Chp. 4

Front 1

System Unit

Back 1

Case that contains the electronic components of a computer that are used to process data.

Front 2

Motherboard

Back 2

Main circuit board of the system unit, which has some electronic components attached to it and others built into it. See also system board.

Front 3

Chip

Back 3

Small piece of semiconducting material, usually silicon, on which integrated circuits are etched.

Front 4

CPU

Back 4

Electronic component on a computer's motherboard that interprets and carries out the basic instructions that operate the computer. See also processor.

Front 5

Multi-core processor

Back 5

Single chip with two or more separate processor cores.

Front 6

Control Unit

Back 6

Component of a processor that directs and coordinates most of the operations in the computer.

Front 7

ALU

Back 7

Component of a processor that performs arithmetic, comparison, and other operations.

Front 8

System Clock

Back 8

Small quartz crystal circuit that is used by the processor to control the timing of all computer operations.

Front 9

Clock Speed

Back 9

Pace of the system clock, measured by the number of ticks per second.

Front 10

Expansion Slot

Back 10

Socket on a motherboard that can hold an adapter card.

Front 11

Adapter Card

Back 11

Circuit board that enhances functions of a component of a system unit and/or provides connections to peripherals.

Front 12

Flash Memory

Back 12

Type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten.

Front 13

Peripheral

Back 13

Device that connects to a system unit and is controlled by the processor in the computer.

Front 14

Video Card
Graphics Card

Back 14

Adapter card that converts computer output to a video signal that travels through a cable to a monitor, which displays an image on the screen. See also graphics card.

Front 15

Hub

Back 15

Device attaches to a single port and attches mult. ports.

Front 16

Sound Card

Back 16

Adapter card that enhances the sound generating capabilities of a personal computer by allowing sound to be input through a microphone and output through external speakers or headset.

Front 17

Memory Card

Back 17

Removable flash memory device, usually no bigger than 1.5" in height or width, that you insert and remove from a slot in a personal computer, game console, mobile device, or card reader/writer.

Front 18

Port

Back 18

Point at which a peripheral attaches to or communicates with a system unit so it can send data to or receive information from the computer.

Front 19

USB Port

Back 19

Device that plugs in a USB port on the system unit and contains multiple USB ports in which cables from USB devices can be plugged.

Front 20

Binary System

Back 20

Number system used by computers that has just two unique digits, 0 and 1, called bits.

Front 21

Bit

Back 21

The smallest unit of data a computer can process. Bit is short for binary digit

Front 22

Byte

Back 22

Electrical channel that transfers electronic bits internally within the circuitry of a computer, allowing the devices both inside and attached to the system unit to communicate with each other.

Front 23

Memory

Back 23

Electronic components in a computer that store instructions waiting to be executed by the processor, the data needed by those instructions, and the results of processing the data.

Front 24

Volatile Memory

Back 24

Type of memory that loses its contents when a computer's power is turned off.

Front 25

Non Volatile Memory

Back 25

Type of memory that does not lose its contents when a computer's power is turned off.

Front 26

RAM Memory

Back 26

Type of memory that can be read from and written to by the processor and other devices. Programs and data are loaded into random access memory from storage devices such as a hard disk and remain in random access memory as long as the computer has continuous power.

Front 27

ROM Memory

Back 27

Type of nonvolatile memory that is used to store permanent data and instructions.

Front 28

Memory Module

Back 28

Small circuit board that houses RAM chips and is held in a memory slot on the motherboard.

Front 29

Memory Slot

Back 29

Slots on the motherboard that hold memory modules.

Front 30

Cache

Back 30

Area of memory that stores the contents of frequently used data or instructions.

Front 31

Memory Cache

Back 31

Cache that helps speed the processes of a computer by storing frequently used instructions and data.

Front 32

L1 Cache

Back 32

A type of memory cache that is built directly into the processor chip, with a capacity of 8 KB to 16 KB.

Front 33

L2 Cache

Back 33

A type of memory cache that is slightly slower than L1 cache, but has a much larger capacity, ranging from 64 KB to 16 MB.

Front 34

Flash Memory

Back 34

Type of nonvolatile memory that can be erased electronically and rewritten.

Front 35

CMOS

Back 35

Technology used by some types of memory chips that provides high speeds and consumes little power by using battery power to retain information even when the power to a computer is off.

Front 36

Access Time

Back 36

Measurement of the amount of time it takes the process to read data, instructions, and information from memory.

Front 37

Nano Second

Back 37

One billionth of a second.

Front 38

Fire Wire Port

Back 38

Port that can connect multiple types of devices that require faster data transmission speeds.

Front 39

SCSI

Back 39

Special high-speed parallel port to which peripherals, such as disk drives and printers, can be attached.

Front 40

Port Replicator

Back 40

External device that attaches to a mobile computer to provide connections to peripherals through ports built into the replicator.

Front 41

Docking Station

Back 41

External device that attaches to a mobile computer or device and provides power connections to peripherals, along with memory cards, optical disc drives, and other devices.

Front 42

Bus

Back 42

Electrical channel that transfers electronic bits internally within the circuitry of a computer, allowing the devices both inside and attached to the system unit to communicate with each other

Front 43

System Bus
Front Side Bus

Back 43

Bus that is part of the motherboard and connects the processor to main memory. Also called the front side bus (FSB).

Front 44

Expansion Bus

Back 44

Bus that allows the processor to communicate with peripherals.

Front 45

Back Side Bus

Back 45

Bus that connects the processor to cache.

Front 46

Bay

Back 46

Opening inside the system unit in which additional equipment can be installed.

Front 47

Drive Bay

Back 47

Rectangular opening in the system unit that typically holds disk drives.

Front 48

Power Supply

Back 48

Component of the system unit that converts wall outlet AC power to the DC power that is used by a computer.