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Inside the Machine G3 to G5 / Week 03 / Crew Quest
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Week 03 · The processor

Crew Quest

Crew Quest: Be the Processor
// One instruction at a time, billions of times a second
⏱ about 15 min

Crew Quest: Be the Processor

The Fix-It Bay is quiet. Rocket lines up a stack of paper cards on the bench. "Each card is one instruction. I will be the processor!"

Raven picks up a spoon and taps it on a cup. "What do you notice? You can only take a card when I tap."

Nova dims to a soft glow. "Now you will feel what a processor feels," she says. "Would you like a quest? Follow the cards, one tick at a time."

  1. The processor follows instructions one at a time.
  2. The clock ticks to keep every step in time.
  3. Everything inside is a switch: on or off, 1 or 0.
  4. Four bits with values 8, 4, 2, 1 can show 0 to 15.
  5. Fetch, do, next, tick.
◇ BE THE PROCESSOR
You need paper cards, a pencil and a partner with a spoon and a cup.
Write one instruction on each card. Try: start with 2, add 3, double it, take away 1.
Stack the cards face down. Your partner taps the cup once every two seconds.
On each tap, fetch one card, do the step, and say the number out loud.
Then your partner taps faster. Can you keep up? What happens when you fall behind?
Swap roles. Then write a new program with five cards and trace it together.
Last, lay four coins in a row for binary. Flip them to show the number your program ended on.
Safety first
Play at a table with room to spread out the cards.
Tap gently on a plastic or paper cup, not glass.
For a grown-up
Ask your child to name the fetch, do and next moves as they play.
When the taps get fast, point out that this is like a stuttering game.
Help with the binary coins if the number is bigger than 15.
QUEST CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
In the game, what does the spoon tap stand for?
Cards say: start with 2, add 3, double it, take away 1. What is the end number?
The taps come too fast and you fall behind. What is this like?
StatementTrue or false?
A processor can take two cards at once.?
Binary 1001 is the number 9.?
The clock keeps the steps in time.?
Four coins with values 8, 4, 2, 1 can show 20.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEOne step per tick, and coins that are on or off. That is the whole idea of a processor.
Draw yourself as the processor. Show the card stack, the tapping clock and the number you are holding.

Quest complete, Crew Technician! You have been the processor. Next week you will explore where the processor keeps its work: memory and storage.

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