What does microchip mean?
Word: Microchip
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Microchip means a very small piece of material inside a computer or phone that holds the tiny circuits that make it work.
How do you spell microchip?
Syllables: mi - cro - chip
Tricky part: The r comes before the o in the middle. In quick speech the o nearly disappears, so children swap the two letters or lose the o.
Watch out for: micorchip, micrchip
Memory tip: Robots run on these tiny parts. Let the r and o at the start of robot remind you of the order here.
Microchip in a sentence
Example 1: The microchip in my toy robot is smaller than a fingernail.
Example 2: A single microchip can hold millions of tiny switches.
Example 3: Engineers in Bengaluru design a new microchip every few years.
Fun Fact
Jack Kilby of the USA showed the first working chip of this kind in 1958, and he received a Nobel Prize in Physics for it in 2000.
Practise the CREST Way
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
hcromipic
a) microchip
b) microwave
c) microscope
d) mischief
Show answer
a) microchip. Microscope, microwave and mischief all need an e, a letter missing here.
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
____chip
a) miccro
b) mycro
c) mikro
d) micro
Show answer
d) micro. Micro means very small, and it begins microscope too.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
A tiny microship inside the watch counts every step you take.
a) microship
b) inside
c) tiny
d) step
Show answer
a) microship. The sound at the start of the last part is ch, as in cheese.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) satellite
b) microchipp
c) electronic
d) calculator
Show answer
b) microchipp. One p closes the word, as in drip and clip.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Without a microchip, which device would stop working?
a) a brass door handle
b) a digital camera
c) a wooden spinning top
d) a bamboo fishing rod
Show answer
b) a digital camera
2. Compared with the computers of the 1950s, machines with microchips are ____.
a) louder and costlier
b) far smaller and faster
c) heavier and noisier
d) much larger and slower
Show answer
b) far smaller and faster
