Year 8 • Computing Systems • Lesson 1

Get in Gear

Explore early computing machines, define what makes a computer different, and test your understanding of programs and data.

Today’s Big Idea

A general-purpose computer executes programs that operate on data. Each program transforms the computer into a machine for a specific task.

Definition of a computer

Activity 1: Match the Machine

Drag each machine to the correct description. Use the clues from the lesson.

Modern computers
Babbage’s Analytical Engine
Antikythera mechanism
Calculating machines
Stepped Reckoner
Pascaline
Machine Description
Complex geared device (1st–2nd century BC) that could predict eclipses and positions of the moon and planets.
A 1642 calculating machine designed by Pascal.
Leibniz’s 1672 machine that could add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
1837 programmable machine using punched-card instructions to perform calculations.
Purpose-built devices where data and operations are set manually or hardwired.
General-purpose systems that store data and instructions in memory to run many tasks.

Activity 2: Program or Data?

Sort each card into the correct category. Remember: programs perform tasks and process data.

Images
Video editing software
Videos
Web browsers
Sound editing software
Sounds
Word processors
Image editing software

Programs

Drop cards here

Data

Drop cards here

Activity 3: What Makes a Computer Different?

Respond to the claim and capture your thinking.

“The computer is the only appliance that can do more than one thing.”

Do you agree, disagree, or feel unsure? Explain your reasoning using the lesson’s definition of a computer.

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