Informatics Practices · Class 11 Optional
Ch 1Computer System — Class 11 Informatics Practices, concept-first.
Every computing device, from the phone in your pocket to a huge machine running a website, does the same three things: it takes in data, works on that data, and hands back a result. A computer is an electronic device that can be programmed to accept data (the input), process it, and generate a result (the output).
Key concepts
Hover a concept to preview it and jump to its most relevant Q&A.
Secondary Storage Devices
Imagine you're solving a long problem on a sheet of paper. Your working memory — what you can hold in your head at once — is very limited. You jot down intermediate steps on the paper so you don't forget them.
Most relevant Q&A
- List all secondary storage devices available in your school or home.Preview
- Visit some of the places like bank, automobile showroom, shopping mall, tehsil office, etc., and find out 2–3 names of tools/instruments use…Preview
- Ask your teacher to help you locate any two device drivers installed on your computer.Preview
- What is the need for secondary memory?Free
- Name the input/output device used to do the following: a) To output audio b) To enter textual data c) To make hard copy of a text file d) To…Preview
Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
Introduction to Computer System
Every computing device, from the phone in your pocket to a huge machine running a website, does the same three things: it takes in data, works on that data, and hands back a result.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
If the computer system has a brain, it is the CPU. The Central Processing Unit is the electronic circuitry of a computer that carries out the actual processing, and for this reason it is usually refer…
Input Devices
A computer can process only what reaches it, and it understands only digital signals. Input devices are the devices through which control signals are sent to a computer.
Output Devices
Processing is invisible until the computer shows us the result. An output device is a device that receives data from a computer system for display, physical production, and similar purposes.
Evolution of Computer
The road from a simple calculating aid to the modern data processor was travelled in a remarkably short span of time.
Computer Memory
A computer can process nothing until the data to be worked on and the instructions describing what to do with it are held somewhere inside the machine.
Units of Memory
Everything a computer stores or processes — numbers, text, pictures, programs — is ultimately represented in binary.
Types of Memory
Human beings remember a great deal, and recall those memories to make decisions and take action. Yet no one relies on memory alone — we write notes and keep important information for the long term in…
Data Capturing, Storage, and Retrieval
2 QProcessing data is never a single act — it is a cycle. Data must first be brought into the system in digital form, then kept safely in a file or database, and finally fetched back out whenever it is n…
Data Deletion and Recovery
2 QDigital data can vanish far more easily than it was created — a storage device can crash, a user can erase a file by mistake, or a hacker or a piece of malware can wipe it out deliberately.
+−Activities1 question
Software
Everything studied so far — the CPU, memory, input and output devices — is hardware: the physical machinery of a computer system. But hardware on its own does nothing.
Need of Software
A computer's hardware, however sophisticated, cannot be spoken to directly. A human user has no way of instructing a processor or a printer in the raw electrical terms those devices understand.
System Software
Some software exists not to serve any one task of the user, but to keep the computer itself running. The software that provides the basic functionality to operate a computer, by interacting directly w…
Application Software
System software makes the computer operational — but an operational computer is not yet a useful one for any particular person.
Proprietary or Free and Open Source Software
Beyond what a piece of software does lies the question of the terms on which it reaches you: can you use it freely, can you see and change its source code, or must you buy it from a copyright holder?…
Summary
- A computing device, also referred to as a computer, processes the input data as per given instructions to generate the desired output.
Exercises
+−Show 11 questionsHide questions11 questions
- Q1Name the software required to make a computer functional. Write down its two primary functions.Free
- Q2What is the need of RAM? How does it differ from ROM?Free
- Q3What is the need for secondary memory?Free
- Q4Draw the block diagram of a computer system. Briefly write about the functionality of each component.Preview
- Q5Differentiate between proprietary software and freeware software. Name two software of each type.Preview
- Q6Mention any browsers used for browsing the internet.Preview
- Q7Name the input/output device used to do the following: a) To output audio b) To enter textual data c) To make hard copy of a text file d) To…Preview
- Q8Identify the category (system, application, programming tool) of the following software: a) Compiler b) Assembler c) Ubuntu d) Text editorPreview
- Q9Convert the following into bytes: a) 2 MB b) 3.7 GB c) 1.2 TBPreview
- Q10What is the security threats involved when we throw away electronic gadgets that are non-functional?Preview
- Q11Write down the type of memory needed to do the following: a) To store data permanently b) To execute the program c) To store the instruction…Preview