CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ & O LEVEL COMPUTER SCIENCE: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Teaching plan
3 Hardware
Sub-chapter Suggested Learning content Resources
learning hours
3.1 4 Understand the role of the central processing Coursebook:
Computer unit (CPU) in a computer. 3.1 The role of the CPU
­architecture Understand what is meant by a m
­ icroprocessor. 3.2 The fetch stage
Understand the purpose of the components 3.3 The decode stage
in a CPU, in a computer that has a Von
Neumann architecture, including: 3.4 The execute stage
a units – arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and 3.5 Factors that can affect
control unit (CU) the performance of a CPU
b register – program counter (PC), memory Worksheet 3.1:
address register (MAR), memory data Little Man Computer
register (MDR), current instruction register
(CIR) and accumulator (ACC)
c buses – address bus, data bus and
control bus.
Describe the process of the fetch-decode-
execute cycle including the role of each
component in the process.
Understand what is meant by a core, cache
and clock in a CPU and explain how they can
affect the performance of a CPU.
Understand the purpose and use of an
instruction set for a CPU.
Explain what is meant by an embedded
system and identify devices in which they are
commonly used.
3.2 Input 3 Understand what is meant by an input device Coursebook:
and output and why it is required. 3.6 Input and output
devices, and Understand what is meant by an output devices
data storage device and why it is required. 3.7 Data storage
3.8 Virtual memory
Understand what is meant by a sensor and the 3.9 Cloud storage
purpose of the given sensors.
Worksheet 3.2:
Explain how a sensor captures data from its Secondary storage
surroundings and identify when each sensor devices
could be used, including choosing the most
suitable sensor for a given context.
Understand what is meant by primary storage,
including the role of random access memory
(RAM) and read only memory (ROM).

1 Cambridge IGCSE™ & O Level Computer Science – Ellis © Cambridge University Press 2021
 CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ & O LEVEL COMPUTER SCIENCE: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Sub-chapter Suggested Learning content Resources

learning hours
Understand what is meant by secondary
storage and why it is necessary.
Describe the operation of magnetic, optical
and solid-state (flash memory) storage and
give examples of each.
Describe what is meant by virtual memory,
how it is created, used and why it is necessary.
Understand what is meant by cloud storage.
Explain the advantages and disadvantages
of storing data in the cloud in comparison to
storing it locally.
3.3 Network 3 Understand that a computer needs a network Coursebook:
hardware interface card to access a network. 3.10 Network hardware
Understand what is meant by a media Worksheet 3.3:
access control (MAC) address, including the MAC addresses
structure.
Understand what is meant by an internet
protocol (IP) address, including the structure.
Describe the role of a router in a network.

2 Cambridge IGCSE™ & O Level Computer Science – Ellis © Cambridge University Press 2021