Hardware — the physical parts and their roles
Hardware = the physical, touchable parts; software = the programs that make them useful — neither works alone. Component roles: CPU fetches, decodes and executes instructions; motherboard connects all components; RAM holds data/programs in use, ROM holds start-up instructions; graphics and sound cards process video and audio output; NIC connects to a network; cameras, storage and input/output devices capture, hold or exchange data.
Applications software vs system software
Does the program do a job for the user (applications) or run the computer so other software works (system)? Applications: word processor, spreadsheet, DBMS, control/measurement software, apps, video/graphics/audio editing, CAD. System: operating system, compilers and linkers (translate and link program code), device drivers, utilities (anti-virus, disk defragmenter, file compression). A DBMS is applications; its printer driver is system.
Analogue vs digital — and why data is converted
Analogue data varies continuously — any value across a smooth range, like a sound wave or a temperature drifting up and down. Digital data is discrete: the binary 0s and 1s a computer stores and processes. Real-world sensors (temperature, light, sound) give an analogue output, so an ADC must convert it before the computer can process it; a DAC converts digital output back to analogue to drive a device such as an old-style speaker.
Drawn from real examiner reports.
"Parts of a computer" is not a definition
Writing that hardware and software are both parts of a computer restates the question and scores zero. Each needs its defining property: hardware is the physical component you can touch (CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics card); software is the program or set of instructions that runs on it — you can only touch the media it is stored on, never the software itself.
Flagged s22 P11 Q2 — hardware = physical components, software = programs; "applet" (a small application) also appeared
Naming the task, not the software
Asked to identify hardware, candidates name a general-purpose device — "a computer" — instead of a specific component such as the CPU, motherboard, RAM or NIC. Asked to identify software, they name the task — "typing a letter" — instead of the program type that performs it, the word processor. Name the thing itself, not what it is used for.
Printed circuit board ≠ wifi or LAN
Some questions describe an internal component by its physical form — a printed circuit board — and expect you to name it. The graphics card (GPU) is the board that processes and outputs video and image data; the NIC is the board that connects the computer to a network. Candidates answered the NIC description with wifi, hub, LAN or email — not the card itself.
Flagged s23 P11 Q2 — GPU/video card and NIC both challenging; for the NIC candidates wrongly wrote wifi/hub/LAN/email
Sensor output is analogue, not digital
A sensor's raw output is a continuously varying analogue signal, not digital data — many candidates state the opposite. Because a computer can only process digital data, the signal must pass through an analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) first. If a question mentions a temperature, light or sound sensor feeding a computer, the ADC step is part of the answer.
Flagged w23 P11 Q2; P12 Q2 — a sensor's output is analogue (many said digital), an ADC converts it, and vague "data a computer/human can read" scored nothing
"Data a computer can read" defines nothing
Describing digital data as "data a computer or a human can read/understand" is too vague to score. Give the property instead: digital data is made of discrete values — binary 0s and 1s; analogue data is continuously varying, with no fixed steps. Contrast the two properties rather than describing what the data is for.
Flagged w23 P11 Q2; P12 Q2 — a sensor's output is analogue (many said digital), an ADC converts it, and vague "data a computer/human can read" scored nothing
Compilers and drivers are system software
A program is not applications software just because a person chooses to run it. A compiler translates program code and a device driver lets the operating system talk to a piece of hardware — both manage the machine so other software can work, so both are system software. Applications software does a specific job for the user, such as a DBMS or a CAD package.
Use the user-or-machine test
When classifying software, ask one question: does it do a job directly for the user (applications), or does it run and manage the computer so other programs can work (system)? A DBMS storing customer records is applications; the driver that lets it print is system.
"Explain" needs a because
Match the command word. State/identify wants the term only. Describe wants what it is or does. Explain wants a reason — carry the second half with "because…". Answer the question actually set, using the scenario in the stem.
Give the property, not an example
For analogue-versus-digital answers, state the property: analogue = continuously varying; digital = discrete, binary. An example on its own (a sound wave, a 1) defines neither term. If a sensor appears in the stem, add the ADC conversion step.
Never write a brand name
Examiners give no credit for a manufacturer or product name. Use the generic term every time — operating system, word processor, device driver, graphics card — not the brand you happen to use at home.
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