Ages 10+ · Coding · How computers work
Hardware and software
🖥️ screen ⌨️ keyboard 🔋 battery 🎨 drawing app 🎮 game 🌐 web browser
Hardware is the parts you can touch. Software is the instructions. The big idea Hardware is the parts you can touch. Software is the instructions that run on it.
How it works Hardware is the parts you can touch, like a screen, a keyboard or a battery. It is like a body.
Software is the instructions that run on the hardware, like an app or a game. You cannot touch it. It is like a mind.
Hardware can do nothing alone, and software needs hardware to run on, so they need each other.
When something stops working, ask: is it a part, or is it the instructions?
Hardware • screen • keyboard • battery • speaker • camera Software • drawing app • game • web browser • music player • operating system Parts you can touch, and instructions. Something stops working Ask: part or instructions? A part: check the power Instructions: try an update Finding the problem. Example 1: A tablet that will not wake Teo's old tablet will not wake, and the battery is empty. Hardware needs energy, just as a body needs food. Mr. Reyes plugs in a charger, and the screen glows. Example 2: An app that freezes The drawing app keeps freezing, but the screen, the touch and the sound all work. The parts are fine, so the problem is the instructions. Mr. Reyes taps update, new instructions arrive, and the app opens. Example 3: Hardware or software? A keyboard is a part you can press, so it is hardware. A game is a program, so it is software. A speaker makes the sound, so it is hardware, and a web browser is a program, so it is software. Example 4: The parts inside The processor is the thinking chip. Memory holds what it is working on. Storage keeps files and programs, while the screen and speaker show and tell. Words to know hardware The parts you can touch. software The instructions that run on the hardware. processor The thinking chip. memory Holds what it is working on. storage Keeps files and programs. update New instructions for a program. Watch out An app is software even though you tap it. You cannot touch the instructions themselves. A flat battery is a hardware matter, because hardware needs power. A cracked screen is a hardware problem. A freezing app is a software problem. Hardware can do nothing alone, and software needs hardware to run on. Try it Is a game hardware or software? Is a cracked screen a hardware or a software problem? An app freezes, but the screen, touch and sound work. Which kind of problem is it? What can fix a freezing app? True or false: hardware can do nothing alone. Answers: 1. Software · 2. Hardware · 3. Software · 4. An update · 5. True
Try at home Pick a phone, tablet or computer with a grown-up. List the parts you can touch: screen, buttons, speaker, camera. Then list the apps and programs on it. What is the difference? Which list can you hold in your hand?
For grown-ups Pick a phone, tablet or computer together. List the parts you can touch, then list the apps and programs on it. Look at the outside only, and do not open a device.