Computers - HW 1.

Computers - HW 1.

1. What do computers do? (give 3 main functions)
Computers:
(1) accept data (data is fed into the memory)
(2) process the data (perform a set of instructions)
(3) give out the results of the processing on the screen or in a printed form

2. What does computer need for its performance?
(1) power
(2) software (SW) – information in the form of data and programs
(3) hardware (HW) – electronic and mechanical parts that make up a computer system

3. What are the main electronic and mechanic parts?
CPU, main memory, peripherals

4. What is CPU?
The central processing unit is the “brain” or “heart” of a microcomputer. This unit is built into a single microprocessor chip – an integrated circuit – which executes program instructions and coordinates the activities of all other units. The unit consists of three main parts.

5. What 3 parts does CPU consist of?
(a) the control unit examines the instructions in the user’s program, interprets each instruction and activates all the components (disk drives, monitor etc) to execute the functions specified,
(b) the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) performs mathematical (such as +, - etc) and logical operations (and, or etc),
(c) the registers are high speed units of memory used to store and control information,
for example the program counter which keeps the track of the next information to be performed
in the main memory or the instruction register which holds the instruction that is currently being
executed.