Every computer does the same four things. Hardware is the physical parts. Software is the instructions telling them what to do. A part a question naming a component wants you to place it in one of the four.
One photo taken on a phone, traced through all four stages.
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The hardware the guide names
Motherboard
The main circuit board that connects every other part.
CPU, memory, storage
Does the work, holds what is in use, keeps what is saved.
Graphics and sound
Turn data into pictures on screen and sound through speakers.
Power supply
Turns mains or battery power into what the parts need.
Input, output, sensors
Keyboard and camera in; screen and speaker out; sensors such as GPS or a thermometer measure the world.
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Memory and storage are not the same thing, and processors come in two kinds for a reason that matters later in the course.
Memory (RAM)
- Holds what is being used right now
- Very fast
- Empties when the power goes
- Small — measured in gigabytes
Storage
- Holds what is kept
- Slower
- Survives being switched off
- Large — often terabytes
CPU and GPU: A CPU does one complicated thing after another, very fast. A GPU does thousands of simple calculations at the same time. That is why the chips built for drawing games turned out to be the chips that train AI models.
Interfaces and software
Graphic interface
Icons, windows and menus you see and tap.
Haptic interface
Touch and vibration: a phone buzzes to say a message arrived.
Operating system
Runs the hardware and the other programs: Android, Windows, iOS.
Applications
Programs for a task: a browser, a game, a banking app.
Malicious software
Made to harm: viruses, spyware, ransomware.
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Hardware is physical, which means it is mined, shipped, powered and eventually thrown away. That chain is examinable and most answers forget it.
The life of a device
- Mined — cobalt, lithium and rare earths, often in conditions nobody would accept at home.
- Made — assembled in one country from parts made in many.
- Powered — every hour of use is electricity somewhere.
- Thrown away — and the throwing away is the part that lands somewhere else.
Real-world examples you can name
Agbogbloshie e-waste site, Accra — scrapyard cleared July 2021
A scrapyard where imported electronics were stripped and cables burned to recover copper, releasing lead and dioxins. It became the standard example of e-waste exported from rich countries to poor ones. Authorities demolished much of the site in 2021; the trade moved rather than stopped.
Who it affected: Workers and nearby residents exposed to heavy metals and smoke.
How this is tested — you have to name components accurately, then connect the physical machine to something that happens to people. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 — structured question
- Part a: identify input or output devices in a scenario
- Part b: explain why a described task needs particular hardware
Paper 2 — source-based question
- Q1: read hardware details off a source
- Q4: synthesise sources on the cost of physical devices
The trap: memory and storage: Saying a phone “stores photos in its memory” costs the mark. Memory holds what is in use and forgets; storage keeps.
Identify two input devices found on a smart phone.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
Explain one reason why training an AI model needs different hardware from running a word processor.
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.