Explain the item in the accompanying figure, and use the following terms in your answer: chip, integrated circuit, and transistor.

What will be an ideal response?

Student responses will vary, but should be drawn from the following information from the text.

The motherboard, sometimes called a system board, is the main circuit board of the computer. Many electronic components, such as the processor and memory, attach to the motherboard; others are built into it. On personal computers, the circuitry for the processor, memory, and other components reside on a computer chip(s). A computer chip is a small piece of semi-conducting material, usually silicon, on which integrated circuits are etched. An integrated circuit contains many microscopic pathways capable of carrying electrical current. Each integrated circuit can contain millions of elements such as resistors, capacitors, and transistors. A transistor, for example, can act as an electronic switch that opens or closes the circuit for electrical charges. Today's computer chips contain millions or billions of transistors. Most chips are no bigger than one-half-inch square. Manufacturers package chips so that the chips can be attached to a circuit board, such as a motherboard.