Manchester Baby

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/manchester-baby

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is Manchester Baby?32 bits
2. How big is Manchester Baby?32 words (1 kibibit or 1,024 bits)
3. What is the designation?Small-Scale Experimental Machine (SSEM), commonly known as the Manchester Baby
4. What is the primary innovation?First electronic stored-program computer

Stored-Program Computer: A computer architecture where program instructions are stored in the same memory as data, allowing for dynamic reprogramming.
Random-Access Memory (RAM): A type of computer memory that allows data items to be read or written in roughly the same amount of time, regardless of their physical location.
Williams Tube: An early form of computer memory using a cathode ray tube to store binary data, pioneering random access.
General-Purpose Computer: A computer designed to perform a wide range of tasks, as opposed to a special-purpose computer designed for a specific function.