| A | B |
|---|
| Chip | An integrated circuit. A thin piece of silicon that contains all the components of an electronic circuit. |
| Digital information | Information that can be expressed in numerical form. The computer uses the binary number system for this purpose so 0s and 1s are used to express all the information entered into the computer. |
| Disk drive | A mechanism that holds, spins, reads, and writes either magnetic or optical disks. |
| Embedded processor | A chip designed with a specific set of usable instructions. The user cannot change the instructions an embedded processor can understand. |
| Expansion slot | A connector designed to allow the addition of printed circuit boards-daughter boards-to the motherboard. |
| Floppy disk | A reusable magnetic storage medium that uses hard platters as the storage surface. |
| Hard disk (hard drive) | A reusable magnetic storage medium that uses hard platters as the storage surface. |
| Hardware | The physical parts of the computer system that you can touch and feel such as the keyboard, monitor, and computer case. |
| Information processing | Capturing, storing, updating, and retrieving data and information. |
| Input | The data that is entered into a computer. The act of entering data into a computer. |
| Integrated circuit | A complete circuit on a chip, built by a chip fabrication process. |
| Internet | The largest collection of interconnected computer networks in the world. The Internet began to meet research needs for the U.S. Defense Department but has expanded to serve universities, academic researchers, commercial interests, government agencies, and individuals worldwide. |
| Keyboard | A computer input device that uses a set of keys to put data into the computer. |
| Megahertz (MHz) | A measure of speed, one million cycles per second. |
| Memory | A place to store information. |
| Microprocessor | The main processing unit of a computer or information processing device; coordinates all of the actions of the machine carrying out instructions, perfoming calculations, and interacting with all the components used to operate the computer. Handles the fetch, decode and execute steps of the computer system. |
| Monitor | A computer ouput device that uses a display screen to present the processed information. |
| Motherboard | The main circuit board of a computer housing the microprocessor and providing the means of connecting all the components that make up the computer. Provides a means for adding special control units such as sound boards to the computer via expansion slots or sockets. |
| Mouse | A computer input device used as a pointing and drawing instrument by selecting specific positions on the monitor display. |
| Mylar | The type of plastic used to create floppy disks. |
| Output | The computer-generated information that is displayed to the user in some discernible form such as a screen display, printed page, or sound. |
| Personal Computer (Microcomputer) | A computer that serves one user at a time. |
| Primary storage | The computer's immediate internal memory, RAM or ROM. |
| Random Access Memory (RAM) | Temporary storage memory chips that form the computer's primary work space; contents are lost if the power is disrupted. This form of primary storage can be read and wirtten to many times. |
| Read Only Memory (ROM) | Storage memory chips that are able to maintain their contents if the power is disrupted. This form of primary storage chips have their stored content entered at the time of their fabrication and can be written to only once. |
| Scanner | A computer input device that can read text, images, and bar codes and translate them into digital code. |
| Secondary storage | Storage that is not involved in the processing of information. This type of storage is used to maintain the digital information for later use - disks, tapes, and CD-ROMs. |
| Software | Instructions that are provided for the computer. A series of instructions tha provide direction to perform a particular task is referred to as a program or application. |
