PC Hardware

Lesson Summary: Understanding Electronic Communication

The following points summarize the main elements of this lesson:

  • A bus is the physical means by which data is made to move inside a computer.

  • A bus can take on many different shapes (wires, flat cables, circuit traces), but it is basically a group of parallel wires.


Tutorial Summary

The following points summarize the key concepts in this tutorial:

Computer Communication

  • Computers communicate using binary language.

  • An A+ technician must be able to convert decimal numbers to binary and binary numbers to decimal.

  • ASCII is the standard code that handles text characters for computers.

The Computer Bus

  • A computer uses a bus to move data from one device to another.


Review

  1. What is the definition of a bus in a computer?

  2. What is the purpose of the computer bus?

  3. Define the term "digital."

  4. Describe the difference between serial and parallel communication.

  5. What is binary code language?

  6. How does ASCII use binary code to represent numbers or characters?

  7. Define a bit.

  8. Define a byte.

  9. Which decimal number does the following binary number represent: 00001001?

  10. What do ones and zeros represent in computer operation?

  11. Computer buses are usually found in multiples of ___________ wires or traces.

Find the answers here.