Introduction to Computers Outline

Introduction to Computers

I. Why study computers and application software? [COM2]
Today, many people feel that knowing how to use a computer is a basic skill necessary to succeed in business and to function effectively in society.

II. What is a computer? [COM3]
A computer is ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

III. What does a computer do? [COM3]
All computers perform the information processing cycle, which is comprised of four general operations:

· _________________________________ · _________________________________

These operations describe the procedures a computer performs to process data into information and store it for future use.
Data refers to ___________________________________________________________________
Information is __________________________________________________________________
Computer users are ______________________________________________________________

IV. How does a computer know what to do? [COM4]
A computer program is ___________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Once the program is stored, the computer executes one instruction after another until the job is complete.

V. What are the components of a computer? [COM4]
The four primary components of a computer are: _______________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

A. Input devices [COM5]
Input devices are _____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The two primary input devices are the keyboard and the mouse.

                         1.                The keyboard [COM5]
The keyboard is                __________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
An enhanced keyboard consists of                ___________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

2. The mouse [COM6]
A mouse is _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

B. The central processing unit [COM7]
The central processing unit (CPU) contains _______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The CPU is made up of the control unit and the arithmetic/logic unit.

· The control unit interprets _________________________________________________

· The arithmetic/logic unit performs ___________________________________________

A microprocessor is __________________________________________________________

C. Memory [COM7]
Memory consists of __________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

The amount of memory typically is measured in kilobytes or megabytes.

· One kilobyte (K or KB) » __________________________________________________

· One megabyte (M or MB) » ________________________________________________

A byte, or memory location, usually stores ________________________________________

D. Output devices [COM7]
Output devices make _________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Two commonly used output devices are printers and monitors.

                         1.                Printers [COM7]
An impact printer prints by                ________________________________________________
One type of impact printer used with personal computers is the dot matrix printer.
Nonimpact printers form characters by                _______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

· Ink-jet printers form __________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

· Laser printers work ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

                         2.                Computer screens [COM9]
A screen, monitor, or CRT is                _______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Liquid crystal display (LCD) is                ______________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Pixels are                _______________________________________________________________

E. Auxiliary storage [COM10]
Auxiliary storage devices , also called secondary storage devices, are ___________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Types of auxiliary storage used on personal computers are floppy disks, hard disks, CD-ROMs, and DVD-ROMs.

                         1.                Floppy disks [COM10]
A floppy disk is                __________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
The most widely used floppy disk is                __________________________________________
A floppy disk drive is                _____________________________________________________
Most magnetic disks are read/write storage media, meaning                ______________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Formatting is                ___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

· A track is ___________________________________________________________

· A sector is ___________________________________________________________

Access time is ___________________________________________________________

2. Hard disks [COM11]
A hard disk consists of ____________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Typical hard disk sizes range from 6 GB to 19 GB.

· A gigabyte (GB) » ____________________________________________________

                         3.                CD-ROMs [COM12]
CD-ROMs (compact disk read-only memory) are                _______________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
CD-ROMs often are used for multimedia material.
Multimedia combines                _____________________________________________________

4. DVD-ROMs [COM12]
A DVD (digital video disc-ROM) is __________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

VI. Computer software [COM13]
Computer software is the key to productive use of computers.

A. System software [COM13]
System software consists of ____________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The operating system, an important part of system software, tells ______________________
___________________________________________________________________________
A graphical user interface (GUI) provides ________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
DOS (Disk Operating System) is ________________________________________________

B. Application software [COM13]
Application software consists of ________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

VII. Personal computer application software [COM14]

A. Word processing software [COM14]
Word processing software is ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

B. Spreadsheet [COM14]
Electronic spreadsheet software allows ___________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

C. Database [COM14]
Database software allows ______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

D. Presentation graphics [COM15]
Presentation graphics software allows ____________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

VIII. Networks and the Internet [COM15]
A network is ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

· A local area network (LAN) is __________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

· A wide area network (WAN) is _________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

A. The Internet [COM16]
The Internet is ______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
125 million people use the Internet for:

· _______________________________________________________________________

Most users connect to the Internet in one of two ways:

· An Internet service provider (ISP) is _________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

· An online service provides _________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

B. The World Wide Web [COM17]
The World Wide Web is ______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
A Web page is ______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
A Web site is _______________________________________________________________
A Web browser is ____________________________________________________________
A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is ___________________________________________
The domain name identifies ____________________________________________________
A Web server is _____________________________________________________________

IX. How to purchase, install, and maintain a personal computer [COM18]

A. How to purchase a personal computer [COM18]

1. _______________________________________________________________________

2. _______________________________________________________________________

3. _______________________________________________________________________

4. _______________________________________________________________________

5. _______________________________________________________________________

6. _______________________________________________________________________

7. _______________________________________________________________________

8. _______________________________________________________________________

9. _______________________________________________________________________

10. _______________________________________________________________________

11. _______________________________________________________________________

12. _______________________________________________________________________

13. _______________________________________________________________________

B. How to purchase a laptop computer [COM23]