Grade 7 – Vocabulary 2 – Study Guide
Internal Computer Parts and components
Computers are made of many electronic components or parts. These components each have a special job and they all work
together to make your computer operate. Some components are hidden inside the computer where you can't see them.
Others can be seen partly from the outside.
Power Supply: Every computer needs a power supply to take electricity from your house and convert it into a current that
works for your computer. When the computer is plugged into the wall socket, electricity travels into the computer's power
supply. When your computer is turned on, the power supply converts the high current into a low current to travel to other
components inside the computer.
PROCESSING
Motherboard: The motherboard holds the most important parts of the computer. It gets its name because it is the largest
circuit board and is like a mother to the other smaller circuit boards that are plugged into it. These are also known as
expansion cards. Each of these cards has a special purpose. The sound card contains special circuits for operating the
computer's sound. The video card handles graphics that are displayed on the monitor and can be used to add a second
monitor. The network card lets you plug the computer into a LAN or Local Area Network such as in the computer laboratory.
CPU: The brain of a computer is the CPU or Central Processing Unit. Like a brain, it controls information and tells other parts
what to do. The type of CPU in a computer also determines how fast that computer can operate. A CPU generates lots of heat,
so there is usually a small fan nearby to cool it down.
ROM stands for Read Only Memory. ROM is good at remembering, but cannot change its mind. It holds information that is
built into it. A very important ROM computer component is the BIOS chip. BIOS means Basic Input Output System. The BIOS
wakes up the computer and reminds each part what they have to do.
STORAGE
PRIMARY STORAGE: RAM stands for Random Access Memory. RAM is known as primary storage and will store programs and
files while the power is on. But, when the computer is turned off, RAM forgets everything. This is known as volatile memory.
This is why it is so important to save your work on a computer - if the computer gets turned off and you haven’t saved, RAM
will lose all of your work! Cache is much faster than RAM but is used for only the most frequently used instructions.
SECONDARY STORAGE:
Drives – are called drives because they have motors that drive storage disks around so fast that they spin so that data can
be quickly written to or read from them. These storage disks are known as Secondary long-term non-volatile storage
media. They are secondary because the primary storage is RAM. They are long-term because they can store data for years.
They are non-volatile because they don’t lose data when you turn off the computer. The most commonly used drives are:
Hard disk drive, DVD-Drive , and one that is no longer used is the Floppy disk drive. Pen drives – are an exception – they
don’t have motors they act like a drive but they are really flash memory with a USB plug.
Media: There are 3 types of Secondary Storage Media: Disks, Flash memory and Tapes.
Disks are circular and flat and there are 2 types: Magnetic and Optical. Magnetic disks have data saved on them
through the use of an electromagnet. Two examples are Floppy Disks - Floppy plastic mylar inside a hard plastic case
and Hard Disks – multiple hard aluminum disks inside a hard aluminum case. Optical disks have data saved on them by
a laser light. They can be a Compact Disk (CD) or Digital Video Disk (DVD).
Flash Memory is found in flash memory USB drives, or flash memory cards and sticks.
Tapes are not so common now but they were either a large reel or a small cassette.
INPUT OUTPUT INTERFACE - PORTS
Ports are the interfaces on the outside of the computer case where you plug in hardware peripherals. On the inside of the
case, they are connected to expansion cards. The ports are controlled by their expansion cards which are plugged into the
Motherboard and are connected to other components by long, flat bands of cables - that contain wires. There are different
shaped Ports for different uses: – Mouse, Keyboard, Video, Printer, Network, Modem, USB, Serial, Parallel, Firewire, Audio.