EduTechSansar: Computer Fundamental

Introduction

The word computer has been derived from the Latin word "Computare" which means to calculate. Computer is an electronic man made programmable machine that first takes input from user through its input devices, process it to produce meaningful information in human understandable language/form and even can store the data and information for future use in its storage devices as per the user requirements.

All the modern computer works by following the principle of IPOS (Input Process Output and Storage) cycle. The IPOS cycle has been described shortly below:-

a) Input:

The raw data and instructions which are given to the computer for processing is called an input. Input can be given in any form such as text, numbers, letters, characters, symbols, audio, images, etc. Input are given to the computer through its input devices such as mouse, keyboard, scanner, light pen and many more.

b) Process:

An action taken upon input data to produce the meaningful information as an output in human understandable language is known as processing. The processing is done by the Central Processing Unit of a computer. CPU is also known as the brain of computer.

c) Output:

The meaningful information produced by the computer in human understandable language through its output devices such as monitor, printer, speaker, plotter, etc. is known as an output. Output can be termed as processed information. Output also can be taken in any form such as text, numbers, letters, characters, symbols, audio, images, etc just like as an input as per the user requirements.

There are two types of output i.e Soft copy output and Hard copy output.

d) Storage:

Storage refers to the holding of data and information by computer in its storage devices. Computer can hold those data and information in its storage devices either temporarily or permanently as per the user requirements.

There are mainly two types of storage devices and they are; Primary storage device and Secondary storage device. Primary storage device is also known as Main memory or Internal memory of computer whereas Secondary storage device is also known as Auxiliary memory or External memory of computer.

Characteristics / Features of Computer

a) Speed:

The time taken by the computer to complete a certain task is termed as a speed of computer. A computer performs its each and every tasks with a great high speed. It has the potential to complete each and every high complex tasks within a fraction of second.

b) Accuracy:

A computer is an accurate machine. It does not do any mistakes. The output given by the computer is always correct but the computer it does not have its own intelligence, it does not have its own I.Q. so sometimes we may get wrong output when we give wrong instructions to the computer. The process of getting wrong output because of wrong instructions given by the user is known as GIGO which stands for Garbage In Garbage Out.

c) Versatile:

A computer is a versatile machine. It can do multiple tasks at a same time and even the computer are being used in different fields for different purposes. Computer can do varieties of tasks depending upon the user. It can perform highly complex multiple tasks within a fraction of second which takes long time to be solved by a normal human being.

d) Diligence:

As an electronic machine, computer never feels tired and bored of doing the same task repeatedly. Computer has a potential to perform the same task for many hours without losing its great high speed and accuracy. A computer is free from tiredness, boredom and fatigue as a result it can continuously perform its tasks for many hours.

e) Automatic Operation:

Once, the instruction is given to the computer by a user it is able to perform all its tasks without any help. So, a computer is called an automatic machine. Computer can perform its each and every tasks automatically but not in its own way as it has been already programmed. It works as per the instructions which are already fitted while manufacturing and even can be customized by user later using the different Tailored software.

f) Storage:

Storage refers to the holding of data by computer in its storage devices as per the user requirements either temporarily or permanently. A computer can store large amount of data and information temporarily or permanently in the RAM or secondary storage devices such as hard disk, optical disks and magnetic tapes. The data which has been stored permanently can be retrieved whenever needed.

g) Reliability:

Computer components have very high life spans and its parts do not wear and tear out easily as a result computer has a high level of reliability. A user can fully depend upon the computer as it does not do any mistakes and can save the time by performing each and every tasks with great high speed.

Units of Storage Capacity of Computer

The storage capacity of a computer is measured in terms of Byte. Units of storage capacity of computer is listed below.

1 BIT - 1 or 0 (Binary Digits)

4 BITS - 1 Nibble

8 BITS - 2 Nibbles (1 Byte)

1024 Bytes - 1 Kilo Byte (1 KB)

1024 Kilo Bytes - 1 Mega Byte (1 MB)

1024 Mega Bytes - 1 Giga Byte (1 GB)

1024 Giga Bytes - 1 Tera Byte (1 TB)

1024 Tera Bytes - 1 Peta Byte (1 PB)

1024 Peta Bytes - 1 Exa Byte (1 EB)

1024 Exa Bytes - 1 Zetta Byte (1 ZB)

Solved Question Answers

1) What is a computer?

Ans: A computer is an electronic programmable man made machine that first takes raw data as an input, process it to produce meaningful result as an output and even can store the data and information for the future use in its storage devices. A computer follows the instructions and commands which are given by user to perform a particular task.

2) What is an input?

Ans: The data and instructions which are given to the computer for processing to produce a meaningful result are known as an input. Input can be given to the computer in any form such as number, letters, characters, alphabets, symbols, audio, video and many more. The input is given to the computer through its different input devices such as mouse, keyboard, light pen, scanner, microphone, etc.

3) What is an input device? Name any two most commonly used input devices.

Ans: The physical part of the computer used to send data and instructions for processing is known as an input device. Any two most commonly used input devices are Mouse and Keyboard.

4) What is processing?

Ans: An action taken upon input data to produce meaningful result is known as processing. The processing is done by the Central Processing Unit of a computer which is also known as the brain of computer.

5) What is an output?

Ans: The meaningful result given by the computer after processing the given data in a human understandable language is known as output. The output is produced through its output devices such as monitor, speaker, printer, plotter, etc. There are two types of output and they are Softcopy output and Hardcopy output.

6) What is an output device? Name any two most commonly used output devices.

Ans: The physical part of the computer used to produce data and information after data processing is known as an output device. Any two most commonly used output devices are Monitor and Printer.

7) What is storage?

Ans: Storage refers to the holding of data and information by the computer in its storage devices. Different storage devices can hold data and information as per their capacity. Hard Disk is the most commonly used storage device of computer. Beside it other secondary storage devices are pen drive, floppy disk, CD, DVD, Memory Card, etc.

8) What are the different measurement of speed of a computer?

Ans: The different measurement of speed of a computer are given below.

i) Millisecond

ii) Microsecond

iii) Nanosecond\

iv) Picosecond

v) Femtosecond

9) What is data processing?

Ans: The systematic sequence of operations of data in a computer is called data processing. The processing is done by the Central Processing Unit of a computer.

10) What is cloud computing?

Ans: The delivery of software applications using the Internet can be referred as cloud computing. In other words it can be defined as the delivery model of software and services through Internet. As all the data, information, software and documents are stored online we need a computer with a web browser in order to get our work done with cloud computing.

11) What are the four functional components of a computer system? Explain them in brief.

Ans: The four functional components of a computer system are shortly described below.

i) Hardware

Hardware refers to the physical components of a computer system which has certain shape and size that can be touched and seen. It consists of interconnected devices that are capable of computing and processing information. It can be controlled with the help of software i.e it follows the instruction which is set in software and performs its task.

ii) Software

Software refers to the non-physical parts of the computer that does not have any shape and size but can be feel. In other words it can be defined as the set of instructions and associated data, stored in electronic format that directs the computer to accomplish a task. It is the basic component of a computer system that sets up a computer to do a particular task by instructing the computer how to interact with the user and how to process the data.

iii) Humanware

Humanware refers to the people involved in the computing process, programmers, data entry operators, system analyst and so on.

iv) Firmware

Firmware is a set of programs that is pre-installed into the ROM of a computer during the time of manufacturing. Without firmware, a hardware device would be non-functional.

12) How is computer technology used in education?

Ans: Computer technology is being used in the field of education in following ways.
i) Virtual Learning Environment helps students by accessing a range of specific learning resources.
ii) Internet is being used extensively by the students to do a research work.
iii) In lab work, scientific instruments are connected to the computer to help get accurate readings etc.

13) What is green computing? List the five ways to go green in computing.

Ans: Green computing is the environmentally responsible and eco-friendly use of computers and their resources.

Ways To Go Green In Computing:

Make sure you use Energy star certified devices.
Turn off devices when you are not using. Better use smart power strips that automatically reduce the power to devices when not in use.
Reduce printing to only those documents that absolutely must be in paper copy.
Modify the default power options on computer.
consider reselling or donating an equipment that you no longer need.

14) List any three importance of a computer.

Ans: Any three importance of a computer are given below.

a) A computer can perform billions of operations per second.

b) A computer can store large amount of information and data.

c) A computer provides meaningful information to the user.

15) Write down and explain in short the limitations of computer.

Ans: The limitations of computer are shortly described below.

a. No. IQ

Computer is a dumb machine. Nowadays, computers are doing very risky jobs with its great speed and accuracy but it can not do any work without instructions from the user as it does not have its own intelligence. It is the user who decides what to do and in what sequence.

b. No Feelings and Emotions

Computer does not have feelings, emotions, taste, knowledge and experience like human beings. Thus it does not get tired and bored of doing the same task repeatedly for many hours. It does not distinguish between the users but its speed and performance may depends upon its capacity.

c. Lack of Decision Making Ability

Computer does not have its own intelligence to make any decisions. As a machine it can not find the difference between any things neither it can correct the mistakes by itself. It needs the help of the user to correct the mistakes and so on.

d. No Heuristics

Computer being an intelligent machine it lacks the characteristic of learning from other and its past experience. As a human being we can learn from others and our past experience but the computer can not do so.

16) Define GIGO.

Ans: GIGO which stands for Garbage In Garbage Out are the computer errors caused due to the incorrect input data and instructions or unreliable programs. When a user gives wrong instructions to the computer then the computer also provides the wrong output to the user.

17) What do you understand by the term 'Word Length' of a computer?

Ans: Word Length is one of the major characteristics of a computer architecture or any specific processor which is related to its capacity that describes how fast it can work.