Name: _______________________( ) Class: ______ Date: _________
BUKIT VIEW SECONDARY SCHOOL
COMPUTER STUDIES – Unit 1
The Range and Scope of Computer Applications
Learning Objectives
When you have finished this chapter you will be able to:
• Work out the uses of different computer systems by looking at the
way that they are made up
• Describe some of the uses of computers and be aware that there are
many more
• Recognize some application areas from brief descriptions supplied
Introduction
All computer systems have the following four basic parts:
• Input – something that needs to be put into the computer and a way
of putting it in
• Processing – work that is going to be done on what has been put in
• Output – the result of the work and a way of getting the result out
• Storage – somewhere to store things so that they are not lost when
the system is switched off.
Communications
Input Processing Output
Storage
Types of applications
• There are many different uses for computers, from controlling a
washing machine to forecasting the weather.
• Whatever the size of the computer, just think about what it is
designed to do and when a question asks you to describe a system
for a given purpose, remember the parts of the system listed above
and try to describe them.
1
Question: Name 5 input devices and state where they are used.
Answer:
Steering wheel – computer games, games arcade machine.
• Touch screen – PDAs, tourist information kiosks
• Bar Code scanner – library, supermarket check-out counter
• Mouse & Keyboard – home PCs
• Microphone – video conferencing
Question: List the input, processing, output and storage for a
computer game application. What sort of communication is
necessary between computers, if any.
Answer:
The input will be the instructions fro what the player wants to happen in the game –
in a high-speed race game it might be turning a corner or overtaking another vehicle.
There are a lot of input devices available for getting these instructions into the
computer, such as wheels and pedals, gamepads and joysticks.
• Processing will involve the computer keeping the game moving by responding to
the player’s input.
• Output usually consists of fast-moving colour images on a screen together with
sound through loudspeakers.
• Storage will be on the computer’s hard disk, though very little needs to be stored
except for the rules of the game and perhaps your scores, as we don’t normally
turn the computer off halfway through a game.
• Communications: If there is only one player, then there does not need to be any
communication. If a number of computers close together are connected so that
people can play against each other, then they will probably be linked by wires in a
LAN. It is also possible to play against other people over the internet; in this
case the computers will be connected in a WAN.
2
Expert System
What is an expert system?
Is a special type of computer system.
Stores all the knowledge of an expert in a particular subject
People can ask it questions.
Examples of expert system
Computer system found in doctor’s office waiting room.
Uses:
Patients type their symptoms
Computer tells them whether they should wait to see the
doctor.
The computer contains a lot of facts about illnesses and
can give advice to the patient
Microsoft Windows OS trouble-shooting software located in the “help”
section of the taskbar menu.
Microsoft has designed their expert system to provide
solutions, advice, and suggestions to common errors
encountered throughout using the operating systems.
Other examples of expert system
Medical diagnosis Criminology
Mineral system
Prospecting Career planning
Weather forecasting Chess system
Car Fault diagnosis HP fault diagnosis
Steps needed to create an expert system
Collecting data from experts in the field
Create/Design knowledge base
Entering data into knowledge base
Design/create rule base
Create/design questions & answers
Create/design menus/icons/windows of results (user interface)
Advantages of using an expert system
No need for an expert to be present
Can act as a prompt/resource to an expert
Can deal with complex situations much faster than humans
Could be used in hazardous areas
Less likely to make an error
More consistent in diagnosing faults/more accurate.
3
Question 1: Identify some other expert systems and decide what
data they contain that make them expert.
Example 1
Expert system: System found in a doctor’s office
Data they contain: Facts about illnesses and can give advice to the patient.
Example 2
Expert system: System found in a handphone service centre
Data they contain: Information about different handphone problem and how to solve
them.
