I.P.I.A. "E. MATTEI"  -  Latina

Parts of the computer.

• (a) Printer

• (b) Monitor

• (c) Floppy disk drive

• (d) CD-ROM drive

• (e) Modem

• (f) Keyboard

• (g) Mouse

• (h) Scanner

• (i) Expansion slot

• (j) Microprocessor

• (k) RAM

• (l) Hard disk

Meaning.

(a) Printer : it produces output on paper.The most common types are inkjet,which spray ink,or laser,which use a dry ink called toner.

(b) Monitor : this takes the form either of a cathode ray tube,like a television,or a flat screen panel whit a display based on liquid crystal technology.

(c) Floppy disk drive : it "reads" small magnetic disks,used to store and to move information from one computer to another.More powerful magnetic disks called removable storage disks,using an external drive,can store much more data.

(d) CD-ROM drive : it contains a laser device which uses a beam of light to "read" the data on compact disks.They permanently store text,illustration,animation and sound.The digital video disk (dvd) is a more powerful version storing much more data.

(e) Modem : it is an electronic device that communicates whit other computers over telephone lines by traslating bit charges into tones.

(f) Keyboard : this is the main input device.In addition to the letters of the alphabet,it also contains function keys to perform special tasks and keys to control the movement of an electronic marker called the movement of an electronic maker called the insertion point.

(g) Mouse : it is a small hand-operated device that controls the movement of the insertion point on the screen.It can give commands to the computers by selecting icons on the screen and clicking on a button.

(h) Scanner : it is a device that uses light sensors to diditize photographs and other illustrations,translating them into numerical form for processing by a computer.

(i) Expansion slot : additional components (for example,sound or graphics co-processors on circuit boards called cards) can be fitted into the computer here.

(j) Microprocessor : also known as the CPU (central processing unit),it does the work of processing information and also controls the entire computer system.

(k) RAM : this is part of the computer's internal memory.It stores the information and instructions currently needed by the microprocessor as long as the power is on.

(l) Hard disk : a long-term memory device,built into the computer,it can hold thousands of programs and files.It receives and transmits data via a machine called a drive.Data is stored by magnetizing tiny portions of the surface of a disk.