Teacher Pack: Unit 3.4 Computer Systems 8525 (from 2020)
The resources within this Teacher Pack cover all aspects of the specification in relation to AQA GCSE Computer Science 8525 (from 2020) component 3.4.
It includes:
· Teaching PowerPoints (including checkpoint questions and answers) - 219 slides
· Student PowerPoints (Including checkpoint questions, but omits the answers)
· Homework/Classwork Activities (+ mark schemes)
o Components of a CPU
o CPU Performance
o Embedded Systems
o Operating Systems
o Utility Software
o Boolean Logic and Truth Tables
o Logic Gates
o Programming Languages
· End of unit tests (+ mark schemes)
Content Covered:
Define the terms hardware and software and understand the relationship between them.
Construct truth tables for the following logic gates:
• NOT
• AND
• OR
• XOR.
Construct truth tables for simple logic circuits using combinations of NOT, AND, OR and XOR gates.
Interpret the results of simple truth tables.
Create, modify and interpret simple logic circuit diagrams.
Students will only need to use NOT, AND, OR and XOR gates within logic circuits.
Students will be expected to understand and use the standard logic circuit symbols.
Create and interpret simple Boolean expressions made up of NOT, AND, OR and XOR operations.
Create the Boolean expression for a simple logic circuit.
Create a logic circuit from a simple Booleanexpression.
Explain what is meant by:
• system software
• application software.
Give examples of both types of software.
Understand the need for, and functions of, operating systems (OS) and utility programs.
Understand that the OS handles management of the:
• processor(s)
• memory
• input/output (I/O) devices
• applications
• security.
Know that there are different levels of programming language:
• low-level language
• high-level language.
Explain the main differences between low-level and high-level languages.
Know that machine code and assembly language are considered to be low-level languages and explain the differences between them.
Understand that all programming code written in high-level or assembly languages must be translated.
Understand that machine code is expressed in binary and is specific to a processor or family of processors.
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of low-level language programming compared with high-level language programming.
Understand that there are three common types of program translator:
• interpreter
• compiler
• assembler.
Explain the main differences between these three types of translator.
Understand when it would be appropriate to use each type of translator.
Explain the role and operation of main memory and the following major components of a central processing unit (CPU) within the Von Neumann architecture:
• arithmetic logic unit
• control unit
• clock
• register
• bus.
Explain the effect of the following on the performance of the CPU:
• clock speed
• number of processor cores
• cache size.
Understand and explain the Fetch-Execute cycle.
Understand the different types of memory within a computer:
• RAM
• ROM
• Cache
• Register.
Know what the different types of memory are used for and why they are required.
Understand the differences between main memory and secondary storage.
Understand the differences between RAM and ROM.
Understand why secondary storage is required.
Be aware of different types of secondary storage (solid state, optical and magnetic).
Explain the operation of solid state, optical and magnetic storage.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of solid state, optical and magnetic storage.
Explain the term cloud storage.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages of cloud storage when compared to local storage.
Understand the term embedded system and explain how an embedded system differs from a non-embedded system.
