Revision for Chapter 1-4 • A computer keeps data, instructions, and information on a storage media (USB

flash drives, hard disks, optical discs, memory cards)

• A storage device records (writes) and/or retrieves (reads) items to and from
Chapter 1 storage media.
Explain why computer or digital literacy is vital to success in today’s world • For example, a DVD drive (storage device) accepts a DVD (storage media)
drive).
a) Why is computer or digital literacy vital in today’s world? • Storage devices often functions as a source of input because they transfer items
Suggested answer from storage to memory.
 Digital literacy (also known as computer literacy) involves having a • A hard disk provides much greater storage capacity than a USB flash drive.
current knowledge and understanding of computers and their uses (mobile • Some mobile devices such as digital cameras use memory cards as the storage
devices, Internet, and related technologies). media.
• You can use a card reader/writer to transfer the stored items such as digital
 Because technology changes, you must keep up with the changes to
photos from the memory card to a computer or printer.
remain digitally literate.
 Information and communication technology (ICT) is used almost
Communication Devices
everywhere at work, at school and at home.
• A communication device is a hardware component that enables a computer to
o In the workplace, employee use computers to create
send (transmit) and receive data, instructions and information to and from one or
correspondence such as e-mail messages, memos and letters;
more computers or mobile devices.
manage calendars; calculate payroll; track inventory; and generate
• A widely used communication device is a modem.
invoices.
o At school, teachers use computer to assist classroom instruction.
o Students complete assignment and conduct research on computers
in lab rooms, at home or elsewhere.
o People use all types and sizes of computers in their daily activities.
 As computers become more a part of everyday life, many people believe
that computer literacy is vital to success in today’s world.

2. Define the term, computer and describe the relationship between data and • Communications occur over cables, telephone lines, cellular radio networks,
information satellites and other transmission media.
• Some transmission media such as satellites, and cellular radio networks are
a) Define the term computer
wireless, which means they have no physical lines or wires.
• Examples of wireless communications technologies include: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and
Suggested Answer
cellular radio.
 A computer is an electronic device, operating under the control of
instructions stored in its own memory, that can accept data, process the
data according to specified rules, produce results, and store the results for 4. Describe the types and functions of computers in their categories
future use
a) List the 7 categories of computers?
b) Describe the relationship between Data and Information Suggested Answer
There are many types of computer systems. Industry expert classify
Suggested Answer computers in seven categories:
 Data is a collection of unprocessed items which can include text, 1. Personal computer (desktop)
numbers, images, audios and video. 2. Mobile computer and mobile devices
 Computers process data (input) into Information (output). 3. Game consoles
 Information conveys meaning and is useful for organization to make better 4. Servers
business decision. 5. Mainframes
6. Supercomputers
7. Embedded computers

b) Describe the categories of computers listed in (a).

Suggested Answer
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• A net book is a type of notebook which is smaller, lighter, and often not as
powerful as a traditional notebook computer. 6. Supercomputers
• A supercomputer is the fastest, most powerful and most expensive computer.
Tablet PC or tablet computer • These computers can store more than 20,000 times the data and information of
• They are a special type of notebook computer you can interact with by touching an average desktop computer.
the screen with your finger or a digital pen. • Applications requiring complex, sophisticated, mathematical calculations use
• A digital pen uses pressure instead of ink. Users write or draw on a Tablet PC by supercomputers.
pressing a finger or digital pen on the screen. on the screen and issue • Large-scale simulations and applications in medicine, aerospace, automotive
instructions by tapping on the screen. design, online banking, weather forecasting, nuclear energy research and
• One design of Tablet PC, called a convertible tablet has an attached keyboard. petroleum exploration use a supercomputer.
Another design which does not include a keyboard is called a slate tablet and
provides other means of typing. 7. Embedded computers
• Some Tablet PC also support voice input so that users can speak into the • An embedded computer is a special-purpose computer that functions as a
computer. component in a larger product.
• Tablets PCs are useful especially for taking notes in lectures, at meetings, • They are usually small and have limited hardware
conferences and other forums where standard notebook computers are not • Many common household devices, cars, office equipment are now fitted with
practical. microprocessors to control many of their functions.
• Embedded computers in printers for example, monitor the amount of paper in the
Mobile Devices tray, check the ink or toner level, signal if a paper jam has occurred.
• Mobile devices which are small enough to carry in a pocket, usually do not have • The products that contains embedded computers fall into five categories:
disk drives. 1. Consumer Electronics: mobile and digital telephones, digital televisions,
• These devices store programs and data permanently on special memory inside cameras, video recorders, DVD players and recorders and answering
the system unit or on small storage media such as memory cards. machines.
• You can connect a mobile device to a personal computer to exchange 2. Home Automation Devices: labor-saving devices, which include automatic
information between the computer and the mobile device. washing machines, microwave ovens, ovens, dishwashers, thermostats,
• Some mobile devices are Internet-enabled, where they can connect to the sprinkling systems, security monitoring systems, appliances and lights.
Internet wirelessly. Users can chat, send e-mail and instant messages and 3. Automobiles: antilock brakes, engines control modules, airbags controller
access the Web. and cruise control.
• Popular types of mobile devices are smart phones and PDAs, e-book readers, 4. Process Controllers and Robotics: remote monitoring systems, power
handheld computers, portable media players and digital cameras. monitors, machine controllers and medical devices.
• A smart phone is an Internet-enabled phone that provides personal information 5. Computer Devices and Office Machines: keyboards, printers, fax and copy
management such as a calendar, an appointment book, an address book, a machines.
calculator, and a notepad.
 It allows you to send and receive e-mail messages and access web. 5. Distinguish between system software and application software
 Many function as a portable media player and include built-in digital a) How is system software different from application software?
cameras. Suggested Answer
 Many smart phones also offer variety application software (word • Software, also called a program, is a series of related instructions, organized
processing, spreadsheets and games, live video conferences) for a common purpose that tells the computer what tasks to perform and how
• An e-book reader (electronic book reader) is a handheld device that is used to perform them.
primarily for reading e-books. Most e-book readers have a touch screen and • There are two types of software namely: system software and application
Internet-enabled. software
• These devices are usually smaller than tablet computers but larger than smart • System software consists of programs that control or maintain the operations
phones. of the computer and its devices.
• A handheld computer sometimes referred to as an Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC). • There are two types of system software namely:
• Many handheld computers communicate wirelessly with other devices or • An operating system is a set of programs that coordinate and allow the
computers and include a digital pen or stylus for input. hardware devices to run properly and
• Many have miniature or specialized keyboards and serve the need of mobile • utility programs allow a user to perform maintenance tasks to managing a
employees such as meter readers and parcel delivery people whose jobs require computer, its devices or its programs.
them to move from place to place.

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6. Describe the role of each element in an information system 2. Discuss the uses and evolution of Internet
a) List and describe the role of each element in an information system a. What is Internet?
Suggested Answer
Suggested Answer  The world’s largest computer network is the Internet.
 The Internet is a worldwide collection of networks that connects millions of
Five key elements of an information system (IS) businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals to
• Generating information from a computer requires the following five elements:
perform the following tasks:
1. Hardware
2. Software o Send and receive emails
3. Data o Chat online (using text, voice and /or video)
4. People o Transfer files from computer to computer
5. Procedures o Browse the World Wide Web.
Hardware  Each of the networks on the Internet provides resources that add to the
• Hardware refers to the physical layer of the information system. abundance of goods, services, and information accessible via the Internet
• These include computers, networks, communication equipment, scanners,
printers, digital capture devices, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) equipment b. Describe the evolution of Internet
and other technology-based infrastructure.  The Internet has its roots in a networking project started by the Pentagon’s
• The hardware must be reliable and capable of handling the expected workload. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).
 ARPA is an agency of the US department of Defense.
Software  The original Internet networking project had two main goals:
• Software refers to the programs that control the hardware and produce the o Allow scientists at different physical locations to share information and
desired information or results. work together on military and scientific projects
• Software consists of system software and application software. o Function even if part of the network were disabled or destroyed by a
• The software must be developed carefully and tested thoroughly. disaster.
 The Internet originated as ARPANET became functional in September 1969,
Data linking scientific and academic researchers across the United States.
• Data is all information either is produced directly or derived from other data,  As researchers realized the great benefit of using ARPANET to share data
which is related to a particular system or business. and information, ARPANET underwent phenomenal growth.
• Data is served as the source to be brought into the information system for  By 1984. It had more than 1,000 individual computers linked as hosts.
processing and so to produce information after that.
 Today more than 550 million hosts connect to the Internet.
• The data entered into the computer must be accurate.
 Some organizations connected entire networks to ARPANET to take
advantage of its high-speed communication.
People
• Primary purpose of an information system is to provide valuable information to  In 1986, the national Science Foundation (NSF) connected its huge network
users. of five supercomputer centers, called NSFnet to ARPANET.
• Information system requires the efforts of skilled professional, such as system  The connection and configuration of this complex networks and hosts led to
analysts, programmers and IS managers to build it. today and became known as Internet.
• Users, who are sometimes called end users, include employees, customers,
vendors or others who directly interact with the system. c. What is the Internet? How did the Internet evolve? <see answer above>
• IT staff should be skilled and up-to-date on the latest technology and they should
train users so that users understand how to use the system properly. d. What is the purpose of Internet Protocol Addresses, Domain name,
DNS server?
Procedures/Process
• Procedures define the tasks that must be performed by people who work with the  The Internet relies on the addressing systems much like the postal service to
system, including users, managers and information system staff. sending data and information to a computer at a specific destination
• Procedures typically are described in written documentation / manuals or online  An IP address (Internet Protocol) is a sequence of numbers that uniquely
reference material. identifies each computer or device connected to the Internet.
• All IT applications should have readily available documented procedures that  They are usually a set of four numbers, e.g. 194.106.220.19. , each separated
address operating the computer and using its programs. by a period.

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 The Web consists of a worldwide collection of electronic documents, each of  A graphic is a digital representation of non-text information such as a drawing,
which is called a Web page which can contain text, graphics, animation, audio chart or photo.
and video.  Graphic formats include BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF
 A website is a collection of related Web pages.  An infographic is a visual representation of data and information, designed to
 A Web server is a computer that delivers requested Web pages to your communicate quickly, simplify complex concepts, or present patterns or trends
computer.  Animation is the appearance of motion created by displaying a series of still
images in sequence
b. What is Web browser?  Audio includes music, speech, or any other sound, compressed to reduce file
 A Web browser is an application software that enables users with an Internet size. You listen to audio on your computer using a media player
connection to access and view web pages on a computer or mobile device  Video consists of images displayed in motion
 The more widely used are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox,  Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computers to simulate a real or imagined
Opera and Safari. environment that appears as a three-dimensional space
 A Web browser software allows a user to display and interact with pages and files  A plug-in or add-on is a program that extends the capability of a Web browser to
from the Web on their computer screen. display multimedia elements.
 Desktop browsers typically support tabbed browsing where the top of the
browser displays a tab for each web page you open.
b. What are other Internet Services available?
c. What is home page?  The other Internet services includes:
 A home page is the first page that a website displays.  Email, email program, Instant messaging (IM), chat, chat room, discussion forum,
 This home page usually links to other Web pages. A link, short for hyperlink is a VoIP (Voice over IP) FTP (File Transfer Protocol), RSS (Really Simply
built-in connection to another related web pages or part of the web page. A web Syndication)
page has a unique address called URL.  Email is the transmission of messages and files via a computer network.
 An email program allows you to create, send, receive, forward, store, print, and
d. What is Web address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator)? delete email messages
 A Web page has a unique address called a Web address or URL (Uniform  An email or mailing list is a group of email addresses used for mass distribution
Resource Locator) of a message
 A Website address consists of a protocol (usually http or https) and the domains  Instant messaging (IM) is a real-time Internet communications service that
include: notifies you when one or more people are online and allows you to exchange
o domain host (www) messages, photos, files, audio and video.
o domain name (name of website)  A chat is a real-time typed conversation among two or more people that takes
o domain type (.com, .org, .co, .net, .gov) place on a computer or mobile device connected to a network.
o sometimes a country code is given (.uk, .us, .de, .cy)  A chat room is a website or application that permits users to chat with others
who are online at the same time.
5. Differentiate between a search engine and a subject directory and the types of  A discussion forum is an online area in which users have written discussions
Web sites. about a particular subject
a. What is a search engine?  VoIP (Voice over IP) enables users to speak to other users over the Internet
 A search engine is software that finds Web sites, Web pages, images,  FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an Internet standard that permits users to file
videos, news, maps, and other information related to a specific topic. uploading and downloading to and from other computers on the Internet
 Many operating systems include FTP capabilities
b. What is a subject directory?  An FTP server is a computer that allows users to upload and/or download files
using FTP
 A subject directory classifies web pages in an organized set of categories,
such as sports or shopping, and related subcategories.  RSS (Really Simply Syndication) – specification that enables Web content to be
 Some Web sites offer both functionalities. distributed to subscribers
 For example, Google is the world's most popular search engine. Others  Newsgroups are online areas in which users have written discussion about a
include Yahoo, Bing and MSN. particular subject
 Web browsers use uniform resource locations (URLs) to retrieve files.
c. What is Netiquette?
 For example, http://www.urlexamples.co.cy/pages/example1 or
 Netiquette is the code of acceptable Internet behavior – the conduct expected of
http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/igcse_ICT.
individuals while online.
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Chapter 3 4. Describe the types and functions of operating system
 Identify the four categories of application software and the types of application a. What are the types of operating system?
software in each category. i. Stand- Alone operating system
 Differentiate the various form of application software ii. Server operating system
iii. Embedded operating system
 Define and identify the two types of system software
b. What are the functions of operating system?
 Describe the types and functions of operating system
i. Starting and shutting down a computer or mobile device
 Explain the functions of utility programs ii. Provide a user interface
1. What is Graphical User Interface (GUI)?
2. What is Command line interfaces?
1. Distinguish between system software and application software iii. Managing programs
a. What is Software? iv. Managing memory
b. What is system software? v. Coordinating tasks
c. What is Applications software? vi. Configuring devices
vii. Monitoring performance
Suggested Answer viii. Provide file management and other utilities
 A program, or software, consists of a series of related instructions, ix. Updating software automatically
organized for a common purpose, that tells the computer what tasks to x. Controlling a network
perform and how to perform them xi. Administering security - maintaining security of the whole computer
 Application Software: programs that allow the user to do specific tasks. system
 System Software: programs that allow the hardware to run properly. 5. Explain the functions of utility programs
a. Managing files
b. Searching for files
d. What is Graphical User Interface (GUI)? c. Viewing images
Suggested Answer d. Uninstalling programs
 A user interface (UI) controls how you enter data and instructions and how e. Cleaning up disks
information is displayed on the screen f. Defragmenting disks
 With a graphical user interface (GUI), you interact with menus and visual g. Backup and restore utilities
images h. Setting up screen saver.
i. Securing a computer from unauthorised access
e. What is Command line interfaces? j. Protecting against viruses
k. Removing spywares and adware
 In a command-line interface, a user types commands represented by short
l. Filtering Internet content
keywords or abbreviations or presses special keys on the keyboard to enter
m. Compressing files
data and instructions
n. Playing media files
o. Burning optical disc
2. Identify the four categories of application software and the types of application
p. Maintaining a personal computer
software in each category.
a. What are the categories of Application software?
i. Business Software – to make business activities more efficient.
ii. Graphics and Multimedia – to assist with graphics and multimedia
projects
iii. Home/Personal/Educational – to support home, personal and
educational tasks (Personal finance, reference and educational,
entertainment, etc.)
iv. Communication – To facilitate communication (e-mail, Instant
messaging, VoIP)

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 The following list shows ways of protecting systems against malware. d. Executing is the process of carrying out the commands.
 Use up-to-date anti-virus software. This detects viruses and then removes or
quarantines (i.e. isolates) any file/attachment which has been infected. Storing
 Do not allow illegal software to be loaded onto a computer and do not use any e. Storing is the process of writing the result to memory
CD/DVD in the computer which comes from an unknown source.
 Only download software and files from the internet if they are from a reputable f. What is system clock, clock speed?
site.  The system clock controls the timing of all computer operations,
 Never open an email attachment unless you are expecting the attachment measured by the number of ticks per second.
from a trusted source.  The pace of the system clock is called the clock speed, and is measured
 Use firewalls on networks to protect against viruses. by the number of ticks per second in gigahertz (GHz)
 Install intrusion detection software.
4. Describe how a series of bits represents data
a. What is analog signals?
 Analog signals are continuous and vary in strength and quality

b. What is digital signals?

 Digital signals are in one of two states: on or off
 Most computers are digital

c. What is binary system?

 The binary system uses two unique digits (0 and 1) - Bits and bytes
 A bit is the smallest unit of data the computer can process.
 Eight bits grouped together as a unit are called a byte. A byte represents a
single character in the computer or mobile device
 The circuitry in a computer or mobile device represents the on or the off
states electronically by the presence or absence of an electronic charge

5. Differentiate the types of memory (RAM, cache, ROM, flash memory, CMOS)
a. What is RAM, ROM, CMOS, Cache, Flash Memory?

b. What is RAM?
 Random Access memory (RAM) is also called main memory consists of
memory chips that can be read from and written to by the processor and
other devices.
 Loses its contents when power is turned off
 There are two common types of RAM chips namely Dynamic RAM
(DRAM) and
 Static RAM (SRAM)
 RAM chips usually reside on a memory module and are inserted into
memory slots

 Memory cache speeds up the processes of the computer because it

stores frequently used instructions and data.

c. What is ROM?
 Read-only memory (ROM) refers to memory chips storing permanent
data and instructions

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 Expansion bus - connects processor to peripherals

7. Explain the purpose of the adapter cards, bays and power supply
a. What is an adapter card?
An adapter card enhances functions of a component of a desktop or
server system unit and/or provides connections to peripherals such as a
sound card and graphics card.
 Adapters for mobile computers are in the form of a removable flash
memory device
 Examples USB adapter and ExpressCard module which can be used as a
removable flash memory device, adds memory, communications,
multimedia, and security capabilities to computers.

 What is Plug and Play?

b. With Plug and Play, the computer automatically can recognize peripheral
devices as you install them

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