Reading a hardware specification sheet

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which spec on a spec sheet tells you how many tasks the CPU can work on at the same time?

A The storage size, such as 512 GB

B The number of cores, such as 8 cores

2. A spec sheet says: 'Memory: 16 GB DDR4'. What part is this describing?

A RAM

B GPU

3. Device A has a 3.6 GHz CPU. Device B has a 2.4 GHz CPU. Which statement is true about clock speed?

A Device A has the higher clock speed

B Device B has the higher clock speed

4. When you compare two devices side by side, what is the best way to do it?

A Compare different specs, such as one device's RAM against the other's storage

B Compare the same spec on each device, such as RAM against RAM

5. A spec sheet lists 'Storage: 512 GB SSD'. Which part of this is the storage type?

A SSD

B 512 GB

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1CPU: Intel Core i5, 3.4 GHz, 6 cores		AGPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
2Storage: 512 GB SSD		BThe processor line: its model, its clock speed (how fast it works) and how many cores it has to do tasks at once
3To find how much memory a laptop has for running programs, look for the RAM line		CThe storage line: the type of drive (SSD) and how much it can hold (512 GB)
4To find the graphics processing unit, look for the GPU line		DThe devices were compared wrongly: 16 GB is more than 8 GB, so Laptop B has more RAM.
5Laptop A: 8 GB RAM, Laptop B: 16 GB RAM. Laptop A has more RAM.		EThe storage size was mixed up with the CPU speed. 1 TB is storage capacity, while CPU speed is shown in GHz.
6Storage: 1 TB. This is the CPU speed.		FRAM: 16 GB

Definitions

specification sheet

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

CPU: Core i5, 3.2 ___ RAM: 8 GB Storage: 256 GB SSD

CPU: Core i7, 3.6 GHz, 8 _____ RAM: 16 GB GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1650

CPU: Core i3, 2.9 GHz, 4 cores RAM: 8 GB Storage: 512 GB ___

Device A: 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD Device B: 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD More RAM: Device _

CPU: Core i5, 3.2 GHz, 6 cores ___: NVIDIA GTX 1650, 4 GB Storage: 512 GB SSD

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A Device: Laptop A

B CPU: i5, 3.2 GHz, 4 cores

C RAM: 8 GHz

D Storage: 256 GB SSD

Question 2

A Device: Gaming PC

B CPU: Ryzen 5, 6 cores

C GPU: 512 GB SSD

D RAM: 16 GB

Question 3

A CPU: i7, 4.0 GB, 8 cores

B RAM: 16 GB

C Storage: 1 TB HDD

Question 4

A Laptop A: 8 GB RAM

B Laptop B: 16 GB RAM

C More GB of RAM = more memory

D Laptop A has more RAM

Question 5

A Storage: 1 TB RAM

B Type: hard disk drive

C Keeps files when powered off

Answer Key

Reading a hardware specification sheet

Section A: Quick Questions

B — The number of cores, such as 8 cores

A — RAM

A — Device A has the higher clock speed

B — Compare the same spec on each device, such as RAM against RAM

A — SSD

Section B: Match the Pairs

CPU: Intel Core i5, 3.4 GHz, 6 cores → The processor line: its model, its clock speed (how fast it works) and how many cores it has to do tasks at once

Storage: 512 GB SSD → The storage line: the type of drive (SSD) and how much it can hold (512 GB)

To find how much memory a laptop has for running programs, look for the RAM line → RAM: 16 GB

To find the graphics processing unit, look for the GPU line → GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050

Laptop A: 8 GB RAM, Laptop B: 16 GB RAM. Laptop A has more RAM. → The devices were compared wrongly: 16 GB is more than 8 GB, so Laptop B has more RAM.

Storage: 1 TB. This is the CPU speed. → The storage size was mixed up with the CPU speed. 1 TB is storage capacity, while CPU speed is shown in GHz.

Section C: Definitions

specification sheet — A list of a device's parts and their ratings, like CPU model, GHz, cores, RAM, storage type and size, and GPU. Use it to find each spec and compare two devices side by side.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

CPU: Core i5, 3.2 GHz
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 256 GB SSD

CPU: Core i7, 3.6 GHz, 8 cores
RAM: 16 GB
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1650

CPU: Core i3, 2.9 GHz, 4 cores
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 512 GB SSD

Device A: 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
Device B: 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
More RAM: Device B

CPU: Core i5, 3.2 GHz, 6 cores
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 1650, 4 GB
Storage: 512 GB SSD

Section E: Spot the Error

C — RAM size is listed in GB, not GHz. GHz is the unit for CPU clock speed. It should say RAM: 8 GB.

C — A 512 GB SSD is a storage device, not a GPU. The GPU line should list the graphics card model, such as GPU: RTX 4060.

A — CPU clock speed is measured in GHz, not GB. GB measures data size. It should be 4.0 GHz.

D — Laptop B lists 16 GB and Laptop A lists 8 GB, so Laptop B has more RAM. The last line should say Laptop B has more RAM.

A — HDD is a type of storage, and RAM is not a storage type. The storage line should say HDD, as the next line (hard disk drive) shows.