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NAME: ……………………………………………………………….. CLASS: …………………………….

FIRST TERM E-LEARNING NOTE

SUBJECT: COMPUTER STUDIES CLASS: SS 2
SCHEME OF WORK
WEEK TOPIC
THEME: BASIC CONCEPT OF COMPUTER HARDWARE
1. Revision of last term’s work.
2. Central Processing Unit (CPU): Central Processing Unit: (i) Arithmetic and Logic Unit ALU (ii)
Control Unit. Functions of: ALU and control Unit.
3. Memory Unit: (a) Types of memory: Primary Memory (Main Memory) and Secondary
memory (Auxiliary Storage Devices) (b) Description of (i) Primary Memory: Random Access
Memory (RAM) and Read only Memory (ROM) (ii) Secondary Memory (i) Floppy Disk (ii) Hard
Disk (iii) Flash Drive (iv) Compact Disk (CD) (v) Digital Video Disk (DVD).
4. Memory Unit: (c) Differences between primary and secondary memory (d) Units of storage:
Bits, Nibble, Bytes, Kilobytes (KB), Megabytes (MB), Gigabytes (GB) and Terabytes (TB) (e)
Conversion from one unit to the other (f) Comparison of auxiliary Storage Devices under:
Size, Speed, Technology (optical, magnetic and semiconductor)
THEME: COMPUTER HARDWARE
5. Logic Circuits I (Standard single logic gates): (a) Definition of logic gate (b) Types of logic gates
AND, NOT, OR, (c) Symbols of each logic gate: (d) Input/output signals for AND, NOT, OR
gates.
(e) Truth table construction for: AND, NOT, OR (f) Equation for: AND, NOT, OR gates (g) Uses of logic
gates: As building blocks for Hardware/electronic Components.
6. Logic Circuits II (Alternative logic gates): (a) Description of alternative logic gate (b) Types of
alternative logic gates NAND, NOR (c) Symbols of each logic gate (d) Input/output signals for:
NAND, NOR gates.
7. Logic Circuits II (Alternative logic gates) (Cont’d): (e) Truth table construction for: NAND, NOR,
(f) Equation for NAND, NOR , gates (g) Uses of logic gates (i) As building blocks for
Hardware/electronic Components, etc. (h) Construction of simple comparator.
THEME: BASIC COMPUTER OPERATION
8. Computer Data Conversion: (a) Definition of (i) Register (ii) Address (iii) Bus (b1) Types of
registers: (i) MDR (ii) CIR (iii) SOR (b2) Function of each register to be stated. (c) Differences
between register and main memory
9. Computer Data Conversion: (d) Outlines steps in ‘data fetch - execute’ cycle in a simple form.
(e) Factors affecting speed of data transfer: (i) Bus speed (ii) Bus width.
10. Revision.
11. Examination.
WEEK 1 REVISION OF LASST TERM’S WORK
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SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

TOPIC: CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)
CONTENT:
 Central Processing Unit
 Functions of ALU and Control Unit
 Control Unit

Sub-Topic 1: CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT

The Central Processing Unit (CPU): Is the portion of a computer system that executes the
instructions of a computer program, and is the primary element carrying out the functions of the
computer or other processing device. The Central Processing Unit carries out each instruction of the
program in sequence, perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the
system.
Also, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the part of a computer that thinks, calculates and carries
out instruction. It is also called the brain of the computer. It is sometimes called the Central
Processor or simply the Processor.
A computer can have more than one CPU; this is called multiprocessing. CPU can be found in the
motherboard. All the functions of the CPU are stored in a component called the chip.

COMPONENTS OF CPU
CPU consists of two main units namely;
 Arithmetic Logic Unit
 Control Unit
Sub-Topic 2: ARITHMETIC LOGIC UNIT
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The ALU is a digital circuit that performs arithmetic and logical operations. The ALU is a fundamental
building block of the CPU of a computer.

ALU performs the following functions:

(i) The ALU performs basic such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and so on.
(ii) The logic unit of the ALU is concerned with logical operations such as comparison (Greater than
(>), less than (<), equal to (=) etc), bitwise logic operations like AND, OR, XOR etc.
(iii) ALU consists of output registers that store results of processed data.

CONTROL UNIT
The control unit is an important component of the CPU. It contains circuitry that uses electrical
signals to direct the entire computer system to carry out stored program instructions. The control
unit does not execute program instructions; rather, it directs other parts of the system to do so. The
control unit must communicate with both the arithmetic/logic unit and memory. It also maintains the
order of traffic and data in the computer system.

The Control Unit performs the following basic functions on instruction:

(i) It fetches instruction from the main memory
(ii) Decodes instruction: It interprets the instructions that were fetched to determine the operation
it will perform.
(iii) Execution: It controls the execution of instruction.
(iv) Storing Results: The process of writing result to the memory is called storing. The control unit
ensures that the output(s) gotten from the execution of an instruction are stored in the memory.
NOTE: The collection of these four functions together is referred to as Machine Cycle or Instruction
Cycle of the CPU.

SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

TOPIC: MEMORY UNIT
Sub-Topic 1: DESCRIPTION OF MEMORY UNIT
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The computer memory is the storage locations where data, programs and information are stored
electronically, which can be recalled, erased or changed. Memory can also be defined as the work
area in the computer where data can be held, copied and retrieved.
Other terms used for memory are main memory, main storage, primary storage, internal memory,
and core storage.
There are two main types of memory, these are;
(i) Primary Storage/ main memory
(ii) Secondary Storage / Auxiliary memory

PRIMARY MEMORY
Primary storage is called ‘primary’ because it is the main memory that is accessible to the CPU. It
represents the core or internal storage areas of the computer system. It is used to store data that are
currently being used; for this reason, the main memory is also called Immediate Access Storage
(IAS).
The two types of primary storage are:
 Read Only Memory (ROM)
 Random Access Memory (RAM)

READ ONLY MEMORY (ROM)

ROM is a non-volatile memory chip that cannot be written on or erased by the computer user
without special equipment. The ROM retains data stored on it even after the computer is powered
off. The operating system boot records are stored inside the ROM.

There are different variations of ROM, these includes;

 PROM: Meaning Programmable ROM is a version of memory chip that can be programmed
by the user. Once the PROM has been programmed, the information is permanent and
cannot be erased or deleted.
 EPROM: means Erasable Programmable ROM. This version of memory chip can be erased
and reprogrammed with the aid of an Ultraviolet light.
 EEPROM: means Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM can be erased and reprogrammed
using an electrical charge without the need of removing the chip from the computer system.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY

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Random Access memory (RAM) is a type of memory chip used in primary storage memory. The CPU
continuously reads instructions stored there and executes them as required. Any data actively
operated on is also stored there in uniform manner. It is also a temporary storage, holding software
instructions and short-term working memory for the processor. It allows data which is stored to be
accessed in any order, which is why it is called random. It determines the speed of processing of the
computer. Also, RAM is volatile; which means when the computer loses power, the content is lost.
There are two variations of RAM, these are;
 SRAM: Means Static Read Only Memory; In this type of memory the data is stored in cell of
transistors and capacitors and the data has to be refreshed every few milliseconds.
 DRAM: Means Dynamic Read Only Memory; This does not require periodical refresh. SRAM is
faster than DRAM but it is more expensive as compared to DRAM.

Sub- Topic 2: SECONDARY MEMORY

The secondary storage or auxiliary storage is any storage device that is used to store data,
information and programs permanently outside the computer memory. They are non-volatile and
have higher storage capacity, but the access time is slow compared to the primary storage. It is also
referred to as backup storage.
The following are common types of secondary / auxiliary devices:
 Floppy Disk
 Hard Disk
 Flash Drive
 Compact Disk (CD)
 Digital Versatile Disk (DVD)

FLOPPY DISK
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Floppy disk is a soft magnetic disk. It is called floppy because it flops if you wave it. Floppy disk, also
called diskette, are portable because you can remove them from a disk drive. The medium used to
access floppy disks are known as ‘Floppy Disk Drives’.
Floppy disks are slower to access than hard disk and have less storage capacity. Floppies come in
three basic sizes; 8-inch, 5.25 inches with a capacity of 1.2MB and 3.5 inch with a capacity of 1.44MB.

HARD DISK

This is a magnetic disk on which computer data can be stored. The term hard is used to distinguish it
from soft, or floppy disk. It has the capability to store more data and is faster than floppy disks in
terms of access time.
There are two types of hard disks:
 The internal hard disk installed inside the computer
 The external hard disk usually connected to the computer

FLASH DRIVE
A Flash drive is a high data storage device that is made up of flash memory and an integrated
Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface, with a storage capacity ranging from 64MB to over 8GB. The
device is connected to the computer through the USB port.
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COMPACT DISK

The Compact Disc (CD) is an optical disk used to store and backup digital data. It is less vulnerable to
damages or dirt compared to floppy disk. They are generally of two types:
 CD-R meaning CD Recordable. Data on this type of disk can be written only once, after that
the data on disk becomes permanent, i.e it can neither be erased and no newer data can be
written on this disk.
 CD-RW meaning CD Rewritable. You can record the

DIGITAL VERSATILE DISK (DVD)

A Digital Versatile Disk – originally called digital video disk is an optical disk storage media format,
invented and developed in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than compact disks while having
the same dimensions. Also, they can be single sided or double sided.
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TOPIC: MEMORY UNIT (Cont’d)

Sub-Topic 1: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY MEMORY
As earlier discussed, Computer memory can be categorized into primary and secondary memory.
Both memories vary in the speed, cost and capacity. The table below shows the clear differences
between both memories;
PRIMARY MEMORY SECONDARY MEMORY
It is considered as a main memory that is It is considered as an additional or additional
accessed directly by the computer memory not directly accessed by the CPU
The memory devices used for primary memory The memory devices are magnetic and optical
are semiconductor memories memories
These memories are also called internal These memories are also called external
memory memory
It is a type of temporary memory It can be used as a permanent memory
The sizes of primary memory ranges between Secondary memories ranges between 80GB to
512MB to 16GB RAMs 4TB Hard disk drives
It is directly accessed by the processor in a It is not directly accessed by the processor,
random manner input/output channels are used to access the
secondary memory
It is embedded with two types of memory It is embedded in the form of mass storage
technologies – RAM and ROM devices like pen drive, CD, DVD, etc
It is classified as volatile (RAM) and non- It is generally non-volatile in nature
volatile (ROM) in nature
Data Processing speed is faster Data Processing speed is somehow slow, not
as fast as primary memory
It is costlier than the secondary memory It is cheaper than primary memory
devices
They are connected to the computer through They are connected to the computer through
‘slots’ drives and cables

Sub-Topic 2: UNITS OF STORAGE

Data in a computer is represented or stored in series of bits. Computer data storage provides one of
the core functions of the modern computer, that of information retention. It is one of the
fundamental components of all modern computers. We have various units of storage, they are as
follows;
 Bit
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 Nibble
 Byte
 Kilobyte (KB)
 Megabyte (MB)
 Gigabyte (GB)
 Terabyte (TB)
 Word
BIT:
This refers to the smallest basic unit of information that can be stored on a machine. A bit (binary
digit) is the basic unit of information in computing and telecommunications. It exists in one of two
possible distinct states (0 or 1). These may be the two stable states of a flip flop, two positions of an
electrical switch, two distinct voltage or current levels allowed by a circuit, etc.

NIBBLE:
In computing, a nibble is a four-bit aggregation, or half a byte. The nibble is used to describe the
amount of memory used to store a digit of a number stored in packed decimal within an IBM
mainframe. This technique is used to make computations faster and debugging faster.

BYTE:
A byte is a unit of measurement of information storage that equals 8bits. It can be used to represent
letters and numbers, for example, the number 01000001 is 8bits long and represents the letter A in
ASCII. It is equivalent to 2nibbles. The size of computer memory is determined by bytes.

KILOBYTE (KB):
A kilobyte (KB) is a unit of data that equals 1024bytes. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term
kilobyte and symbol been used to refer to either 1024 (2 10) bytes in the fields of computer science
and information technology.

MEGABYTE (MB):
A megabyte is 1024KB, that is, the kilobyte squared or 1024 2 bytes. The Megabyte is a multiple of the
unit byte for digital information storage or transmission. It is commonly abbreviated as MB.
GIGABYTE (GB):
A Gigabyte is a unit of data storage worth a billion bytes. It is equal to 1024 megabytes (1024 3). The
unit symbol for gigabyte is GB.

TERABYTE (TB):
A terabyte is equivalent to 1024 gigabytes (1024 4) and is defined as about one trillion bytes. The
prefix tera means 1012 in the International System of Units, which equals 1,099,511,627,776 bytes

WORD:
A word represents 2bytes, which is equivalent to 16bits and 4nibbles.

Sub-Topic 3: CONVERSION FROM UNIT TO THE OTHER

To convert memory from one unit to the other is a simple conversion. For example, to convert MB to
GB, simply divide the MB by 1024 and to convert back from GB to MB, multiply the GB by 1024. The
process is the same for all units of memory. Worked examples are shown below;
Example I: Convert 16 bits to byte
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Relationship between units: 1byte = 8bits

Therefore, 16bits = 16/8 = 2bytes
Example II: Convert 2bytes to bit
= 2 x 8 = 16bits

Example III: Convert 3KB to bytes

Relationship between units: 1KB = 1024bytes approximately 1000bytes
Therefore, 3KB = 3 X 1000 = 3000bytes

Example IV: Convert 100KB to MB

Relationship between units: 1MB = 1024KB approximately 1000Kbytes
Therefore, 100KB = 100/1000 = 0.1Mbytes

Example V: Convert 1.44MB to bytes

Relationship between units: 1MB = 1048576Bytes approximately 1000000bytes
Therefore, 1.44MB = 1.44 x 1000000 = 1440000bytes

Sub-Topic 4: COMPARISON OF AUXILIARY STORAGE DEVICES

The table below shows a summary that exist between the various auxiliary storage devices based on
certain Fcharacteristics;
DEVICE SIZE STORAGE SPEED TECHNOLOGY

Floppy Disk Portable Small storage Slow speed Magnetic tape technology
space

Hard Disk Not as Portable Enormous Slow as compared Magnetic tape technology
as others storage space to main memory

Flash Drive Portable Large Very high speed Flash memory

Compact Disk Portable Large High speed Optical disk technology

Digital Versatile Disk Portable Extremely High speed Optical disk technology
large storage

SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

TOPIC: LOGIC CIRCUITS I

Sub-Topic 1: DEFINITION OF LOGIC GATES
A logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing a Boolean function, that is, it performs
a logical operation on one or more logical inputs, and produces a single logical output.
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Logic gates are primarily implemented using diodes or transistors acting as electronic switches, but
can also be constructed using electromagnetic relays (relay logic), fluidic logic, pneumatic
logic, optics, molecules, or even mechanical elements. With amplification, logic gates can be
cascaded in the same way that Boolean functions can be composed, allowing the construction of a
physical model of all of Boolean logic, and therefore, all of the algorithms and mathematics that can
be described with Boolean logic.
Logic circuits include such devices as multiplexers, registers, arithmetic logic units (ALUs),
and computer memory, all the way up through complete microprocessors, which may contain more
than 100 million gates. In practice, the gates are made from field-effect transistors (FETs),
particularly MOSFETs (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors).
A logic gate is an electronic device that makes decisions based on the different combinations of
digital signals present on its inputs.
It is a logical circuit device in computer, having one output channel and one or more input channels,
which gives signal only when specific input conditions are met.

Sub-Topic 2: TYPES OF LOGIC GATES

There are three basic logic gates from which others can be constructed. These are;
(a) ‘NOT’ gate
(b) ‘AND’ gate
(c) ‘OR’ gate

In logic diagrams, gates are represented by symbols. Inputs and output signals are represented with
arrow lines having labels.
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The ‘NOT’ Gate: The ‘NOT’ gate is the most basic of all the logic gates and is sometimes referred to as
an inverting buffer or simply a digital inverter. This gate accepts a single input and brings out the
negative of its input as output. That is it inverts its input signal as output. I.e. if its input is 0, output
will be 1, and if its output is 0 it means input will be 1. Or true= false and false =true.
The ‘NOT’ gate accepts only one input signal.
Truth Table for ‘NOT’ gate
INPUT (A) OUTPUT (A)
1 0
0 1

The Boolean expression is A=A

The overline ( ) over the expression signify the NOT

The ‘AND’ Gate: Unlike the ‘NOT’ gate, the ‘AND’ gate accepts only one two inputs signals and bring
out one output signal. Hence there are two signal lines.
It is a logic circuit, used in computers that produce a high voltage signal as output if its two inputs
carry a high voltage; otherwise it produces a low voltage output if any of its input is low.

Truth Table for ‘AND’ gate

INPUT (A) INPUT (B) OUTPUT (Q)
1 1 1
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 0
Two inputs AND gate.
The Boolean expression is A.B=Q
The period (.) in the expression stands for multiplication

The ‘OR’ Gate: This is a logic circuit used in computers, that gives a high voltage output if all or one of
its input carries a high voltage, and a low voltage output if all or one of its input carries a low voltage.
The ‘OR’ gate also accepts two inputs.
Truth Table of ‘OR’ Gate
INPUT (A) INPUT (B) OUTPUT (Q)
1 1 1
1 0 1
0 1 1
0 0 0
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Two inputs OR gate.

The Boolean expression is A+B=Q
The plus used in the expression stands for addition.

Sub-Topic 4: USES OF LOGIC Gate

Logic Gates are used for the following;
1. They are used in integrated circuits
2. They are used in functioning of transistors, resistors and capacitors
3. They are used in making comparators
4. They are used in producing high speed CPU’s
5. They are used as elemental building blocks for devices where signals must be selected or
combined in a controlled form. This is obvious in telephone switching, satellite transmission and
digital computer operations.
6. They are used in making micro-controllers.
7. They are used in making amplifiers, and oscillator circuits.
8. They are used in vacuum tubes
9. They are used in constructing alarms used in cars and homes.

WEEK: 6
CLASS: SS 2
SUBJECT: COMPUTER SCIENCE

TOPIC: LOGIC CIRCUIT (II)

Sub-Topic 1: DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVE LOGIC GATE
Although OR, AND, and NOT gate combinations are good enough for the construction of any logic
operation, there are alternative methods that could be used. The alternative logic gates are NAND
and the NOR logic gates. Alternative methods using NAND and NOR gates are more economical and
therefore more widely used.
All logic operations can be performed with combinations of just NANDs or NORs, but a combination
of NORs with NANDs is usually preferable to one provided just by NANDs.

TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE LOGIC GATES

Basic digital logic gates perform logical operations using the following standard single logic gates:
i. Logic “NAND” gate
ii. Logic “NOR” gate

THE LOGIC “NAND” GATE

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The logic NAND gate is a combination of the digital logic AND gate with that of an inverter, or NOT
gate connected together in series. The NAND (Not AND) gate has an output that is normally at logic
level “1” and only goes “LOW” to logic level “0” when ALL of its inputs are at logic level “1”. It is the
reverse of the ‘complementary’ form of AND gate.
The Boolean expression for a logic NAND gate, is denoted by a single dot or full stop symbol (.) with a
line or overline (-) over the expression to signify the NOT or logical negation of the NAND gate, giving
us the Boolean expression of A.B=Q.

Sub-Topic 2 : SYMBOLS OF NAND LOGIC GATE

Inputs Output

Shows invasion

Inputs Output

THE LOGIC “NOR” GATE

The logic NOR or inclusive NOR gate is a combination of the digital logic OR gate with that of an
inverter or NOT gate connected together in series. The NOT (Not OR) gate has an output that is
normally at logic “1” and only goes “LOW” to level of “0” when ANY of its inputs are at logic level “1”.
The logic NOR gate is the reverse or “complementary” from of the OR gate.
The Boolean expression for a logic NOR gate is denoted by a plus sign (+) with a line or overline (-)
over the expression to signify the NOT or logical negation of NOT gate giving us the Boolean
expression of A+B=Q
Symbol of NOR Logic gate

A.

INPUTS OUTPUT

Shows inversion

B.

INPUTS OUTPUT

TOPIC: LOGIC CIRCUIT (II)

CONTENT:
1. Truth table construction for: NAND, NOR
2. Equation for NAND, NOR , gates
3. Uses of logic gates (i) As building blocks for Hardware/electronic Components, etc.
4. Construction of simple comparator.
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Sub-Topic 1: Truth table construction for NAND

INPUT INPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT
(AND) (NAND)
X Y X.Y X.Y

1 1 1 0

1 0 0 1

0 1 0 1

0 0 0 1

Two inputs NAND gate.

The Boolean expression is A.B=Q

Truth table construction for NOR

INPUT INPUT OUTPUT OUTPUT
(OR) (NOR)
X Y X+Y X+Y

1 1 1 0

1 0 1 0

0 1 1 0

0 0 0 1

Two inputs NOR gate.

The Boolean expression is A+B=Q

Sub-Topic 2: USES OF LOGIC GATES

1. Logic gates are used as elementary blocks for devices where signals needed to be selected or
assembled in a controlled form. This application is evident in telephone switching, satellite
transmission and digital computer operations.
2. They can be used in making comparators.
3. They are used in the design of transistors, resistors and capacitors.
4. Logic circuits are used in integrated circuits, vacuum tube, amplifier, circuit boards and
oscillator circuit.
5. Resistor-Transistor Logic (RTL) and emitter coupled logic (ECL) are used in production of a very
high speed CPU.
TOPIC: COMPUTER DATA CONVERSION
Sub-Topic 1: Definition
Data conversion is the conversion of computer data from one format to another. Throughout a computer
environment, data is encoded in a variety of ways. For example, computer hardware is built on the basis of
certain standards, which requires that data contains, for example, parity bit checks. Similarly, the operating
system is predicated on certain standards for data and file handling. Data conversions may as simple as the
conversion of a text file from one character encoding system to another; or more complex, such as the
conversion of office file formats, or the conversion of image and audio file formats.
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There are many ways in which data is converted within the computer environment. This may be seamless, as
in the case of upgrading to a newer version of a computer program.

REGISTER
These are temporary storage areas for instructions or data. They are not part of memory; rather they are
special additional storage locations that offer the advantage of speed. Register work under the direction of the
control unit to accept, hold and transfer instruction or data and perform arithmetic or logical comparisons at
high speed.
Most operations are done on registers; the processor can’t directly perform arithmetic in memory for
example. If you want to add 1 to a memory location, the processor will normally do this by loading the initial
value from memory into a register, adding 1 to the register, and then saving the value back to memory.

MEMORY ADDRESS
This is an identifier for a memory location, at which a computer program or a hardware device can store data
and later retrieve it. Each memory location, in both ROM and RAM, holds a binary number and only depends
on the context of the instructions which retrieve and manipulate it.

BUS
The buses are media that connect the microprocessor (CPU) to each of the RAM, ROM, and input/output (I/0).
Through the buses, information transfer takes place between the CPU and the I/O devices.

TYPES OF REGISTERS
Registers are normally measured by the number of bits they can hold, e.g “8-bit register” to “32-bit register”.

MDR- Memory Data Register

This is a register of a computer’s control unit that contains the data to be stored in the computer storage (e.g.
RAM), or the data after a fetch from the computer storage. It acts like a buffer and holds anything that is
copied from the memory ready for the processor to use it.

MDR is a two-way register.MDR is half of a minimal interface between a micro-program and computer
storage, the other half is a memory address register.

CIR – Current Instruction Register

This is part of the CPU’s control unit that stores the instruction currently being executed or decoded. This
captures the value that is winning the interrupt arbitration. The CIR is updated at the beginning of an interrupt
acknowledge (IACKN) us cycle or in response to an update CIR command. The contents remain in the CIR until
another IACKN cycle or update command occurs. Modern processor can perform some of the operation out of
order as decoding on several instructions is done in parallel.

Others are:
i. User-accessible Register
ii. Data Register
iii. Address Register
iv. Conditional Register
v. General Purpose Register (GPRs)
vi. Floating Point Register (FPRs)
vii. Constant Register
viii. Vector Register
ix. Special Purpose Registers
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Sub-Topic 2: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REGISTER AND MAIN MEMORY

Register: These are storage locations internal to the processor. CPU instructions operate on these value
directly. On RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) processors, all data must be moved into a register before
it can be operated. On CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) (Intel) chips, there are a few operations that
can load data from RAM, process it, and save the result back out, but the fastest operations work directly with
registers.
Also there are registers that are set aside for certain tasks, these generally include a program counter stack,
and flags.
Each register also has a size that determines the maximum amount of data that can be processed at a time.
The registers on Pentium chips, for example are 32 bits.
Finally, there are generally only a few registers available on a processor. Intel chip, for example, have 6 general
purpose registers, and several specialized registers including a base register, stack register, flags register,
program counter and some addressing registers.

Memory or RAM: Is located external to the CPU. Generally speaking, data has to be loaded into a CPU register
from memory before the CPU can process it.
RAM is much slower than registers, there is a lot more RAM than registers, and generally memory can be
addressed on byte boundaries, where register may not be able to access all the bytes in a register.
Summarily, registers are temporary storage in CPU while RAM holds the program instructions and the data the
program requires.

TOPIC: COMPUTER DATA CONVERSION (Cont’d)

Sub-Topic 1: OUTLINES STEPS IN ‘DATA-FETCH-EXECUTE’ CYCLE IN A SIMPLE FORM
Micro-computer can perform the data read and write operations with the memory. When the memory is
receiving data from microcomputer, it is called a WRITE operation, and data is stored into a selected memory
location. When the memory is sending data to microcomputer element it is called a READ operation.
As soon as a computer is powered on, it begins the process of the fetch-execute cycle. This cycle is however,
from the beginning of the PC startup, the computer is run. The cycle contains 3 main parts.
1. Fetch next instruction
2. Decode instruction
3. Run instruction

The Fetch Cycle

Fetch execute cycle is the very basic way a computer works. It collects data from the memory and stores it in
the MDR as well as setting the program to load the next step. This prepares the processor for the information
it is about to receive, as well as progress the program ready for the next processor cycle.

The Execute Cycle

This cycle processes the command and returns the result.

EVALUATION
1. Simply state how computer read and write information.

Sub-Topic 2: FACTORS AFFECTING SPEED OF DATA TRANSFER

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The bus refers to the paths between the components of a computer. The data bus and the address bus are
two main buses in a computer which are located on the motherboard.
The performance of computer buses was measured by the number of bits they could transfer at one time.
Hence, the newest 64-bit buses are typically considered the fastest available. This type of performance is
usually measured in megabits per second (Mbps) or megabytes per second (MBps).

THE FACTORS ARE:

BUS Speed: The speed of the bus reflects how many bits of information can be sent across each wire each
second. Most buses transmit one bit of data per line, per clock cycle; although newer high performance buses
like AGP (compute accelerated graphics port) may actually move two bits of data per clock cycle.
Similarly, older buses like the ISA (industry standard architecture) bus may take two clock cycles to move one
bit, halving performance. This is the number of data packets sent or received per second and its frequency is
expressed in Hertz

BUS WIDTH
A bus is a channel over which information flows. The wider the bus, the more information can flow over the
channel, much as a wider highway can carry more cars than a narrow one.
The original ISA bus on the IBM PC was 8 bit wide; the universal ISA bus used now is 16 bits. The other I/O
buses including VL-Bus (VLB) and peripheral component interconnect (PCI) are 32 bits wide. The memory and
processor buses on Pentium and higher PCs are 64 bits wide.