411 REFERENCE · Wikibooks
A-level Computing 2009/AQA/Computer Components, The Stored Program Concept and the Internet/Fundamentals of Computer Systems/Hardware and software
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Classification of software
Hardware Physical components that make up a computer system
Software Computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling computer hardware what to do and how to do it
Hardware and Software have a symbiotic relationship, this means that without software hardware is very limited; and without hardware, software wouldn't be able to run at all. They need each other to fulfill their potential.
Standard hardware components The relationship between Hardware and Software thumb|center|325px|Hardware of a modern personal computer, can you name all the components? thumb|center|A layer structure showing the relationship between various layers of software and hardware
Exercise: Hardware and Software
Define Hardware:
Physical components that make up a computer system.
Define Software:
Computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling computer hardware what to do and how to do it.
Give names to all the numbered hardware components above:
Monitor
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Expansion cards / graphics card / sound card / network card
Power supply
Optical disc drive
Hard disk drive
Keyboard
Mouse
Give 2 examples of software:
Word Processor
Operating System
Game
Spreadsheet
Virus Scanner
etc
NOTE: If you mentioned a brand name such as Windows TM, you get no marks, the exam wants software types meaning you should have written Operating System. After all, for the previous question, you probably didn't answer Nvidia GTX 970 SSC ACX 2.0.