🟢 First, Let’s Remember What the CPU Is

In the last lesson, we learned about the CPU.
It’s a small chip inside your computer.

But what does it really do?

➡️ The CPU is the boss.
It reads instructions and tells other parts what to do.
It works fast — super fast!
But it needs help. It can’t do everything alone.

So who helps the CPU?

Two big helpers are:

• 📝 RAM (short-term memory)

• 📦 Storage (long-term memory)

Let’s learn what they do.

📝 What Is RAM?

RAM is like your brain’s scratchpad.

When the computer is doing something right now — like showing you a game or helping you draw — it uses RAM.

You can think of RAM like a little whiteboard.
The computer writes things on it while it works.

🧽 But when the computer turns off, RAM gets wiped clean. It forgets everything.

So:
✅ RAM is fast.
❌ But RAM forgets.

📦 What Is Storage?

Storage is where your computer saves things to keep forever.
Your pictures, your songs, your saved games — they live here.

Storage is like a bookshelf.

You put your finished work on the shelf, and it stays there — even when the computer is off.

✅ Storage remembers.
❌ But it’s slower than RAM.

🧠 What About the CPU?

The CPU is the thinker.

It:

• Reads steps

• Follows them

• Solves problems

• Tells others what to do

But the CPU doesn’t remember much.
It can only hold a teeny-tiny bit of information.

That’s why it needs RAM (to hold things it’s working on right now)
and Storage (to keep things saved for later).

🎮 A Fun Example: Playing a Game

Let’s say you open a game on your computer.

Here’s what happens:

1. You click the game icon.

2. The CPU says, “Let’s play!”

3. It goes to storage to find the game files.

4. It moves those files to RAM — the scratchpad.

5. Now it can work fast and run the game for you.

If the RAM is small, the CPU can’t fit the whole game on the pad.
So it keeps going back to storage, which is slow.
That’s when your game may freeze or feel slow.

💡 Easy Way to Remember

🧠 Why Can’t the CPU Remember?

The CPU is busy thinking.
It doesn’t have space to remember lots of stuff.

It has tiny spots called registers that can hold very small things — like a number.

But to do bigger jobs, it needs RAM and Storage to help.

🧩 Let’s Pretend You Are the Computer

You = CPU (the thinker)
Your desk = RAM (work space)
Your bookshelf = Storage (save place)

📝 To do your homework:

1. You go to your bookshelf and grab your math book.

2. You bring it to your desk.

3. You start working.

That’s just like how the CPU works!

🧼 What Happens When You Turn Off the Computer?

When the computer turns off:

• ❌ RAM forgets everything (whiteboard gets erased)

• ✅ Storage keeps everything (books stay on the shelf)

• 🔋 The CPU stops thinking (it needs power to work)

⚠️ What If RAM or Storage Is Full?

If RAM is full:

• The computer has no space to work.

• Things get slow.

• Sometimes, apps or games crash.

If Storage is full:

• You can’t save new files.

• Your computer may feel heavy and slow.

So it’s a good idea to:

✔️ Close apps you don’t need
✔️ Clean up old files once in a while

🪄 A Fun Fact

Did you know?

RAM chips are made from sand!
The sand is turned into a shiny thing called silicon, which helps electricity move.
That’s what your RAM is made of!

Isn’t that cool?