1.1.3 Input Output and Storage Flashcards
What is an input device?
A device that allows data to be entered into the computer?
What is an output device?
A device that reports the result of processing to the user
Name three sensors that could be used as input
e.g.
1. Thermistor (temperature)
2. Ultrasonic sensor (distance)
3. Gyroscope (rotation)
4. Accelerometer (acceleration)
5. Moisture sensor
6. Light sensor
7. GPS (position)
Name three input devices
e.g.
1. Mouse
2. Graphics tablet
3. Touch pad / touch screen
4. Joystick
5. Keyboard
6. Keypad
7. Button
8. Microphone
9. Camera / webcam
10. Barcode reader
Name three output device
e.g.
1. Monitor
2. Touch screen
3. LED lights
4. Speakers
5. Headphones
5. Printer
6. Projector
What is secondary storage?
Non-volatile, long term, storage for programs and files
What are the four types of secondary storage?
- Optical
- Magnetic
- Flash / Solid State
- Virtual / Cloud
Give an example of an optical storage device
e.g. CDROM, DVDROM, CD, DVD, BluRay
What are the advantages of optical storage?
- Portable, because it’s small, light, and has no moving parts
- Cheap per GB of storage
- Doesn’t require an internet connection
What are the disadvantages of optical storage?
- Requires the user to have a disk drive
- Can get scratched
- Hard to find in larger capacities
Explain how optical storage works
Data is stored using pits and lands
Which are read/written onto a reflective surface with a lasar
The angle that the light is reflected at determines if a 0 or 1 is stored
Give an example of a magnetic storage device
Hard Disk Drive, magnetic tape
What are the advantages of magnetic storage?
- Low cost per GB
- High capacity
- Long lifespan
- Doesn’t require an internet connection
What are the disadvantages of magnetic storage?
- Sensitive to magnets
- Moving parts make it slow, noisy, and consume a lot of power
- Can be damaged by sudden movement
Explain how a Hard Disk Drive works?
Magnetic patters are read off of disks/platters that spin at high speeds
The direction of the magnetic field indicates whether a zero or a one is stored
What are the advantages of flash/solid state storage?
- Portable, because it’s small, light, and has no moving parts
- Fast data read/write times
- Doesn’t require an internet connection
- Silent to use
What are the disadvantages of flash/solid state storage?
- High cost per GB
- Reduced life span (limited amount of read/write operations)
Give an example of a flash/solid state storage device
e.g. Solid State Drive, USB memory stick
Explain how solid state/flash storage works
NAND or DRAM memory chips
have their contents erased and overwrittedn when an electical charge is applied
Explain how cloud/virtual storage works
Data is stored on a remote device
accessible through the internet
normally owned by a third party
What are the advantages of cloud/virtual storage?
- Data can be accessed from anywhere
- Does not take up physical space and easy to expand by upgrading plan
- Most cloud services automatically handle backups, security, and maintenance
- No risk of losing a physical storage device
What are the disadvantages of cloud/virtual storage?
- Requires an internet connection
- If the host company goes out of buisness, data could be lost
- Reliant on a third party for security, and potentially sensitive data must be sent accross the internet
- Slower than local physical storage
What is primary memory?
Memory directly accessible by the CPU
What is RAM?
Random Access Memory
Stores programs currently in use
What is ROM?
Read Only Memory
Stores BIOS and boot program
What are the characteristics of RAM?
- Has read and write access
- volatile - will lose all data when the computer is turned off
What are the characteristics of ROM?
- Read only
- Non-volatile - won’t lose data when the computer is turned off
- Quick to start up
