Computer science facts for kids

Computer science is all about understanding and working with information. It's how we learn to handle, organize, change, and store data using computers.

This field has many different parts. Some parts look at problems in a very general way. Other parts focus on special machines called computers.

People who work in computer science often use mathematics, science, and logic. These skills help them create and use computers effectively.

What do computer scientists do?

How do computer scientists find new ways to do things?

Computer scientists are like detectives! They ask lots of questions to find new and easier ways to solve problems. They also figure out the best ways to approach these problems using information.

How do they ask the right questions?

Computers are great at some tasks, like simple math or sorting a list of names. But they can't answer questions if there isn't enough information. Also, some tasks might take too long for a computer to finish perfectly.

For example, finding the shortest path through every single town in a country would take a computer a very long time. Instead, a computer might make a really good guess. This guess is called a heuristic. Computers can answer these simpler, "good guess" questions much faster.

How do they find answers to questions?

Algorithms are like step-by-step instructions for solving a problem. Imagine you want to sort a deck of playing cards. A computer scientist might first sort them by color. Then, they would order them by number (2, 3, 4, etc.).

The scientist thinks about different ways to sort the cards. Once they decide on a method, they have created an algorithm. After making the algorithm, they test it to make sure it always works. This helps them see how well their program sorts the cards.

A very slow way to sort cards could be to drop them, pick them up, and check if they're sorted. If not, you do it again! This method works, but it would take a very long time.

A faster way is to look through all the cards, find the first card (like the 2 of diamonds), and put it at the start. Then you find the second card, and so on. This method is much quicker and doesn't need much space. This type of sorting is called a selection sort.

Computer science started during World War II. It became its own field in the 1960s and 1970s. Today, it has its own special methods and words. It is connected to electrical engineering, mathematics, and language science.

Computer science focuses on the ideas and theories behind computers. Computer engineering deals with the physical parts of computers (the hardware). Software engineering is about using and creating computer programs.

Important parts of computer science

Core math and ideas

• Boolean algebra: This is about things that can only be true or false.
• Computer numbering formats: How computers count and store numbers.
• Discrete mathematics: Math that uses numbers you can count, like whole numbers.
• Symbolic logic: Clear ways to talk about math ideas.
• Algorithmic information theory: How easily a computer can answer a question.
• Complexity theory: How much time and memory a computer needs to solve a problem.
• Computability theory: Can a computer actually do something?
• Information theory: Math that looks at data and how to process it.
• Theory of computation: How to answer questions on a computer using algorithms.
• Graph theory: Math that helps find directions from one point to another.
• Algorithms: Step-by-step instructions for solving problems.
• Compilers: Tools that turn words into computer programs.
• Operating systems: Big computer programs (like Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS) that control a computer's hardware and software.
• Cryptography: The science of hiding data to keep it secret.

Computer science in action

• Artificial intelligence: Making computers learn and act like people.
• Computer architecture: How computers are built.
• Computer graphics: Making pictures and animations with computers.
• Computer networks: Connecting computers to each other.
• Computer programs: Instructions that tell a computer what to do.
• Computer programming: The act of writing these computer programs.
• Computer security: Keeping computers and their data safe from harm.
• Databases: Organized ways to store and manage large amounts of data.
• Data structures: How data is organized and grouped inside a computer.
• Distributed computing: Using many computers together to solve a hard problem.
• Programming languages: The special languages programmers use to write computer programs.
• Robots: Using computers to control machines that can do tasks.
• Software engineering: How programmers design and build software.

What computer science helps us do

• Benchmarking: Testing a computer's power or speed.
• Computer vision: How computers can "see" and understand images.
• Data compression: Making data smaller so it takes up less space.
• Data structures: How computers group and sort data.
• Human-computer interaction: How people use and interact with computers.
• Information security: Keeping data safe from others.
• Internet: A huge network that connects almost all computers worldwide.
• Web applications: Computer programs that run on the Internet.
• Optimization: Making computer programs work faster and better.

Related pages

• Computing
• Turing Award
• IEEE John von Neumann Medal
• Computer jargon
• Computer slang
• Computer science basic topics
• Encyclopedia of Computer Terms

Images for kids

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  Charles Babbage, sometimes called the "father of computing".

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  Ada Lovelace published the first algorithm meant for a computer.

See also

In Spanish: Ciencias de la computación para niños