Assignment 3: Intro to Computers
Use resources of your choice to answer the following questions. Here are some suggested resources.
What does BIOS stand for, and what does it do? Include a link to your source.
Answer:
Source:
What does POST stand for and what does it do?Include a link to your source.
Answer:
Source:
What is the purpose of an operating system?
Tip, copy answers from this source:
Processor management
Memory management
Device management
Storage management
Application interface
User interface (UI)
Computer Types
One type of computer is a tablet. Paste images of other types of computers. Include a link to your source. Crop and resize the image so it is approximately 2 inches wide.
Computer Type / Image / SourceTablet / /
Desktop
Laptop
All In One
Smart phone
Personal Data Assistant (PDA)
Netbook
Operating Systems
List at least two operating systems used by smart phones. Include a link to your source.
Answer:
Source:
List at least two operating system used by laptops. Include a link to your source.
Answer:
Source:
List at least two operating system used by tablets. Include a link to your source.
Answer:
Source:
School Computer
What operating system is being used by the computers in our classroom? (Right click on My Computer, then select Properties)
Answer:
What is the brand of the processor on the computers in our classroom?
Answer:
What is the speed of the processor on the computers in our classroom?
Answer:
What is the size of the hard drive on the computers in our classroom?
Answer:
What is the size of the RAM on the computers in our classroom?
Answer:
What ports are on the computers in our classroom?
Answer:
Hardware
Define the following computer parts. Include your resources.
Part / Definition / SourceMotherboard
Central processing unit (CPU)
Random-access memory (RAM)
Video Card
Power supply
Hard Disk
Optical Drive
Buffer memory
Find images of the following computer parts. Resize the width of each image so it fits in the column. (about 2.5”) NOTE: one answer was done for you (motherboard).
Part / Image / SourceBacklit Keyboard
Mouse
Speaker
CPU (the “brains” of the computer)
Motherboard /
Video Card
Hard Drive
RAM
Floppy Disk Drive
CD ROM Drive or DVD/RW Recorder
Power Supply
Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
Expansion card (there are several types).
What is the difference between an uninterruptable power supply, a surge protector, and a power strip?
Term / DefinitionPowerStrip
Surge Protector
UPS
Find an illustration of the inside of the computer, with the parts labeled, and paste it below.
Image:
Bytes
To the computer, everything is represented by on and off bits, or 1’s and 0’s. Eight bits represents one byte, and one byte is about the same as one character. One Kilobyte (1 KB) is about 1,000 bytes. To be exact, it’s 1,024 bytes. Common sizes for Hard Drives on today’s computers are 500 GB to 1 TB.
Use Excel to calculate the number of bytes in a KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, EB, and ZB. To save, time, copy and paste the table below, then enter the formula in the Bytes column. (read on to find the formula)
The speed of a computer’s processor is measured similarly, but in Hertz (GHz = Giga Hertz)
Name / Abbreviation / 2 / Power / Bytes / Relative SizeByte / B / 2 / 0 / Can hold one character of data.
Kilobyte / KB / 2 / 10 / 1,024 characters or about half of a double-spaced typewritten page.
Megabyte / MB / 2 / 20 / About 800 pages of text.
Gigabyte / GB / 2 / 30 / A stack of paper about 250 feet high.
Terabyte / TB / 2 / 40 / A stack of paper about 50 miles.
Petabyte / PB / 2 / 50 / A stack of pages about 52,000 miles high-- approximately one-fourth the distance from the Earth to the moon.
Exabyte / EB / 2 / 60 / A stack of pages about 52 million miles high, or about twice the distance between the Earth and Venus.
Zettabyte / ZB / 2 / 70 / A stack of pages about billion miles high--20 times the distance between the Earth and Pluto.
Note, the ^ symbol is used to represent a Power. So the formula =C2^D2 means: C2 to the power of D2. C2 and D2 are cell addresses which hold 2 and 0. Therefore the formula =C2^D2 means 20 which equals 0. Enter the formulas as shown here.
Note: Hold Ctrl with ` to turn formula view on and off.
While the answers are displayed, format them in Comma style (click the button), and click the button twice to remove the decimal places.
Copy and paste your completed Excel spreadsheet cells below.
Input – Process - Output
Complete the table below on input/output devices
- Categorizethe following devices Input and Output.
- Then mark which devices are helpful for people with vision problems.
- Copy and paste an image of each device in the space provided. Crop and resize as needed.
Image / Device / Input / Output / Adaptive device for the visually impaired / Adaptive device for the hearing impaired
bar code reader
braille reader
braille keyboard
digital camera
game controller
graphic tablet
high-resolution monitor
joystick
keyboard
microphone
mouse
plotter
printer
projector
scanner
screen-reading software
touch pad
touchscreen monitor
voice synthesizer
(dragon naturally speaking)
Trackball