1.2 Memory And Storage

Question 1

What is ROM?

Answer 1

A small piece of read-only memory located on the motherboard.

Question 2

What are the characteristics of ROM?

Answer 2

Non-volatile and contains the very first instructions for the computer (bootstrap).

Question 3

What is RAM?

Answer 3

Temporary storage of instructions and data.

Question 4

What are the characteristics of RAM?

Answer 4

Holds information being executed by the processor, is volatile, and is much faster than the hard disk.

Question 5

What does RAM hold?

Answer 5

RAM holds the operating system, programs, and data in use by the CPU when the computer is running.

Question 6

Is RAM volatile or non-volatile?

Answer 6

RAM is volatile, meaning its contents are lost when the power is turned off.

Question 7

Can data in RAM be read and written?

Answer 7

Yes, RAM allows both read and write operations.

Question 8

How does the size of RAM compare to ROM?

Answer 8

RAM is large in comparison to ROM.

Question 9

What does ROM hold?

Answer 9

ROM holds the first instructions for when the computer is first turned on, known as the bootstrap.

Question 10

Where may programs be stored in ROM?

Answer 10

Programs may be stored in ROM in embedded systems.

Question 11

Is ROM volatile or non-volatile?

Answer 11

ROM is non-volatile, meaning its contents remain when power is turned off.

Question 12

Can data in ROM be read and written?

Answer 12

ROM is read-only.

Question 13

How does the size of ROM compare to RAM?

Answer 13

ROM is small in comparison to RAM.

Question 14

What is virtual memory?

Answer 14

Virtual memory is needed when there is not enough physical RAM to store the open programs.

Question 15

Where is virtual memory held?

Answer 15

Virtual memory is held on the hard disk.

Question 16

What happens to programs when they are not currently being executed?

Answer 16

Programs are transferred out to virtual memory from the RAM.

Question 17

What happens to programs when they are needed again?

Answer 17

Programs are transferred back to RAM from virtual memory.

Question 18

What is secondary storage?

Answer 18

Storage used for backing up and archiving of large amounts of data.

Question 19

What is primary storage?

Answer 19

The operating system, programs, and data are held here when not in use.

Question 20

What are examples of primary storage?

Answer 20

RAM, ROM, Registers & Cache.

Question 21

What is tertiary storage?

Answer 21

Storage used for backing up and archiving of large amounts of data.

Question 22

Why is secondary storage needed?

Answer 22

Secondary storage is needed because ROM is read-only and RAM is volatile.

Question 23

What are the purposes of secondary storage?

Answer 23

1. Storage of programs and data when the power is turned off.
2. Semi-permanent storage of data that can change.
3. Backup of data files.
4. Archive of data files.

Question 24

What is the symbol for a Bit?

Answer 24

b

Question 25

What is a Nibble?

Answer 25

4 bits

Question 26

What is the symbol for a Byte?

Answer 26

B

Question 27

How many bits are in a Byte?

Answer 27

8 bits

Question 28

What is the symbol for a Kilobyte?

Answer 28

KB

Question 29

How many bytes are in a Kilobyte?

Answer 29

1024 bytes

Question 30

What is the symbol for a Megabyte?

Answer 30

MB

Question 31

How many bytes are in a Megabyte?

Answer 31

1,000,000 bytes

Question 32

What is the symbol for a Gigabyte?

Answer 32

GB

Question 33

How many bytes are in a Gigabyte?

Answer 33

1,000,000,000 bytes

Question 34

What is the symbol for a Terabyte?

Answer 34

TB

Question 35

How many bytes are in a Terabyte?

Answer 35

1,000,000,000,000 bytes

Question 36

What is the symbol for a Petabyte?

Answer 36

PB

Question 37

How many bytes are in a Petabyte?

Answer 37

1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes

Question 38

What is the binary value of a Bit?

Answer 38

0 or 1

Question 39

What is the decimal value of a Kilobyte?

Answer 39

10^3

Question 40

What is the decimal value of a Megabyte?

Answer 40

10^6

Question 41

What is the decimal value of a Gigabyte?

Answer 41

10^9

Question 42

What is the decimal value of a Terabyte?

Answer 42

10^12

Question 43

What is the decimal value of a Petabyte?

Answer 43

10^15

Question 44

What is the approximation for ½ byte?

Answer 44

Written as ½ byte

Question 45

What is the approximation for 1 byte?

Answer 45

Written as 1 byte

Question 46

What is the approximation for 1,000 bytes?

Answer 46

Written as 1,000 bytes

Question 47

What is the approximation for 1,000,000 bytes?

Answer 47

Written as 1,000,000 bytes

Question 48

What is the approximation for 1,000,000,000 bytes?

Answer 48

Written as 1,000,000,000 bytes

Question 49

What is the approximation for 1,000,000,000,000 bytes?

Answer 49

Written as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes

Question 50

What is the approximation for 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes?

Answer 50

Written as 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes

Question 51

What is 1,000 bytes referred to as?

Answer 51

Thousand bytes

Question 52

What is 1,000,000 bytes referred to as?

Answer 52

Million bytes

Question 53

What is 1,000,000,000 bytes referred to as?

Answer 53

Billion bytes

Question 54

What is 1,000,000,000,000 bytes referred to as?

Answer 54

Trillion bytes

Question 55

What is 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes referred to as?

Answer 55

Quadrillion bytes