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Technologies K–10 · Years 5–6

Inside a desktop computer: naming the main components

Digital Technologies (NSW Science and Technology K–6, 2017; the 2024 code is a partial fit, see the NSW note); Digital Technologies: Knowledge and understanding, Digital systems (ACARA v9)

PracticalMedium risk

School laboratory, not for home

In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.

The idea

A computer's main internal components each have one job: the processor (CPU) follows instructions, memory (RAM) holds what is being worked on, storage keeps files when the power is off, and the power supply feeds them all.

Safety card

Medium riskA teacher supervises

Setting: In a school laboratory, with a teacher supervising, under the school's risk assessment. Not for home.

Hazards

  • Mains electricity if the computer were plugged in
  • Stored charge inside the power supply
  • Sharp sheet-metal edges
  • Static electricity damaging parts
  • A heavy tower falling

Controls

  • Mains lead removed before the lesson and kept out of the room
  • The power supply is never opened
  • Handle edges with care; cut-resistant gloves where edges are rough
  • Antistatic wrist strap for anyone removing parts
  • Tower laid flat on the desk

Note

Follow NSW Department of Education TAS compliance advice (mandated controls and Equipment Safety in Schools), education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/tas/tas-compliance; record the activity on RiskAssess (riskassess.com.au).

What you need

  • 1 decommissioned desktop computer tower, wiped by the school's IT staff, mains lead removed
  • Phillips screwdrivers, a tray for screws, an antistatic wrist strap
  • Sticky labels: motherboard, CPU, cooler, RAM, storage drive, power supply, fan, graphics card, ports
  • Recording sheet for component names and the capacities printed on their labels

How to do it

  1. Check that the mains lead is removed and stays out of the room for the lesson.
  2. Remove the side panel and lay the tower flat.
  3. Find and label each component: motherboard, CPU under its cooler, RAM sticks, storage drive, power supply, fans, graphics card if fitted, ports at the back.
  4. Read the RAM and storage capacities from their labels and record them in gigabytes.
  5. The teacher unclips one RAM stick and removes the storage drive so learners can hold them.
  6. Draw a system diagram: inputs → CPU and RAM → storage → outputs, with arrows for the data.

What you should see

Learners find and label every listed component. The labels show storage capacity many times larger than RAM capacity; learners explain that RAM empties when the power goes off while the storage drive keeps files. The power supply stays closed. The learner knows it worked when the system diagram places each component correctly and the arrows show data moving from inputs through the CPU and RAM to storage and outputs.

What changes

This activity lists no variables to change, measure and keep the same.

Common misconceptions

Each of these ideas is wrong, and the activity is a chance to test it.

  • The screen is the computer (it is an output device; the processing happens in the box).
  • RAM and storage are the same thing (RAM is cleared when the power goes off; storage keeps data).
  • The CPU is the whole box (the CPU is one chip on the motherboard).

Curriculum references

The NSW syllabus outcomes and Australian Curriculum v9 codes this activity supports. They are references, not a verified or complete curriculum alignment.

  • Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2017), NESA. The syllabus taught in 2026; the 2024 syllabus replaces it from 2027. Code read from the official syllabus document (DOCX) on 2026-09-22.ST3-11DI-T
  • Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024), NESA. Implementation from 2027, so this code describes the future syllabus. Code read from the Stage 3 content page on 2026-09-23. Partial fit: no content point covers a computer's internal components, and the entry contains no algorithm; the nearest points are recognising that data are entered, processed and transmitted in digital systems, evaluating a digital system that accepts and displays information, and connecting components in a digital system to collect data. The 2017 point on internal and external components of digital systems that perform functions carries the entry.ST3-DDT-02
  • Australian Curriculum v9AC9TDI6K01

Sources

The pages the author read to write this activity.

  1. www.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/nesa/curriculum/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2017
  2. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2024/outcomes
  3. www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/teach-and-assess/classroom-resources/lesson-ideas/clever-computers
  4. www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/plan-and-prepare/scope-and-sequence-f-10/years-5-6
  5. www.digitaltechnologieshub.edu.au/media/thabeift/digital-systems_a3_web_3-6.pdf
  6. curriculum.nsw.edu.au/learning-areas/science/science-and-technology-k-6-2024/content/stage-3/fa9723a7dc

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