Components of a Computer System Learning Objectives • By the end of this lesson all of you will; – define the terms hardware, software, input device, storage device and output device – describe the purpose of input devices, storage devices and output devices; Hardware Hardware are the physical components of a computer – eg the input devices, output devices, primary storage (memory) and secondary storage (backing store), Central Processing Unit etc. Note that input and output devices are collectively known as peripherals. Examples are Monitor, Hard drive, Printer, CPU, Keyboard, Fan, Mouse, Motherboard, Microphone, Sound card. Software Software are the sets of instructions/ programs that are loaded into the memory of the computer in order to perform a task or to control the operation of the computer. examples are Operating systems, Word processors, Utilities, Web browsers, User interface, Game applications etc