- General
- Ages 8–9
- 12 min
- beginner
Hardware and Software
Help Meera make a greeting card! Explore computer parts, choose useful programs, and discover how hardware and software work together.
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What is Hardware and Software?
A computer can help you draw, practise sums and listen to songs. How does it do these different jobs? Explore hardware and software in this English lesson for Class 3, with a greeting-card mission and simple challenges.
What you will learn
- Name four examples of computer hardware.
- Identify familiar apps as software and choose one for a task.
- Explain how one hardware part and one program work together.
- Distinguish a physical screen from an app running on it.
Hardware: the physical parts
Hardware means the physical parts of a computer system. A monitor, keyboard, mouse and printer are examples. The keyboard helps you type. The mouse helps you point and choose. The monitor shows your work. A printer puts work onto paper.
Software: programs for jobs
Software means the programs a computer runs. Programs contain instructions. A drawing app helps you create a picture. A calculator app helps you work with numbers. A music app helps you play songs. These are examples of software.
A screen and an app are different
The physical screen is hardware. An app running on it is software. You can see what an app displays, but you cannot pick up the program like a mouse. Even when you tap an app, your finger touches the physical screen.
A team that helps you create
Meera wants to make a greeting card. She chooses a drawing app, uses the mouse to draw a flower, and sees the picture on the monitor. The computer follows the program instructions as she works. Hardware and software work together. The finished picture is her work, not the drawing program itself.
Move a mouse while using a drawing program; the monitor shows the flower. Hardware and software work together. This is a simplified view, not an internal wiring diagram.
Key words
- Hardware
- The physical parts of a computer system, such as a mouse or monitor.
- Software
- The programs a computer runs to do jobs.
- Program
- Instructions that a computer can follow to complete a task.
- App
- A program that helps you do a particular job, such as drawing.
Common questions
What is computer hardware?
Hardware is the physical parts of a computer system. Examples include a keyboard, mouse, monitor and printer.
What is computer software?
Software is the programs a computer runs. A drawing app and a calculator app are familiar examples.
Is a touchscreen hardware or software?
The physical touchscreen is hardware. A game or drawing app running on the device is software. Your finger touches the screen when you use the app.
How do hardware and software work together?
When you draw with a mouse in a drawing app, the computer follows program instructions and the monitor shows the result. The physical parts and the program help you do the job.
Ready to explore it?
The interactive lesson walks through Hardware and Software step by step, with animations you control.
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