Children, I hope that in the previous chapter you came to understand the meaning of the word “digital” more clearly.

In other words, you learned that computers represent information using numbers and, at the lowest level (I will explain what “the lowest level” means in more detail later), work with 0 and 1, right?

Now let us turn to another interesting question:

What is really inside a computer?

Sometimes we see a computer as one single thing.

For example, a laptop, smartphone, or tablet.

However, there are many different parts inside a computer.

Some of them can be touched with our hands.

Others cannot be touched, but they help the computer work.

🧩 A Computer Consists of Two Main Parts

I think the easiest way to understand a computer is to divide it into two main parts:

1. Hardware — the physical parts of a computer that can be touched
2. Software — the programs that tell the computer what to do

Let us imagine this through a simple example.

A person has a body.

A person has hands, eyes, ears, a brain, and a heart.

All of these are parts of the body.

A computer also has physical parts that can be touched.

They are called hardware.

However, a person also has abilities such as thinking, knowledge, memory, and taking action.

In a computer, programs perform these tasks. They are called software.

👀 Understanding Through Examples: Hardware and Software

Hardware:

• 🖥️ Screen — displays pictures, videos, and text.
• ⌨️ Keyboard — helps us enter letters and commands.
• 🖱️ Mouse — helps us select things on the screen.
• 🔊 Speaker — produces sounds.
• 🎤 Microphone — sends sound into the computer.
• 📷 Camera — takes photos and records videos.
• 🧠 CPU — the main part that processes commands.
• 📝 RAM — temporarily holds information while the computer is working.
• 💾 Storage — stores pictures, files, and programs for a long time.
• 🔋 Battery — provides energy to the device.

Software:

• 🎮 Games
• 📱 Applications such as WhatsApp, YouTube, and Google Maps
• 📝 Programs such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
• 🌐 Browsers: Chrome, Safari, and Firefox
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT
• 🖥️ Operating System — the main program that controls the computer

🏠 Let Us Compare a Computer to a House

Imagine that a computer is a large house.

A house has walls, doors, windows, lights, and rooms.

All of these are like hardware.

However, for life to happen inside the house, people need to know what to do:

• Which room should they sleep in?
• Where should food be prepared?
• When should the lights be turned on?
• When should the door be opened?

In a computer, software provides these rules and instructions.

Therefore, hardware and software cannot work fully without each other.

🧠 What Do the Main Parts of a Computer Do?

Now let us understand the main parts inside a computer in language that is easy for children.

1. CPU — the “brain” of the computer

The CPU is one of the most important parts of a computer.

It carries out commands.

For example, when you open a game, the CPU processes that command.

When you enlarge a picture, the CPU helps perform that task.

When you press a letter on the keyboard, the CPU receives that information and helps display it on the screen.

The CPU can be compared to a fast cook working in a kitchen.

It carries out commands very quickly, one after another.

2. RAM — the computer’s “work desk”

RAM is the memory that temporarily holds the information a computer is using while it is working.

It can be compared to a student’s desk.

During a lesson, there may be a book, notebook, pen, and eraser on the desk.

When the lesson ends, you put them into your schoolbag.

A computer works in a similar way.

When a program is running, the necessary information is kept in RAM.

When the computer is turned off, the temporary information stored in RAM disappears.

3. Storage — the computer’s “storage cupboard”

Storage is the place where files are kept for a long time.

For example:

• 📸 Pictures
• 🎵 Music
• 📄 Documents
• 🎮 Games
• 📱 Applications

It can be compared to a cupboard at home or a schoolbag.

Even when the computer is turned off, the information inside storage remains saved.

4. Screen — the computer’s “window”

The screen shows us the information inside the computer.

Without a screen, we would not be able to see pictures, text, videos, or games.

Therefore, we can imagine the screen as the computer’s window.

5. Keyboard, mouse, and touchscreen — ways of giving commands to the computer

The computer does not know by itself what we want.

We need to give it commands.

We type using the keyboard.

We click and select using the mouse.

We control a touchscreen using our fingers.

All of these are ways of telling the computer, “I want to do this.”

6. Motherboard — the main board that connects all the parts

All the parts inside a computer need to be connected in one place.

The motherboard is the main board that organizes these connections.

It can be compared to the roads in a city.

Without roads, cars cannot travel from one place to another.

Without a motherboard, the parts of a computer cannot communicate properly with one another.

7. Battery and electrical energy — the computer’s power

A computer needs energy to work.

Laptops and smartphones have batteries.

A desktop computer is connected to electricity.

Without energy, even the most powerful computer cannot work.

🔬 Billions of Tiny Parts

Children, there are also extremely small parts inside a computer that we cannot see with our eyes.

They work using electronic signals.

Some modern computer chips may contain billions of tiny parts.

They are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.

However, when those tiny parts work together:

• 📸 A picture opens
• 🎵 Music plays
• 🎮 A game runs
• 📨 A message is sent
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence gives an answer

Tiny parts can work together to perform big tasks.

🎮 What Happens When a Game Opens?

Now imagine that you open a game on your smartphone.

At that moment, the parts of the computer begin working together as a team.

1. The touchscreen detects your touch.
2. The CPU processes the command “open the game.”
3. Storage finds the game file.
4. RAM holds the information needed to run the game temporarily.
5. The screen displays the game.
6. The speaker produces the sounds from the game.
7. The battery provides energy to all the parts.

Did you notice that, in this example, you pressed only one button?

However, many parts inside the computer worked together.

🧩 Software Tells the Computer What to Do

Now let us understand software in more detail.

Software means programs.

A program gives instructions to a computer.

For example:

• “Open the picture”
• “Play the music”
• “Send the message”
• “Start the game”
• “Save the text”

The computer follows those instructions.

If hardware is the body, software can be considered the program that gives instructions telling that body what to do.

🖥️ Operating System — the Manager of the Computer

There are many programs on a computer.

Someone needs to organize them.

The main program that organizes them is called an Operating System.

In Kyrgyz, we can call it an операциялык система.

For example:

• Windows
• macOS
• Android
• iOS
• Linux

All of these are operating systems.

The operating system is like the director of the computer.

It creates the connection between hardware and software.

👧 The Example of Aruuke and Aibiyke

One day, Aruuke opened a drawing program.

Aibiyke was listening to music.

I said to them:

— You are doing two different things now. However, many parts inside your computer are working continuously.

Aruuke asked:

— When I draw a picture, which part of the computer works?

I answered:

— The screen displays the picture, the touchscreen detects the movement of your hand, the CPU processes the commands, RAM temporarily holds the information, and storage saves the picture.

Aibiyke asked:

— What about when I listen to music?

— In that case, storage keeps the music, the CPU helps process it, RAM temporarily holds the information, and the speaker produces the sound, — I said.

Then both of them looked at me because they could not understand terms such as RAM and CPU. I hope that by seeing pictures of these things in this book and repeating these concepts several times with my help, they will gradually learn them and find this knowledge useful later in their technology lessons.

📝 Activity: Find the Parts of a Computer

Now look at the device you use.

It may be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer.

Try to find the following parts:

• ☐ Screen
• ☐ Camera
• ☐ Speaker
• ☐ Microphone
• ☐ Battery
• ☐ Buttons
• ☐ Charging port
• ☐ Keyboard or touchscreen

Now think:

• Which of these are hardware?
• Which programs are you using?
• Are they software?

🎨 Visual Activity

Draw a picture of a computer in your notebook or on a piece of paper.

Then label its parts:

• 🧠 CPU — processes commands
• 📝 RAM — temporarily holds information
• 💾 Storage — stores files
• 🖥️ Screen — displays information
• ⌨️ Keyboard — enters information
• 🔊 Speaker — produces sound
• 🔋 Battery — provides energy
• 🌉 Motherboard — connects the parts

💬 Let Us Think

1. What is hardware?
2. What is software?
3. Why is the CPU called the “brain” of the computer?
4. What is the difference between RAM and storage?
5. Why is an operating system needed?
6. Which computer parts do you think are inside a smartphone?

🚀 In the Next Chapter

In the next chapter, we will learn how programs give commands to a computer.

What is a program?

What is code?

How does a computer understand instructions written by a person?

We will explore this together during our next digital journey.