What term is used to describe the physical components of a computer system?

The term that describes the physical components of a computer system is "hardware." Hardware encompasses all the tangible, physical parts of a computer that you can see and touch. This includes components such as the central processing unit (CPU), memory (RAM), hard drives, motherboards, graphics cards, and all other peripherals like keyboards and printers.

Understanding the distinction between hardware and other related concepts is important. For instance, software refers to the programs and applications that run on the hardware, making it functional and useful. Networks refer to systems of interconnected computers that communicate with each other, facilitating data sharing and resource use. Firmware is a specialized form of software that provides low-level control for a device’s specific hardware, often embedded directly into the hardware itself.

By recognizing the definition of hardware, it becomes clear that the term specifically pertains to the physical elements of a computer system, distinguishing it from software, networks, and firmware.