1. Computer Hardware

1. What is a CPU? What is a GPU?

   • How many cycles per second can a 333 MHz processor perform?

   • How many cycles (steps of instructions) per second can a *quad core* 2.4 GHz processor (CPU) perform?

     

     graphic credit = https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zws8d2p/revision/2

2. What is memory and storage?

   • memory = RAM

   • storage = hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD)

3. What is ROM?

   • What software is stored in ROM on the motherboard?

4. What is the motherboard and what is a computer "bus"? (later in the semester = what does an audio bus do?)

   • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_(computing)

5. What are pixels and where do you find them in computer hardware?

   • https://youtu.be/4x48aCX1uK8 (Jim Campbell)

   • https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/jim_campbell/ (Jim Campbell)

   • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BJU2drrtCM

6. What is input/output (I/O or IO) in computing?

   • input

     • keyboard, mouse, microphone, camera

     • What is a sensor = https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sensor

       • examples = temperature, humidity, light, weight

   • output

     • monitor, speakers, printer

7. What is a transistor, what did it replace, and why is it the most important invention of the 20th Century?

   • think of a transistor as a switch that opens and closes an electrical gate ... with a very small amount of electricity, a transistor can allow or stop large amounts of electricity from going through it

   • how a vacuum tube amplifies = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRSiTog2-No

   • What form must data be in for a computer to be able to store and process it?

     • Understanding Binary (video)

       • denary = base 10 (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

       • binary = base 2 (0, 1)

     • Is a paper piano roll an analog or digital medium of storage?

     • List 2 different mediums on which media and/or information has been stored in analog format and 2 different mediums on which binary (digital) data has been stored.

8. What makes a computer a computer? (4 things)

   • How Computers Work (27min of short videos in a playlist)

   • Fetch [Decode] Execute Cycle: What's Your Computer Actually Doing? (9min video)

   • "15 Computer Topics" from ComputerHope.com

9. What is the “Internet of Things” (IoT)?

   • Introduction to IoT (article)

     • example live data = https://thingspeak.com/channels/12397

   • Arduino projects

   • What are microcontrollers and what products do you use every day that have microcontrollers in them? Are microcontrollers computers? How are SoCs different than microcontrollers?

     • Microcontroller (Arduino) vs. SoC (Raspberry Pi) (2,612 words / 20 minutes)

     • https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/hardware-fundamentals-what-exactly-is-a-microcontroller-8a502a3650dc/

10. How do you calculate the Current (in Amps) for everything plugged into one circuit breaker in a room? (you do this so you won't plug in more gear than the breaker has electricity to support)

    • What is a circuit breaker?

      • https://youtu.be/gDBUqeqx5t4

      • https://youtu.be/fGqgNLPTcao

    • What is the max Amp load for most circuit breakers?

      • 15-20amps

    • What is Voltage (measured in Volts), Current (measured in Amps), and Electrical Power (measured in Watts)?

      • https://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/lessons/electronics/electricity-the-basics/

    • How do you calculate Amps when only given Watts?

      • You need to know how many volts you are using. Is it plugged into a 120V plug (99% of stuff you will be using) or a 240V plug (that which your dryer plugs into)?

      • Watts = Volts * Amps

        • https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/Watt_to_Amp_Calculator.html (the power factor is probably 1)