COMPUTER APPLICATIONS & IT ASSIGNMENT

NAME: ANITA CHEYECH LOPOKOIYIT

REGISTRATION NO: 1046813

COURSE: BACHELOR OF SCIENCE NURSING

UNIT CODE: COC 101

UNIT: COMPUTER APPLICATIONS & IT

HARDWARE PARTS OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM

7/11/2021
1|Page

I. INTRODUCTION

Computer hardware is the physical components of a computer system which you can
touch.

The computer hardware is interconnected with cables to facilitate transmission of data.

Computer hardware is divided into two main categories: the systems unit and the
peripheral devices. The systems unit focuses on processing of data and the peripheral
devices facilitate input, output, storage and communication of data.

In comparison, software is the set of instructions that tell a computer how to function.
Hardware is usually directed by the software to execute a command. The combination of
hardware and software make up a computer system.
2|Page

II. SYSTEM UNIT

The systems unit is a case that contains the electric components of a computer that are
used to process and temporarily store data and instructions.

Components of the system unit include:

a) Central Processing Unit (CPU)

It is often referred to as the brain of the computer because it performs most of the
calculations required for the computer to function. The CPU performs the basic
arithmetic, logic, and input/output operations of a computer system according to
instructions from a computer program.

The CPU has a number of components:

 First is the arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs mathematical and logical
calculations on data.

 Second is the Control Unit (CU), part of the CPU that directs the operation of the
processor but does not carry out any actual data processing operations. It reads,
interprets and processes instructions from memory and then sends back the
results to the relevant components to carry out the instructions.

 Third is registers. Registers are small amounts of high-speed memory found

within the CPU. They are used by the CPU to store small amounts of data that are
needed during processing, such as: the address of the next instruction to be
executed.

Most modern CPUs are constructed as a single integrated unit called a

microprocessor.

Processing data and instructions are managed in a cycle known as the machine cycle.
The machine cycle includes four steps that a processor carries out for each
instruction: fetch, decode, execute, and store.

 First step - Fetch: The CPU fetches instructions and data from RAM.
 Second step - Decode: The Control Unit decodes the instruction.
 Third step - Execute: The Arithmetic Logic Unit executes instructions.
3|Page

 Fourth step - Store: The processed data is stored in the RAM.

b) Computer memory

It is the storage space in a computer where data to be processed and instructions

required for processing are stored. There are several forms of computer memory
found in the systems unit:

 Primary memory: storage that is directly accessed by the CPU. It is divided into
two subcategories:

 RAM (Random Access Memory) - it is the computers short-term memory

which it uses to handle all active tasks. RAM is volatile i.e. data stored is lost
once power is switched off. Adding more RAM in a computer enhances the
computer system performance. The maximum amount of RAM that can be
installed in a computer is limited by the motherboard.

 ROM (Read Only Memory) – stores important information essential to

operate the computer. For example, it stores instructions required to start a
computer. We can only read but not write on it. It is non-volatile i.e. data
stored is not lost once power is switched off.

 Cache memory: high-speed memory which is used to store frequently used data
and instructions. It reduces the time and energy that would have been used to
access data from the main memory.

c) Motherboard

The motherboard/systems board serves as a platform that connects all the parts of a
computer together. It consists of the CPU, memory, hard drives, video card, power
supply, expansion slots to add memory and hardware devices, chips that convert
analog signals to digital, optical drives and input-output ports to capture and send data
to peripheral devices.
4|Page

III. PERIPHERAL DEVICES

Peripheral devices are devices that input, output and store data. They are non-essential as
the computer can operate without them. Peripheral devices connect with the computer
through several I/O interfaces, such as communications (COM), Universal Serial Bus
(USB) and serial ports such as serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) ones.
There are three different types of peripheral devices:

 Input: used to send data to the computer e.g. keyboards and scanner
 Output: provides output to the user from the computer e.g. printer and projector
 Storage: stores data processed by the computer e.g. flash drives

a) Input devices

Input devices allow users to enter information into the system or to control the
operations of the computer.

 Text input device: The most common text input device is the keyboard.

 Pointing devices: input device that allows a user to control a pointer (cursor)
on the screen. Examples of input devices are: mouse, joystick, track ball and
light pen. Mouse and touchpads usually function by detecting movement
across a physical surface. Analog devices, such as joysticks function by
reporting their angle of deflection. Movements of the pointing devices are
echoed on the monitor.

 Video input devices: used to digitize images or video from the environment
into the computer. The information can then be stored in multiple formats.
Examples: scanners, digital camera, webcam, fingerprint scanner, barcode
reader, digitizer.

 Voice input devices: devices that allow users to send audio information to a
computer for processing. Example: microphone.

 Composite devices: input devices like buttons and joystick, are combined on a
single device to make up a composite device. They are usually made of more
than two types of input devices. Examples of composite devices are gaming
devices.
5|Page

Examples of input devices:

 Keyboard: it is the common input device and is modeled after the typewriter. Most
keyboards use the QWERTY layout for the alphabetic keys; these are surrounded
by number, symbol, function, and other key types. By pressing the suitable keys, a
user can input data and instructions into the computer.

 Mouse: it interacts with the computer through a process known as point and click.
When a user moves the mouse on a surface, the pointer moves in a corresponding
direction on the computer's monitor screen.

 Scanner: it is an input device that uses optical technology to transfer images (or
sometimes text) into a computer, where the signal is converted into a digital image.
The digital image can then be viewed on a monitor screen, saved, edited or printed.

 Digital camera: they are used to capture photographs and videos independently.
Later, these photo and video files can be transferred to a computer where they can
be saved, edited or printed.

 Microphone: captures audio and sends it to the computer. The data is then
converted to a digital format.

 Joysticks: they are commonly used to control animations in computer video games.
They function by reporting their angle of deflection. Movements of the pointing
device are then projected on the monitor.

 Graphic Tablet: they are input devices used for converting hand-drawn artwork
into digital images. The user draws with a stylus on the tablet as if they were
drawing on a piece of paper. The drawing appears on the computer screen and can
be saved, edited, or printed.

 Webcams: they can capture photographs and videos and are more often used to
live-stream videos or facilitate video chats. For this reason, webcam devices often
have built-in microphones in addition to camera.
6|Page

b) Output devices

An output device is any computer hardware which converts electronic information

into a form that is readable by the user. There are four different categories of output
device: visual, data, print, and sound.

A computer can still function without an output device. However, without an output
device, there is no way to figure out what the computer is doing.

Examples of output devices:

 Monitor - it is the most common output device. It creates a visual display by

which the users can view processed data. Monitors come in various sizes and
resolutions. Monitors depend on a video card. The video card is positioned either
on the computer motherboard or in a special expansion slot. The video card sorts
out the computer data into images.

Common Types of Monitors include:

 Cathode Ray Tube – this uses phosphorescent dots to generate the pixels
that make up displayed images.
 Flat Panel Screen – this makes use of liquid crystals or plasma to produce
output. Light is passed through the plasma in order to generate pixels.

 Printer – this hardware device generates a hard copy version of processed data,
like documents or photographs. The computer transmits the images to the printer,
which then physically recreates the image, mostly on paper. Types of printers
include:

 Laser: use laser lights to produce dots to form the characters for printing.
 Inkjet: printers that produce hard copies by spraying the ink onto the
paper.

 Speakers – speakers are attached to computers to facilitate the output of sound.

Sound cards are needed in the computer for speakers to function. The different
kinds of speakers range from simple, two-speaker output devices all the way up
to surround-sound multi-channel units.
7|Page

 Projector – it is an output device that takes images produced by a computer and

projects them onto a screen or surface.

 Braille Reader – it is a peripheral device that enables a blind person to read text
displayed on a computer monitor.

 Headphones - also known as earphones, headphones allow you to listen to audio

output from the computer without disrupting other people around you.

c) I/O devices

Some devices act as both input and output devices. They are devices that input data
and gives output results at the same time by itself.

Examples of I/O devices include:

 Virtual Reality - These devices recognize the movements of the human’s head
as an input and synchronize them on screens as an output result.

 USB Memory Drives – They are devices that are physically small but can
carry large amounts of data. By plugging them into a USB port they can
extract and receive the information at the same time. It is an external storage
device as well as an I/O device.

 Touchscreen – it is an electronic visual display that can be controlled by just

touching the fingers on the screen. These devices input the instructions from
our fingers and display the output data on the screen at the same time.
Smartphones and tablets are all I/O devices.

 Headsets - headsets consist of both a speaker and a microphone. Speakers act

as output devices and the microphone acts as an input device.

 Facsimile (FAX) - It has scanner to scan the document and also have printer to
print the document.

 Modems – Short for modulator/demodulator, a modem is both an input and

output hardware device that allows a computer to send and receive
information over telephone lines. When sending a signal, the device converts
digital data to an analog audio signal, and transmits it over a telephone line.
8|Page

When the analog signal is received, the modem converts it back to a digital
signal.

 CD and DVD Drives – Saves data from the computer in a given format and
can also send out data to other devices with disk space. It is an I/O device as
well as a storage device.

 Sound card/audio card - is an internal expansion card that provides input and
output of audio signals to and from a computer.

d) Storage devices

Data storage is the recording of digital information in a storage medium, usually by

electronic means. The storage device enables the user to store large amounts of data
in a relatively small physical space and makes sharing that information with others
easy. The device may be able to hold data either temporarily or permanently.

Data storage devices usually fall into one of four categories: magnetic storage
devices, optical storage devices, flash memory devices and cloud storage.

 Magnetic storage devices: storage of data on a magnetized medium.

 Optical storage devices: are those devices that require a laser to read or write
data. These devices come in three formats:

 Read-only formats: are read only they cannot be used to store new data
e.g. CD-ROM, DVD-ROM.
 Recordable formats: can be read and are writable discs. This type of disc
can have data put into it only once e.g. CD-R.
 Rewritable format: Can have data added to it, and once the data is no
longer needed, it can be deleted and new data added e.g. CD-RW.

 Cloud storage: While not a direct hardware device, cloud storage is the newest
and most versatile type of storage for computers. The cloud is a huge collection
of servers housed in data centers around the world. Data is stored on the
Internet through a cloud computing provider who manages and operates data
storage as a service.

 Flash memory devices: storage that uses flash memory chips for writing and
storing data. Examples are: USB flash drives and memory cards.
9|Page

Examples of storage devices:

 Hard disk drive: it can be found installed in almost every desktop and laptop
computer. The hard drive is a non-volatile magnetic storage device used to
record and retrieve digital information. It stores files for the operating system
and software programs as well as user documents, such as photographs, text
files, videos, and audio.

 Floppy disk: it is another type of storage medium that uses magnetic storage
technology to store information. Floppy disks were once a common storage
device for computers but have now become outdated.

 USB flash drive: it is a flash-memory data storage device that incorporates a

USB interface. Flash memory is usually more efficient and reliable than optical
media. It is smaller, faster, and possessing much greater storage capacity.

 Secure Digital Cards (SD Cards): SD cards are commonly used in many
electronic devices, including digital cameras and mobile phones. Although there
are different sizes and capacities of SD cards, they all use a rectangular design
with one side "chipped off" to prevent the card from being inserted into a
camera or computer the wrong way.

 Cloud storage: it involves accessing services over a network via a collection of

remote servers.

 Solid-State Drives (SSDs): it uses flash memory to store data and is sometimes
used in devices such as netbooks, laptops, and desktop computers instead of a
traditional hard disk drive. The advantages of an SSD over an HDD include: a
faster read/write speed, noiseless operation, greater reliability, and lower power
consumption. The biggest disadvantage is cost, with an SSD offering lower
capacity than an equivalently priced HDD.

 CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs: Are optical storage devices which require light to
read and write data on it.
10 | P a g e

Differences between Input Devices and Output Devices

Input Output
Accepts user data Reflects data to user
The user commands them Processor commands output devices
Conversion of user friendly instruction into Conversion of machine friendly instruction
a machine friendly into user friendly instruction
Sends data to the processor for execution Sends processed data back to the user
Helps computer in receiving data Helps computer in displaying data
Example: keyboard Example: monitor, printers
11 | P a g e

IV. CONCLUSION

By assessing and understanding every computer hardware device you may understand
its importance and then you are able to conduct the appropriate troubleshooting
measures when it breaks down.

The computer hardware is an integral part of the computer system. Without the
correct hardware or hardware in good condition, your software may not run
efficiently or at all. It is important to consider both, software and hardware, when
making decisions about your IT systems as this can affect the way you work and your
productivity.
12 | P a g e

REFERENCES

Bourgeois, D.T., Smith, J.L., Wang, S. and Mortati, J. (2019). Information Systems for
Business and Beyond. Saylor Academy: Washington DC

https://samples.jbpub.com/9781449688394/88394_ch03_savage.pdf

https://benchpartner.com/input-and-output-devices-of-computer