What term refers to the physical elements of a computing system such as printer, circuit boards, wires, and keyboard?

What term refers to the physical elements of a computing system such as printer, circuit boards, wires, and keyboard?

• A. Software
• B. Hardware
• C. Firmware
• D. Network

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is telling apart tangible computer components from intangible software. The physical elements like a printer, circuit boards, wires, and a keyboard are hardware—the actual devices and hardware infrastructure that you can touch and connect. Software, in contrast, refers to the programs and instructions that run on that hardware. Firmware is a specialized type of software stored in hardware to control it at a low level (think BIOS or embedded controllers), so while it’s stored on hardware, it’s still software. A network isn’t a single physical component; it’s the arrangement of devices that communicate, which is about connectivity rather than the individual physical parts. So the term that matches the description is hardware.

The main idea here is telling apart tangible computer components from intangible software. The physical elements like a printer, circuit boards, wires, and a keyboard are hardware—the actual devices and hardware infrastructure that you can touch and connect. Software, in contrast, refers to the programs and instructions that run on that hardware. Firmware is a specialized type of software stored in hardware to control it at a low level (think BIOS or embedded controllers), so while it’s stored on hardware, it’s still software. A network isn’t a single physical component; it’s the arrangement of devices that communicate, which is about connectivity rather than the individual physical parts. So the term that matches the description is hardware.