How do I determine if i have apple silicon

You can go to the Apple menu and choose About this Mac.

It will tell you the model and year. If it says M1 somewhere, then it is an Apple Silicon mac; otherwise not.

If your mac is older than 2 years it is not Apple Silicon for sure. The first Apple Silicon macs were released in November of 2020.

If you have a 27" iMac, you do not have Apple Silicone.

Apple silicone refers to the M1 series of processors in the newest Macs.