Computing

Pre IGCSE

By
Dr. Thanda Aung
Reference
The nature of
technology:
Inside the CPU
1 Introduction

2 Central Processing Unit

3 The CPU and logic

4 Complex logical statements

5 Logic gates

6 Robots and robotics

 A device is something people make to do a
useful task. Many device use electricity.
What is electricity? Electricity is a kind of energy. Wires bring
electricity. The electricity flows along the wire.
Electricity ON and OFF

Electricity can be ON or OFF. Think

of a light bulb. When the switch is
ON, electricity can get through. The
light goes on.
The OFF switch stops the electricity.
The light goes off.
Switches
A computer works by electricity. Inside the computer
there are millions of electrical switches. They are not
switches like the light switch. They are tiny switches
that work by electricity and cannot be seen or
touched.
The switches inside the computer can be on and off.
• An off switch can be shown as the number 0.
• An on switch can be shown as the number 1.
The switches are always changing. Electricity goes
through the computer. The flow of electricity turns
the switched on and off
Digital

Computers use the on-off switches to make

electronic numbers. That is all there is inside a
computer. There are millions and millions of
electronic numbers.
Everything inside a computer is made out of
those numbers.
Digital means made out of numbers. Everything
inside a computer is digital.
Computer systems

Whenever a computer system is used, it is using a system.

A computer system is a set of equipment that works
together to help in doing useful work.
A computer system must always have input devices. Input
devices allow to put data into your computer. A keyboard is
an input device.
A computer system has output devices. Output devices
allow to see the results of work on the computer. A
computer screen is an output device.
A computer system has storage devices to save the works.
 The user
A person who uses a computer is called the
user. The user tells the computer what to do.
Input
Everything inside the computer is made of
electricity. How can the user put electricity
into the computer?
Input devices
The answer is to use an input device. An input device takes a user’s inputs. It turns them into electrical
signals that the computer can understand.

Keyboard
A keyboard has keys. Touch a key. The keyboard sends a signal to
the computer. It tells the computer which key is chosen.

Mouse
A mouse can roll about on the desk. The mouse sends a signal to the computer.
It tells the computer when it moves. A pointer on the screen moves about.
The mouse has a button. Clicking the button can make the choice.
 Input

Touchscreen
Some devices have a touchscreen. A touchscreen is used for input and output. It
shows the choices on the screen. The screen can be touched to make a choice.

Other input devices

There are other types of input. For example:
• A microphone turns sound into electric signals.
• A camera turns pictures into electric signals.
 A computer holds lots of information.
For example, numbers and pictures.
It holds the information using electricity.
Output
But the electricity cannot be seen.
The circuits are too small. It is dangerous to
open a computer when the electricity is
Output devices switched on.
If the electricity inside a computer cannot be seen, how can it be found out what is inside the computer?
The answer is to use an output device.
Output devices take the electricity from the processor. They turn the electrical signals into things that can
be seen and used.
Output you can see
The screen or monitor of a computer is an output device. It takes information
from the processor. It turns it into colours and shapes.
A monitor makes visual output. That means the output can be seen by human
beings.
A printer gives the output on a paper. The output can be kept after the
computer is switched off.
 Output

Other types of output

There are other types of output.
• Sound output: Speakers and headphones make sound output.
• Movement: A computer can make a machine move.
For example, a machine can clean the floor.
Inside the computer

There is an electrical device inside

the computer. It is called a
processor. The processor uses
on/off electrical signals.
Everything that happens inside the
processor is made of on/off
electrical signals.
Processor (sometimes called
the microprocessor)

• at the center of every computing

system is a processor
• responsible for all the work the
computer does
• controls everything which can be seen
on the screen
• made up of millions of microscopic
electronic switches
• small enough to fit on fingertip
• modern processors are so small and
are called microprocessors
 CPU is another name for the microprocessor.
The central processing unit The CPU has three important parts:
(CPU) ✓ the control unit,
✓ the arithmetic and logic unit, and
✓ the clock
Control unit
The control unit manages the work done by the CPU.
• When an instruction arrives at the CPU, it goes to the control unit.
• The control unit works out what the instruction means.
• The control unit makes sure that the other parts of the CPU do the work needed to carry out the
instruction.
Arithmetic and logic unit
The ALU does all the calculations in the CPU. To work on a Maths problem, a spreadsheet might be used
to do calculation.
The control unit uses the ALU in the same way.
The control unit sends instructions to the ALU. The ALU carries out the instructions.
 Clock
The clock sends out regular electrical pulses just like the tick of
The central processing unit a clock. A clock in home ticks every second. The clock in the
(CPU) CPU of computer ticks around 3 billion times every second.
Every time the CPU clock ticks, the control unit sends an
instruction to the ALU.

Buses
The three parts of a CPU are joined
together by connections called buses.
Buses are high speed connections that
carry data around inside the CPU. They
are like the buses travelling around
towns and cities. Instead of carrying
passengers, the buses in a CPU carry
data at very high speed.
How the CPU
works
 How the CPU works

When playing a game or watching a video on a computer, the images on the screen are lifelike.
The screen is full of color. Objects move just like they do in the real world. Movement on-screen
is smooth and fast.
If a game is being played, giving instructions can be done through a joystick or game controller.
The action on-screen responds immediately to the command. High-quality audio is being played
in the background while playing.
The CPU can perform only very simple instructions. For example, a CPU might be asked to add
two numbers together with an instruction like 'ADD 2, 3'. Even this simple task has to be broken
down into several smaller tasks before the CPU can complete it.
So, a CPU can only do very simple tasks. What makes it seem so powerful is that it can do a task
every time its clock ticks. The clock in a CPU clicks 3 billion times every second. A computer can
appear to do amazing things by doing a lot of very simple tasks, very quickly.