A spec sheet lists a computer's parts and how much of each it has: processor cores and speed, RAM, storage size and type, network bandwidth and graphics. Each one measures something different, on a phone, a laptop or a server.
Your phone has "256 GB" and "8 GB" on its box. Which one decides how many apps stay open?
Every computer, from a phone to a server, has the same main parts. A spec sheet (specifications) says how much of each one it has. Each spec measures something different.
Predict: Read the problem and decide what you think before you try anything. A wrong guess is fine: it shows you what to look for.
Try: Try it on the board and compare the result with your prediction.
Investigate: Work out why it happens, one step at a time.
Modify: Change the problem on purpose and see what happens.
Practise: A few on your own, to check you have it.
Make: Make your own problem using what you have learned. Expect a few tries; that is normal.
Make your prediction first. Help opens once you've locked it in.
PredictRead the problem and decide what you think before you try anything. A wrong guess is fine: it shows you what to look for.
Which spec?
TryTry it on the board and compare the result with your prediction.
Try: read the spec sheet
Was your prediction right? Try the phone and the server too.
Try it yourselfYour edits are saved in this browser.
Press "What does it measure?" on all five rows. Which one is about how much it can work on at once?
Use the board. This ticks when you get there.
InvestigateWork out why it happens, one step at a time.
Worked example: reading a spec sheet
Worked exampleBefore each step, say what you think comes next.
8-core 3.0 GHz processor8 cores work on 8 things at once; each takes 3 billion steps a second.
16 GB RAMThe working space: running apps and open files. It empties when the power goes off.
512 GB SSDStorage: keeps 512 GB with the power off. SSD is the fast type; HDD is slower.
Wi-Fi, 300 Mb/sNetwork bandwidth: 300 million bits can arrive each second.
built-in graphicsNo separate graphics card: the processor's own graphics.
Now name the spec on a phone box.
Sam reads a phone's spec sheet. Click the line where it first goes wrong.
ModifyChange the problem on purpose and see what happens.
Vary: phone, laptop, server
Try it yourselfYour edits are saved in this browser.
PractiseA few on your own, to check you have it.
Sort the specs
Which part does each spec describe?
3.2 GHz
6 cores
16 GB, empties when switched off
1 TB SSD
2 TB hard disk (HDD)
Wi-Fi 6, up to 600 Mb/s
MakeMake your own problem using what you have learned. Expect a few tries; that is normal.
Build it from an advert
Then: find the spec sheet of your own phone or laptop (Settings › About). Which numbers are RAM and which are storage?
Try it yourselfYour edits are saved in this browser.
Need a hint?
Start with the processor row: cores, then speed.
Another hint
1 TB is 1024 GB.
Another hint
1 Gb/s is 1000 Mb/s.
An advert says: "8-core 3.0 GHz processor, 16 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 1 Gb/s wired network, built-in graphics." Set the spec sheet to match.
Use the board. This ticks when you get there.
For teachers
Students open what each row of a spec sheet measures (processor, RAM, storage, network, graphics), compare a phone, a laptop and a server, and set a spec sheet to match an advert (AC9TDI8K01 node 1). About 35 minutes.
I can say what each spec measures, in plain words.
I can explain why a phone, a laptop and a server have different specs.
Before class
Try the boards yourself.
The one idea: each spec measures a different thing. Lesson 2 needs this exact vocabulary to find a bottleneck, so a student who still mixes up RAM and storage at the exit ticket needs a second go before lesson 2 (this is a hinge).
Hands-on: bring an old desktop or laptop to open, or show a teardown photo, and point at each part. Students can find their own device's specs under Settings › About (phones show storage clearly; RAM is often hidden).
The kitchen comparison (chefs, bench, pantry, delivery van, helpers) is on the board; use it consistently. Numbers on the board are simplified and round; real prices change.
Running the lesson
Predict: students who chose storage hold Sam's misconception.
Try: ask which rows are about "how much" and which about "how fast".
Worked example: model reading each line aloud: part, number, what it measures.
Vary: ask why a server needs so much RAM if nobody sits at it.
Make: ask which line of the advert was hardest to place, and why.
The hard part (on purpose)
Everyday language calls both RAM and storage "memory". Hold the line: working space (RAM) versus what it keeps (storage), every time it comes up.
When students get stuck
A student adds RAM and storage together (Sam's mistake). Ask: Which one empties when you switch off? Fix: RAM; they are different parts for different jobs.
A student reads GB as speed. Ask: Is a bigger pantry a faster chef? Fix: GB is an amount; GHz and Mb/s are speeds.
Stretch and support
Stretch: Look up the specs of a games console and a Chromebook. Which spec is very different, and why does that suit what each is for?
Support: A card with five rows: part, unit, what it measures, kitchen picture.
Where it leads
Next: Find the bottleneck (which spec slows a job down).
Links: Data representation (bits and bytes: a GB is about a billion bytes; Mb/s is millions of bits); Networks (bandwidth).
which spec?: Committing to which spec decides how many apps stay open tests the new move, what each spec measures, before students read the sheet.
Try: read the spec sheet: Opening what each row measures settles the prediction: RAM is the working space, not storage or speed.
Worked example: reading a spec sheet: Reading a real advert line by line models the new move: name the part, say what its number measures. Sam adds RAM and storage together, the misconception planted after the method.
Vary: phone, laptop, server: Each task changes one thing, the device, so students see the same specs matter differently: a phone, a laptop, then a server that many people use at once.
sort the specs: Sorting spec-sheet phrases by part is the same move in mixed forms, plus a review of how many patterns bits make.
build it from an advert: Setting the board to match an advert reverses the process: from the words on a spec sheet to the parts they describe.
Now you can
Name the main specs on a spec sheet.
Say what each spec measures, in plain words.
Explain why a phone, a laptop and a server have different specs.