Objective: 

This section introduces you to the internal components of computer systems, including processing, storage, and memory. After finishing this section, you should be able to:  

• Describe the most common internal components of a typical computer system, including processor, RAM, motherboard, power supply, GPU, NIC, and cooling system.
• Compare and contrast the features of different external storage devices, including hard disk drives, optical drives, flash storage, and solid state drives.
• Distinguish between the two main types of consumer-level CPUs.
• Identify the proper sequence of steps to follow in the troubleshooting methodology.
• Identify the proper cable to connect a computer to an Ethernet port.
• Set up a desktop computer system, including peripherals, power cables, and networking cable.

Links:

• TestOut Courseware: https://testout.com

Key Terms:

• Central Processing Unit (CPU) The most important part of any modern computer system that controls the other parts of the computer.
• Random Access Memory (RAM) The main memory of a computer that can be quickly accessed by the CPU and where the computer stores data and instructions that it is actively using.
• Motherboard A large, flat computer component that connects the important components of the computer, such as the CPU, RAM, and the BIOS chip. It also has power and other communications connections.
• Power Supply The component of a computer that supplies the right amount and form of electricity to the motherboard and other computer components.
• Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) An additional computer processor that provides graphics processing, providing better performance by relieving the CPU of this duty.
• Network Interface Card (NIC) A component, sometimes built into and sometimes plugged into the motherboard, that provides wired or wireless (or both) network connectivity.
• Cooling System Heat sinks and fans that keep computer components, especially the CPU, from overheating.
• Hard Disk Drive (HDD) The most common type of long-term storage that uses thick, magnetic disks encased in a protective housing to store data.
• Optical Drive A storage device that uses light instead of magnetism to store information. This include CD-ROM, DVD, and Blu-ray devices.
• Flash Storage A compact, portable storage device that uses special memory chips to store data. Flash storage devices can be removed from a power source and its contents will remain intact.
• Solid State Devices (SSD) A device with similar capacity to an HDD that uses flash storage instead of magnetic disks to store data. SSDs are much faster and more durable than hard disk drives but usually are more expensive.
• External Hard Disk Drives An HDD that can be connected as a peripheral to a computer.
• x86 Processors A family of processors manufactured by Intl and AMD that use a common instruction set, or list of commands that the processor can execute.
• Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) Processors A family of processors most often used in smartphones due to its lower power requirements. This is accomplished by reducing the processors’ instruction set.
• Troubleshooting A process that combines knowledge, experience, and intuition to quickly solve a variety of problems.

Topics Discussed:

• How does a computer processor use internal memory?
• What are the most common types of external storage devices?
• What are the key steps in troubleshooting most computer hardware and software problems?

Assignment:

1. Access the TestOut Courseware through the provided link.
2. Study Section 1.4: Processing and Storage Hardware, and achieve a score of 80% or higher on the 15 question Exam to complete the Section.

Assigned: September 11th, 2019
Teacher Pacing Due Date: September 13th, 2019

Objective: 

This section introduces you to the basics of how computers work, including their use of the binary number system and the encoding of digital media files. After finishing this section, you should be able to: 

• Describe the binary number system used by computers to process data.
• Define bits and bytes.
• Explain how physical signals are translated into digital information.
• Describe the most common units of measurement used for storage, throughput, and processing speed.
• Describe how audio and video are stored digitally.
• Distinguish between raster and vector images.
• Select the best format for digital images.
• Describe how RGB values determine pixel color.
• Compare common image file types.
• Describe the difference between lossless and lossy compression algorithms. 

Links:

• TestOut Courseware: https://testout.com

Key Terms:

• Decimal System  A numbering system that uses ten digits, 0 through 9.
• Binary System  A numbering system that uses two digits, 0 and 1. 
• Hexadecimal System  A numbering system that uses sixteen digits, 0 through 9, and A through F. 
• Bit  The smallest unit of digital information, represented by a 1 or 0. 
• Byte  A group of eight bits joined together.  Digital Data  A physical signal, such as text, numbers, graphics, or sound, interpreted by converting it into binary numbers. 
• Encoded Integers  The representation of integers using a group of bytes. Normally, one bit in one of the byes represents the sign, 1 for negative and 0 for positive. The remaining 31 bits are used to encode the number itself using binary digits. 
• Encoded Text  The representation of text by assigning a unique binary code to each character. 
• Processor Speed  The speed at which a computer processes information, as measured by the number of cycles per second (Hertz) that the computer’s CPU operates at. Processor speed is measured in kilohertz, megahertz, and gigahertz. 
• Storage Space  The measurement in bytes of the volume that a storage device can contain. Storage space is measured in kilobytes (1024 bytes), megabytes (1024 kilobytes), gigabytes (1024 megabytes), and terabytes (1024 gigabytes). 
• Throughput  The measurement in bits per second that information is transferred through a network from one computer to another. Throughput is measured in Kbps (kilobits per second), Mbps (megabits per second), and Gbps (gigabits per second). 
• ASCII  Pronounced ask-ee and short for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the most common format for text files in computers on the internet where each character is represented by a unique 7-bit binary code. Extended ASCII uses an 8-bit binary code and allows for international characters. 
• Unicode  An international 16-bit encoding standard that accommodates character sets from multiple languages, with each letter, digit, or symbol being assigned a unique numeric value. 
• Sample  The part of a sound wave that is captured, measured, and assigned a numeric value during digital sound recording. 
• Bit Depth  The amount of memory used to store the numeric value of a sound sample during digital sound recording. 8-bit sound uses eight bits (or one byte) to store the value of each sample. 16-bit sound uses two bytes per sample. Generally speaking, the better the bit depth, the better the sound. 
• Sampling Rate  The number of individual samples taken each second during digital sound recording. Measured in Hertz, the higher the sampling rate, the better the recording. Most modern sound recordings are made at 44.1 kHz. 
• Frame Rate  The number of images, or frames, that are taken each second during digital video recording. Most digital videos have a frame rate of about 30 frames per second. 
• Resolution  The number of pixels in the width and height of each frame in a digital video recording. The higher the resolution, the clearer the image will be. 
• Color Depth  The amount of memory the computer uses to display colors in a digital image or a digital video. 8-bit color images use one byte of data for each pixel. 24-bit color uses three bytes for each pixel. 
• RGB Display  A display on a computer monitor that is made up of sets of tiny red, green, and blue (RGB) lights, each set combining to make a pixel. A pixel will display different colors depending on the brightness of each light. 
• Raster Images  Images stored by dividing a picture into rows of pixels and collecting the color values of each pixel, in order, row-by-row. 
• Vector Images  Images stored by mathematically describing the shapes in the image. A circle might be stored as a center point and the distance from the center point to the circle’s edge. A square is stored as four lines, each with a beginning point and a length. More complex shapes can be stored as a set of small lines. 
• File Compression  A way of reducing the size of files, making them easier to store. 
• Lossless Compression  A compression algorithm, such as GIF, PNG, PDF, and ZIP, that doesn’t affect the original data. A file compressed using a lossless compression algorithm, when decompressed, will be exactly the same as the file before compression, bit for bit. 
• Lossy Compression  A compression algorithm, such as JPG, MP3, and MP4, that slightly alters the data to make it easier to store, taking advantage of the limitations of human sight and hearing, and is usually used for images, videos, and audio files. 
• Run-Length Encoding  A common lossless compression algorithm that looks for repeated patterns of bits or bytes and records the pattern and then number of times the pattern is repeated. 
• Compression Artifact  A patch of pixels in a compressed image or video that have less visible detail than the rest of the image. 

Topics Discussed:

• How do computers convert physical signals into digital data?
• How do computers encode digital image, sound, video and text files?
• When is it best to use compressed files? When is it better to use uncompressed files?

Assignment:

1. Access the TestOut Courseware through the provided link.
2. Study Section 1.2: How Computers Work, and complete the 13 question Exam to complete the Section.

Assigned: August 29th, 2019
Teacher Pacing Due Date: August 30th, 2019