'Computer memory' is like your computer's short-term brainpower. Just like you use your memory to remember a phone number or a recipe, your computer uses its memory to temporarily store and manage information that it's currently using or processing:
Now, when you open a program on your computer, like your internet browser or a word processor, that program needs a bit of your computer's memory to do its job. It's like the program is borrowing a piece of the computer's brainpower so it can run and perform tasks.
Each program you open uses a different part of this memory. If too many programs are open at once, and the memory gets filled up, your computer might slow down, because it's like trying to remember too many things at once. Closing programs when you're done with them helps free up memory, so your computer can work faster and more efficiently.
So, in a nutshell, 'computer memory' is the short-term information storage area that programs use to run and do their tasks.