How much does the tangible part of a book cost?

A good answer might be:

Perhaps about $3.00. Just because something is intangible (the book's content) does not mean it is cheap.

Hardware Components of a Computer System

The major hardware components of a computer system are:

Processor
Main memory
Secondary memory devices
Input/output devices

You probably have a personal computer in front of you. The processor, main memory, and secondary memory devices are usually contained in the systems unit. This is the rectangular box that is sometimes called "the computer." The monitor (the TV-like screen) is an example of an output device. The arrows in the figure show the flow of data.

The bus is a group of wires on the main circuit board of the computer. It is a pathway for data flowing between components. Most devices are connected to the bus through a controller which coordinates the activities of the device and the bus.

The processor is an electronic device called an integrated circuit. Usually it is about a one inch square of black plastic, with many small electrical connectors sticking out. Inside the square of plastic is a smaller square of silicon containing millions of extremely tiny electrical parts. A modern processor can contain as many as 100 million transistors. The processor is the "brain" of the computer system. It does the fundamental computing within the system, and directly or indirectly controls all the other components.

The processor is sometimes called the Central Processing Unit or CPU. A particular computer will have a particular type of processor, such as a Pentium or a SPARC chip. (Integrated circuits are often called "chips.")

Click Here to see the computer system these notes were prepared on. (It probably looks much like what you are yourself using.) You might notice that it is 5 years old. It works fine for running Java programs.

QUESTION 3:

Say that a computer has just added 13 to 27. Where did this activity take place?

Click Here after you have answered the question