Lesson 5: Computer Hardware

Understanding how a Computer Represents Data

binary Understanding only two states—off and on, represented by 0 and 1.

bit The smallest unit of data a computer can process; short for binary digit.

Port A connecter located on the system case that you use to plug peripheral devices into the
computer.

Bus A sequence of electronic circuity used to transfer data among computer components.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) A common type of bus that you can use to connect 127 different
devices to a single USB port.

USB hub A device that contains a number of USB ports, and plugs into a single
USB port on a computer.

FireWire (IEEE 1394) A bus standard developed by Apple as a high-speed

Expansion card A circuit board that can be plugged into an expansion slot on the
motherboard of a desktop or server computer.

Adapter card A circuit board that can be plugged into an expansion slot on the
motherboard of a desktop or server computer.
Identifying System
Components for Input and Output
ExpressCard module Hardware that portable computers use to connect peripheral devices to
slots or ports that you can access outside of the system unit.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) adapter Hardware that portable computers

Input device A peripheral device you use to enter data and commands into the computer.

Ergonomic Hardware or other product designed to provide comfort and avoid stress to the
human body during usage.

Pointing device An input device you use to position the pointer on the screen.

Mouse A pointing device that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand. You move a mouse on a
smooth horizontal surface to control the pointer on the screen.

Touchpad A touch-sensitive surface that can convert the motion and position of your fingers to
a relative position on screen; also called a trackpad.

Pointing stick A pressure-sensitive device that looks like a pencil eraser and is located on the
keyboard, generally between the G, H, and B keys.

Trackball A pointing device that works like a mouse with a ball on top of the device. You use
your thumb and fingers to manipulate the ball, which controls the pointer on the screen.

Stylus A pen-like writing instrument that works with touchscreens.

Audio input Sound entered into a computer, such as speech, sound effects, and music.

Video input Still or moving images captured electronically.

Digital video (DV) camera A type of camera you can use to send live images over the Internet,
make video telephone calls, and send e-mail messages with video attachments.

Scanner A device that can change images into codes that the computer accepts as input.

Bar code A matrix or series of lines with varying widths and heights that represents letters and
numbers.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader An input device that scans the codes stored in
an RFID tag.
RFID tag A tiny chip with a radio antenna that can be attached to almost anything, including
products, price tags, and shipping labels.

Biometrics A security technique using automated methods of recognizing a person based on a

Monitor The display device used on desktop computers.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) A technology that manipulates light within a layer of liquid
crystal cells to produce an image.

Pixel The smallest surface area that can contain color on a display device; short for picture
element.

Screen resolution The number of pixels displayed on a screen.

Aspect ratio The ratio of width to height.

Projector An output device that connects to a computer and projects images onto a wall screen
or other large, flat surface; also called a data projector.

Digital light processing (DLP) A technology that bounces light off microscopic mirrors on a
computer chip.

Inkjet printer A nonimpact printer that creates text and images by spraying ink onto paper.

Using Storage Media and Devices

Storage media The physical materials used to store data, such as disks and DVDs.

Storage device Hardware that records and retrieves data from storage media.

Access time The average number of milliseconds (ms) it takes a computer to retrieve data from
the storage device.

Data transfer rate A measurement that determines how much data the storage device can move
per second from the storage media to the computer.

Hard drive The main storage device in a computer; also called a hard disk drive.

Direct-access storage A storage method that allows a data retrieval mechanism to quickly find
data.

Solid-state drive (SSD) A type of hard drive that uses flash memory technology to store data as
electrical rather than magnetic charges.
External hard drive A separate, freestanding high-capacity storage device that you attach to a
computer, usually using a USB port.

Optical storage device A device that uses lasers to read and write data on plastic platters that
contain a metal layer, which reflects the laser light back to a sensor in an optical drive.