Computer processors CM431 / E03
Summary
Overview
Computer programs are written in a language that humans understand, but what about the computer itself? Every piece of software, and the instructions and data it contains, is made up of 1’s and 0’s, handled by the central processing unit or CPU.
Explore the core of a modern computer - the processor. Learn how the instructions that humans write in computer programs are translated into machine code that the computer can process. Compare the differences between high-level and low-level programming languages, and how these can used in the classroom.
Computer scientists have developed different computer architectures to retrieve and process data at eye watering speeds – using your knowledge of the processor you’ll learn how and why their performance differs, at a level appropriate for GCSE students.
Outcomes
Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
- Recognise that all computer instructions are executed in binary – and the different processes used to translate programming languages into computer-readable machine code
- Recognise the Von Neumann architecture, and different instruction sets including RISC and CISC
- Understand the fetch-decode-execute cycle in a computer processor, and the role of each CPU component
- Write simple programs in low-level assembler language
- Know the factors that can affect CPU performance
Sessions
| Date | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Computer processors | 13 July 2020 | 11:00-12:00 |
| 3 Computer processors | 16 July 2020 | 11:00-12:00 |
| 5 Computer processors | 23 July 2020 | 11:00-12:00 |
Actions
Fees & Subsidies
Additional information
If the course you would like to attend is fully booked, please contact enquiries@stem.org.uk to express your interest in being added to a waiting list. We will contact you when the course is due to run again.
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