CHAPTER

2 Computer Components
Q.1: Complete the following statements. ·I
'

(i) .'\ . y tern unit of co1T1puter Ll nsi ·ts fa ~~.~~~

( t i and 1
--~ ·~-

(i i) ·r ~tand fL r
(i ii) /\L : t·rn d: f r
(i\') Internal mc111or) unit th at arc the . mall te mporary st wage of a computer

(v)
arc called
A 1<: -bit bu
-------
C::l l tran ·rer
------==----
byt' ~ at a tim .

Answers:
( i) CP . rnem ot·) unit
( i i i ) r it hIll ct i c
t\ ) 2
(ii) cntnl Procc sin g Un it
l1 11 I Le ~ i c in it
'-
( i ) rc ~i <.; tcreJ

Q.2: Tick the following statements either True or False .

The ' Pl.i o f ~ rnpuh. r i.· nc )r i · input unit. True/Fa ls
ii) The CPU of a .') ·tem pt"l LC S ·cs the Ja ta a in ·tru ~ t ·d and
send the re: . uIL t an o ut put unit. True/Fa ls
iii) The ntr I n it ~a rr _ ' c ut I g icul ·nmpu tLti o n. True/Fal se
iv) Rc L!. i.' tcrs tH. • th' ~ ma ll . tora gc. the dat a that IH Id the
~ ~

instru ti o ns a11J J~1tJ cu rrcml> bci111 1 in process. True/False

\') ( nc ) j' the impnrta nt !'uncti l ll r R;\f\1 is l ~ Cl1L:r t tc
charnctcrs. True/Fals
Answers:
( i) f ·1l sc (ii) ·1rue ii i ) Fate
(iv) True ( · F ~ll . c

Q.3: Encircle one choice A, B, C or D i.n each case.

(i) \Vhich ( f thc fo l l \\ i11 g are pre: ent in a -ystcm unit.
a. I. II & Ill
b. II & I ll
C. 1. IJ&I \
d. I. II. Ill & IV
(ii) RA M t !' a mp utcr i · a
a. permanent . toragc
b. e ndar st rage

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 c. primary storage
d. backing storage
(iii) The brain of an.electronic computer is its
. a1: CPU
\./
b. cu
c. ALU
d. ROM
(iv) An 8-bit addres~ bus can address a memory of
I Byte
8 Bytes
c. 256 Bits ,,.
d. 256 Bytes ./
(v) Which of the following is not a semiconductor memory? www.ratta.pk
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a. ROM www.ratta.pk
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b. RAM www.ratta.pk
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c. PROM www.ratta.pk
d. None of thes
Answers:
(i) B (ii) c (iii) A
'(iv) D (v) D

Q.4: Match ·the items given in Column I with those given in Column II.
Column I Column II
i) Hard\vare ( • r
a) Booting Processs
ii) Software ,-L b) LPT
iii) Serial Port c) Physical Components of a
computer system
iv) Parallel Port
- d) Procedure necessary to
}~
._./
run the com2uter
v) ROM (l e) COtvl
Answers:
( i) c (ii) d (iii) e
(i\') b (v) a

Differentiate between hardware and softWare of a computer.

\computer system has two major divisions known as:

• Computt t i1ardware
• Computer software

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 CO tVtPUTER HARDWARE
Tl.1e hardware pa11 of a computer sy tem con ists of ph sical components,
in stalled in a main com puter box and . all associated equipment interconnected in an
rganized way. Main unit whic h con ists of a pr cess ing and co ntrol console in
additi ons t 1 di k drive i. ca ll ed the system unit. ·The periph era l devices such a
keyboa rd , mouse, optical character (OCR), magnetic ink character reade r (M lCR)
tl10nitor, printer, etc are lin ked with system unit. De vice end and retrieve
inf )rrnati on from th e sy tern uni . A computer . ystem consisL of th ree major units:
I . Sy tern unit
2. Input un it
3. Output uni t

Fig: Co mputer I la rdwa re

COrYIPUTER SOFTWARE
The techn iqucs or meth ods whi ch consist of the om puter programs
rroccdure and the paper work ncce ·ary to get the hnrdw;:i re to \\'Ork is kn ovv n as
com putcr so n ware . c 111 pu lcr so ft ware is the kn ow-h \\i tec hniqu es in the form 0 r a
.' et o f in tru ct i ns t!i ,lt te lI · the co11i putcr \vha l to uo. It includes an operat ing system ,
'
w hi ch de ve lo ps a li nk bct\\CCn ic user and the cornputcr system . It helps the user to
commun icate \\ ith the Cl mpu tc;-. Co mputer . oft wa re can furth er be di vided into
·ystem so ftwar e ~rnd ~ pplic,nion ~ -i ftwa1\~ .
1. Sys tem Softwa re
\ set or program req ui red imp lcrr1cnti11g c('.rt~1 i 11 fun cti ons in the co mputing
·ys tcm dcs ig nlJ ll) c o nlrl)I the opcrati n of '1 C<.Hnp u er. E.d. pc rati11 g· ) stern.
l(.nguJgc t ra 11 ~ ! ~11 ~ r~ .
2. Applicaliun Software
Applicati on software is the procedu re \.\ ritten by the u: cr to . olve pttrt icubr
problem or lo achieve specific results. E.g. Payroll Sys tem. Inventory luntrul
system.

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 Describe the main functions of CPU.
Answer:
The central processing unit (CPU), also called the microprocesso r, the
processor, or central -processor, is the brains of the computer. The PU is housed on a
tiny silicon chip. This chip contains millions of switches and pathways that help your
computer make important decisions. The switches control the flow of the electricity
as it travels across the miles of pathways. The CPU knows which switc hes to tum on
and which to turn off because it receives its instructions from computer programs .
Programs are a set of special instruction~ written by programmers that control the
activities of the computer. Programs are also known as software .
The CPU has two prirna.ry sections: the control unit and the arithn1etic/logk
unit.

ALU Control
Does all the
Unit
computing Controls and
checks

Registers
Workspace

RAM ROM

Fig: The CPU and its function s

Describe the working and function of ALU .

THE ARITHMETIC/LOGIC UNIT

· Because all computer data is stored as numbers, a lot of the proce sing that
takes place involves comparing numbers or carrying out mathematical operati ons. In
addition to establishing ordered sequences and changing those sequence the
computer c n perform only two types of operations: arithmetic operations and log ical
operation . Arithmetic operations include addition ubtraction, niultiplication, and
division Logical operations include comparison ~, such as dete mining whether one
number is equal to, greater than, or less than another nu mber. Also,( ev.ery logical

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 operat ion has an opposite For example. in addition to '"equal to" there is ··not equal
to.
Many instructions carried out by the control unit involve si mpl y mo vi ng data
from one place to another- from memory to storage. from memory to the printer, and
so forth. However. when the control unit encounters an instruction that inv olves
arithrnetic or logic. it passes that instruction to the second componen.t of the c ru. the
arithmetic/logic unit. or ALU. The ALU includes a group of registers- high-speed
me1nory locations bui It directly into the CPU that are used to hold the data currently
being processed. F r example, the control unit might lo?d two numbers from memory
into the registers in the ALU. Tben, it might tell the ALU to divide the two nun1bers
(an arith1nctic operation), or to see whether the numbers are eq ual (a logical
operation).

Q;S: Discuss the importance of main memory. Explain the types of

main memory.
Ans er:
Main memory is the computer's primary storag . is an extension of the
central processi ng unit (CPU) and is directly accessible to 1 • Its function is controlled
by control unit (CU), which sends read or write signals for the appropriate memory
lo\:ation. Main 1nemory accepts data and instructions fron1 the input unit, exchanges
data with and supplies instructions to other parts of the central processing unit (CPU).
This 1nemory unit also stores those instructions and data awaiting immediate
execution. ts capacity must be sufficient to retain both the usable amount of data and
in struction needed for processing it. Some operations require more instructio ns or
data than can be held in main memory at one time. In such cases, main memory is
supplement with secondary storage.
The capacity of a storage devicl ·s expressed as nu1nber of. tes, characters or
bits One byte is a group of eight bit .that forms one charact r bit is a binary
nu1nber used in digital computers, whic stands fo r binary digit ne b't contains the
m inimurn inforn1ation and is a basic unit that has value of 0 or . hus if the memory
of a con1puter is 32000 bytes, it means that it can store 32000 ch racter
Semiconductor storage and magnetic cores are the most wide] used forms of
rnain storage. Besides reduced size and i ·creased speed, semiconductor storage offers
the advantage of non-destructive read. There are various s orage types available,
which include RAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM and EAROM. he most comn1on kind
of semiconductor storage is ROM and RAM.
READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)
Read Only Memory (ROM) is a permanent memory of the computer. It
handles many important tasks. One of these tasks is to provide instructions to CPU
during start-up or booting process whenever the c01nputer is turned on.
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 Another important role of ROM is that of character generator ~ ·when a key
is pressed, it sends a signal to ROM which in turn supplies a character, to be
di ·played on the screen. ROM is a nonvolatile memory i.e. the ihstructions stored on
it cannot be changed or deleted when the computer is turned off.

Fig: Read Only Memory (IROM)

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM) ,

When yo u think of RAM memory, think about a classroom chalkboard. 1 he
board is used during every class, and then era ed at the end of class, ready ~ r the
next class. That is ju~t how RAM works.
( RAM, or random-access memory, is a temporary area in the memory where
information is stored. It is also called main memory where i,nfonnation is kept while
the CPU does it jobs. Fo r example, when you write a report, information about the
d cument ·s sent to R M. If you shutdown the computer, all the information in R M
ca n be lost Thi i why \Ve have secondary storage de ices like yo ur computer·s hard
di , k and fl opp_ di kette .
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Fig: Random Access Memory (RAM)

Q.9: Discuss the function of Control Unit.

Answer:
THE CONTROL UNIT
The control unit is the boss, so to speak, and coordinates all of the CPU 's
acli ities. U ing programming instructions, it· controls the flow of information
thr ugh the processor by controlling what happens in ide the proce sor.

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 \Ve communicate with the cornpu~r through programming languages. You
may have heard of programming bnguJges called BASIC, COBOL, C++, or Visual
Basic. These are just a few or the many lar)guages we can use to give the computer
instructions. For example. v. c ma. have programming statement such as Let X = 2
+8. With this statcm~nt. we are using programming language to ask the computer to
add 2 + 8. However. when we input this instruction, something else has to happen.
The con1putcr does not understand our ~Janguage . It only understands machine
language, or binary. which is ones and zeros. This is \Vhere the control unit takes
over.
The control unit reads and interprets the program instruction and changes the
instruction into machine language. Recall that earl.ier we discussed the CPU and
pathways and Sv\ itches. It is through these pathways and the turning on and off of
sw itches that the Pl : represen ts the ones and zeros. \\1hcn electric it_ is present, it
represents a one. The absence of electricity represents a zero. After changing the
instructions into machine language. the control unit then sends out the necessary
message to execute the instructions.

Q.10: What is meant by. secondary storage? Mention some secondary

storage devices.
Answer:
SECONDARY STORAGE
Secondary storage or secondary memory also referred as backing storage is
used to supplement the capacity of main storage. This memory stores a bulk of
information. It is also called auxi I iary storage or mass storage.- The information stored
in this memory is used by the CPU by first bringing it to main memory.
Examples of Secondary Storage devices
Some examples of secondary storage devices are as follows
I. Magnetic Disks
2. Magnetic Tape
3. Mass Cartridge Systems
There are two types of secondary storage/backi.ng storage access methods.
t

1. Sequential Access Storage

Access through sequential access storage is non-addressable that is why an
operator cannot refer directly to the contents of a particular storage location
such as used with magnetic tape. This involves examining sequentially all
beginning of the tape and continuing to search through all records until the
desired information area is found.
2. Direct Access Storage

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 Direct Access Storage is addressable that is a given item can be selected from
anywhere in storage by simply specifying the address where it is located direct
access devices such as magnetic disks provide immediate ·access to individual
records and do not require reading from the beginning of a file to find a
particular record.

Q.11: What is meant by bus in computer system? How is Data bus

differs from. an address bus?
Answer:
In computer, the term bus refers that paths between the components. actually
bus is a group of a wire. The bus is the .common path ·way through which the
proce or send/receive data and comm.ands to/from primary and secondary storage
and all can tra nsport 8 bits at a time whereas a bus with 16 lines can transport 16 bits
at a tiir1e . There are two main buses in a computer:
I . Data bus
2. Address bus
DATA BUS
The data bus is .an electrical path that connects the central processing unit
(CPU) memory, and the other hardware devices on the motherboan.1. Actually, the
bus is a group of parallel wires. The number of wires in the bus affects. the speed at
which data can travel between components, just as the number of lanes l)n a higll\'vay
effects how long it takes people to get to their destinations. Because eac h wire can
transfer one bit at a tim.e, an eight-wire bus can move eight bits at a time . /\ 16-bit bus
can transfer two bytes and a 32-bit bus can transfer four bytes at a tim e.
· ADDRESS BUS
The second bus that is found in every microc9 mputer is the address bu . . Tht:
address bus is a set of wires similar to the data bus, but is connects only the CPU and
memory, and all it carries are memory addresses .
The reason that the address bus is important is that the number of lines in it
determines the maximum number of memory address . For example, one byte of data
is enough to represent 28 = 256 different values. If the address bus could carry only
eight bits at a time, the CPU cou.ld address on ly 256 bytes of mem ory. Most of the
20
early PCs had 20-bit address bus, so the CPU could address only 2 bytes or I MB of
data.

Q.12: Describe the function of ports in a computer? How many types of

ports are geherally preset in a computer system?
Answer:·
.A system board with its processor and memory unit can work only \vhcn
l~nked to input/output storage and communication devices to receive data and
communicate results of processing Per~pheral devices such as a keyboard, mouse,

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 monitor anJ a printer C(1me with a cahle and a multip le connector. To link a Jc ice lc1
thL: PC. yt u plug its connector into a receptacle called a port in much the sarnc way
yuu plug d lamp cord into electrical outlet. A port is one of the entry lines com ing int 1
the cnmputcr. !\ port provides a direct link to th e microc omputer' s c r11m on electrical
bus. Th~rc arc tvvo types of ports used in computer

-- -
jl .I
j. •

., '99 - -

-l.- ..1- -
. ~ · .. ~~ ~ ~
•. • e • . • • • e •
\~~·~·~~~·~·······~·~·~·~··1
• • e e 9 e e I e • • . • II••• e • • e of••••• •

l•
~~ (.11- .-

Fig: Computer Ports

SERIAL POl~TS
A erial port prov idcs ·a connection for tran smitting data on bit at a tim e.
serial port connects your computer to a device such as modem, whi ch requires tv -
\vay data transmission, or to a device such as a mou e, \ hi ch requires onl y onc-wa)
data tran smission. IBM-compatible co mputers use either 9-pin or 25-p in connectors
for their . crial ports COM 1, COM2 etc.
PARALLEL PORTS
A parallel port provides a connection for transmitting data eight bit at a tim '
over a cable with eight separate data lines . Parallel tra11 srnission i fa t ,because eigh t
bits travel simultaneously. Parallel tran mi ss ion i typically us d to end data to th e
printer. The cable that connects two para Ilei port contai·ns 25 \ ire , eight\ 'ire , carr., ·
data and the remaining wires carry control signal s that help to maintain orde rl y
transmission and reception . IBM-compatible computers ge nerall y allow yo u to use up
to three ports, which are des ignated as LPT I, LPT2 etc.

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