1.1.3 - Input, Output and Storage

Question 1

What is the definition of an input device?

Answer 1

An input device is a device that can be used to put data and information into a computer.

Question 2

What is the definition of an output device?

Answer 2

An output device is a device that can be used to send information from a computer.

Question 3

Name two examples of input devices.

Answer 3

Mouse
Keyboard
Webcam
Magnetic Stripe Reader
Barcode Reader

Question 4

Name two examples of output devices.

Answer 4

Speakers
Monitor
Printers
Projector

Question 5

Name the three types of secondary storage.

Answer 5

Optical, magnetic, flash.

Question 6

Describe how optical devices work.

Answer 6

Optical devices are read from and written to using lasers. Binary information is represented by portions of the disc which either reflect or scatter the incident light ray. If the laser hits a pit, the light is scattered and a 0 is represented. If the laser hits a land, the light is reflected and a 1 is represented.

Question 7

Name the three types of optical disc.

Answer 7

Compact disc (CD)
Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)
Blu-Ray

Question 8

What does a CD usually store and what is its capacity?

Answer 8

A CD usually stores music/audio files as it only has 700MB of storage capacity.

Question 9

What does a DVD usually store and what is its capacity?

Answer 9

A DVD usually stores standard definition films/video files as it has 4.7GB of storage capacity.

Question 10

What does a Blu-Ray disc usually store and what is its capacity?

Answer 10

A Blu-Ray disc usually stores high-definition films and games as it has 25GB of storage capacity.

Question 11

Name the three sub-types of optical disc and what they mean.

Answer 11

R - Write once
RW - Re-writable
ROM - Read only

Question 12

Name two types of magnetic storage media.

Answer 12

Hard disk drives
Magnetic tape
Floppy disks

Question 13

How does a hard disk drive work?

Answer 13

A hard disk drive works by rotating magnetic platters under a read/write head on an actuating arm. A magnetically charged particle represents a 1 and a non-magnetically charged particle represents a 0.

Question 14

Name an example of a flash storage device.

Answer 14

Solid state drive.

Question 15

How does a flash storage device work?

Answer 15

A flash storage device stores electrical charge in one of two states: high or low. A high electrical charge represents a 1, a low electrical charge represents a 0.

Question 16

Name an example of flash storage.

Answer 16

Solid state drive (SSD)

Question 17

Describe the properties of magnetic storage.

Answer 17

Magnetic storage has high capacity and low cost.

It has medium transfer speeds.

It is reliable but not robust.

Question 18

Describe the properties of optical storage.

Answer 18

Optical storage has low capacity and low cost.

It has slow read/write speeds.

It is robust but is susceptible to scratches.

It is very portable.

Question 19

Describe the properties of flash storage.

Answer 19

Flash storage has medium capacity but a very high cost.

It has very fast read/write speeds.

It is very reliable.

Question 20

Name two types of primary storage.

Answer 20

Random-access memory (RAM) and Read-only memory (ROM)

Question 21

Is RAM or ROM volatile?

Answer 21

RAM is volatile.

Question 22

What does volatile mean?

Answer 22

If a device is volatile, it loses its data when the power is switched off.

Question 23

What does ROM store?

Answer 23

ROM the computer’s start-up (bootstrap) routine.

Question 24

What issues does virtual memory have?

Answer 24

Virtual memory decreases the performance of a computer as data is constantly having to be switched between RAM and secondary storage.

Question 25

What is virtual memory?

Answer 25

Virtual memory is where secondary storage is treated as if it is RAM.