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Drivers - Answers

Q1. A peripheral is any piece of hardware you can plug into your computer e.g. a webcam.
Q2. A driver is a piece of software that allows some hardware to work with an operating system in a computer.
Q3. Always try to use the latest driver that has all of the features for your particular equipment. Generic drivers may not make all the features work and drivers that come with some equipment may be out of date and e.g. contain an unfixed bug. Use the official one from the manufacturer's website.
Q4. Sometimes, drivers will not work unless they are started correctly by the operating system so you need to reboot your computer to make this happen.

Extension tasks
a) There are many that can be used. I would recommend using the book called BCS Glossary of Computing and ICT for all definitions. It's the 'bible' for exam boards whenever there is any debate about definitions.
b) Students should learn how to locate, download and install the latest drivers. The teacher might want to demonstrate this to the class with an example.

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