to access instructions and data
stored in the memory very quickly.
RAM stores data during and after processing.

3. Read Only ROM is another type of memory permanently stored inside the
Memory (ROM) computer.
ROM is non-volatile. It holds the programs and data when the
computer is powered off.
Programmes in ROM have been pre-recorded. It can only be
stored by the manufacturer; once it is done, it cannot be
changed.
Many complex functions, such as start up operating
instructions, translators for high-level languages and operating
systems are placed in ROM memory.
All the contents in ROM can be accessed and read but cannot
be changed.

4. Expansion Slots Expansion slots are the sockets where the circuit boards or the
adapter cards can be inserted into the motherboard, such as
video acceleration, sound or disk drive control.

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Overview of the components of a system unit

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System Unit

Exercise 1

Label the system unit below with the words given.

Hard Disk Drive

Expansion
Power Supply Zip Drive Hard Disk Drive Floppy Drive
Cards
Expansion
RAM Mother Board CD/DVD Drive CPU Chip
Slots

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 Exercise 2

Look at the diagram carefully and match them to the name of the ports in the table using
numbers. Write your answers in the number column as shown in Number 1.

Label of the ports

No

1 Power port

USB port

VGA port (Monitor display)

Serial port (Modem)

PS2 port (Mouse)

Game port (Joystick)

Audio ports (speaker, headphone

and microphone)

Parallel port (printer port)

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PS2 port (keyboard)

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Exercise 3

Name the component parts of the motherboard. Write your answers in the boxes given.

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Exercise 4

Mark ‘T’ for statements that are ‘True’ and ‘F’ for statements that are ‘False’ on the lines
given.

1. The processor (CPU) interprets and carries out the basic instructions that
operate a computer.

2. Computers can use only one processor at a time.

3. ROM is the main circuit board of the system unit.

4. Expansion slot is a socket on the motherboard that can hold an adapter

card.

5. RAM is non-volatile

6. The most important chip on the main circuit board is the microprocessor
chip.

7. Input / output port is the point at which a peripheral is attached to a system

unit so that the peripheral can send data to and receive information from
the computer.

8. Reset button is to start the computer.

9. A device that reads from and writes on a floppy disk is called a hard disk
drives.

10. Power supply converts standard electrical power into a form that computer
can use.

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Exercise 5

Fill in the blank with the correct name of components and functions.

No. Components Functions

1. Input/Output port
(I/O port)

2. To start on computer

3. Reset button

4. Main circuit board of the system unit, which has some electronic
components attached to it and others built into it.

5. Convert standard electrical power into a form that computer can

use.

6. DVD-ROM drive

7. CD-ROM drive

8. This drive also allows watching a DVD or burn a CD.

9. A high-capacity disk drive that reads from and writes on a Zip disk.

10. Floppy drive

11. Type of storage device that contains one or more inflexible, circular
platters that stores data, instructions and information.

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Exercise 6

Write the differences between primary storage RAM and ROM in the table given below.

RAM ROM

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Reference

Cashman, S. (2006) Discovering Computers 2006. USA : Thomson Course Technology.

Ibrahim Ahmad, Mohd Hafiz et al (2007) Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Based on SPM Syllabus. Selangor: Venton Publishing (M) Sdn Bhd.

NCC Education (2002) Computer Studies, Computer Ace. Sri Lanka : Computer Pioneers.

IBasic Computing (2003) by TMEdu Tech (M) Sdn Bhd

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://images.search.yahoo.com

http://www.google.com.my

CD courseware ICT

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