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STUDENT NAME:THELMA N KUMALO ; STUDENT ID 28344

Introduction To
Computer
Skills:ICSK3005
REPORT
LECTURER : Keith Brockbank

Report about the computer system and its major components


Table of Content
Introduction.1

Analysis1

Section 1..1

Section 21

Section 3.1

Section 4..1

Conclusions.1

Bibliography.1

Appendix.1

Introduction
The reason for this report is to identify and define the major components of the
computer system. I am going to explain about the software ,hardware and its
components beginning with the processor(CPU) which is the brain of the
computer main memory which is also known as the (RAM)which accesses the
memory that is cleared when the computer was down ,the secondary memory
and input and output devices . I am also going to define the software and explain
and its major two categories which is the system software which controls
individual hardware components and the application software which is used for
specific tasks. I am going to explain about the Microsoft word ,Microsoft excel
and Microsoft power point and some of their features how it functions (see page
4 and 5).

Analysis

Section 1
Define Hardware

Hardware is the collection of physical parts of a computer system. This includes the computer
case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. It also includes all the parts inside the computer case, such
as the hard disk drive, motherboard, video card, and many others. Computer hardware is what
you can physically touch (study.com, 2003-2016) .

Section 2
Define and explain the major hardware components of a computer system.

Processor (CPU)

Processor (CPU) is a piece of hardware that carries out the instructions of a computer program. It
performs the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of a computer system. The
CPU is like the brains of the computer so every instruction, no matter how simple they are goes
through the CPU, for example if the letter 'k' is pressed on the keyboard the CPU of the computer
is what makes possible for it to appear on the screen. The CPU is sometimes also referred to as
the central processor unit, or processor for short (study.com, 2003-2016).

Main memory

The main memory is also known as the random access memory (RAM) it is fast-
access memory that is cleared when the computer is power-down. RAM
attaches directly to the motherboard, and is used to store programs that are
currently running. RAM is a set of integrated circuits that allow the stored data
to be accessed in any order (which is why it is called random). There are many
different types of RAM. Distinctions between these different types include:
writable vs. read-only, static vs. dynamic, volatile vs. non-volatile, etc.
(openbookproject.net, 2011)

Secondary memory

Secondary memory is computer memory that is non-volatile and persistent in nature and is not
directly accessed by a computer/processor. It allows a user to store data that may be instantly
and easily retrieved, transported and used by applications and services. It is also known as
secondary storage and consists of all permanent or persistent storage devices, such as read-
only memory (ROM), flash drives, hard disk drives (HDD), magnetic tapes and other types of
internal/external storage media. In computing operations, secondary memory is accessed only
by the primary or main memory and later transported to the processor. Secondary memory is
slower than primary memory but can store and retain data, even if the computer is not connected
to electrical power. It also has substantial storage capacities, ranging from some MBs to several
TBs of storage space within single memory. (techopedia.com, 2016)

Input devices

An input device is a hardware or peripheral device used to send data to a computer. An input
device allows users to communicate and feed instructions and data to computers for processing,
display, storage and/or transmission. Because input devices are geared toward user-computer
interaction, they are used to transform user actions or commands into electronic signals that are
understood by computers. Examples of input devices includes Keyboards that allows users to
input data and Pointing devices and game controllers which allow users to direct application
software and devices used to capture audio and video, like cameras and microphones .Input also
may come from other computers via input/output (I/O) devices, like network adapters and
Bluetooth ports (thechopedia.com, 2016).

Output devices

An output device is any device used to send data from a computer to another device or
user. Most computer data output that is meant for humans is in the form of audio or
video. Thus, most output devices used by humans are in these categories. Examples
include monitors, projectors, speakers, headphones and printers (techopedia.com, 2016).

Section 3
Define software

Software is a generic term for organized collections of computer data and


instructions, often broken into two major categories: system software that provides
the basic non-task-specific functions of the computer, and application software
which is used by users to accomplish specific tasks (openproject.org, n.d.).

System software is responsible for controlling, integrating, and managing


the individual hardware components of a computer system so that other
software and the users of the system see it as a functional unit without
having to be concerned with the low-level details such as transferring data
from memory to disk, or rendering text onto a display (openproject.org,
n.d.).
Application software, on the other hand, is used to
accomplish specific tasks other than just running the
computer system. Application software may consist of a
single program, such as an image viewer; a small collection
of programs (often called a software package) that work
closely together to accomplish a task, such as a spreadsheet
or text processing system; a larger collection (often called a
software suite) of related but independent programs and
packages that have a common user interface or shared data
format, such as Microsoft Office, which consists of closely
integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, etc.; or a
software system, such as a database management system,
which is a collection of fundamental programs that may
provide some service to a variety of other independent
applications (openproject.org, n.d.).

Section 4
Microsoft word features includes:

Spell check- Spell check is a basic feature provided within the program that allows
users to check proper spelling within their documents (reference.com, 2016).
Cut and paste- allows users to copy text or images from various sources and paste
them directly into Word documents (reference.com, 2016)

Microsoft excel features includes:


Pivot tables- PivotTables summarise large amounts of Excel data from a database
that is formatted where the first row contains headings and the other rows contain
categories or values (Kyriacou, 2014).

Conditional formatting- Conditional formatting, as its name suggests, changes


the format of a cell dependent on the content of the cell, or a range of cells, or
another cell or cells in the workbook (Kyriacou, 2014). Conditional formatting
helps users to quickly focus on important aspects of a spreadsheet or to
highlight errors and to identify important patterns in data. Conditional formats
can apply basic font and cell formatting such as number format, font colour
and other font attributes, cell borders and cell fill colour. In addition, there is a
range of graphical conditional formats that helps with visualising data by using
icon sets, colour scales, or data bars. (Kyriacou, 2014)

Microsoft power point features includes:


Adding Smart Art- SmartArt is a comprehensive and flexible business diagram tool
that greatly improves upon the Diagram Gallery feature found in previous versions of
Office (Kyriacou, 2014) .SmartArt is used to create professional diagrams that include
pictures and text or combinations of the two, it can also be used to create an
organisation chart but can be used for many different kinds of diagrams and even to
provide some variety to slides using text bullet points. (Kyriacou, 2014)

Conclusion

In conclusion these are the major parts that makes up the computer system. The
hardware being the most important for it collects the physical parts of the
computer and has most of the major parts which make the computer system
such as the processor which carries out the instructions of the computer ,the
main memory also known as the (RAM)which is to access the lost data, the
secondary memory which allows users to store data that can easily be
retrieved ,the input and output devices which sends data .software being the
second most important because it organises the collection of the computer data
and instructions and its often broken into has major categories(see page 4).
Microsoft also is important for it is commonly used in the working environment
.So to conclude all these makes up the computer system and each plays an
important role.

Bibliography
Kyriacou, C., 2014. 5 Features of Microsoft Excel You Should be Using, s.l.: s.n.

openbookproject.net, 2011. Internal Computer Hardware, s.l.: s.n.

openproject.org, n.d. Computer Software Definition, s.l.: s.n.

reference.com, 2016. What are the main features of Microsoft Word?, s.l.: s.n.

study.com, 2003-2016. What is Computer Hardware? - Components, Definition &


Examples, s.l.: s.n.

techopedia.com, 2016. output divices, s.l.: s.n.

techopedia.com, 2016. Secondary Memory, s.l.: s.n.

thechopedia.com, 2016. Input Device, s.l.: s.n.


Appendix

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