inPUT OUTPUT AND STORAGE

Question 1

what does a input device do?

Answer 1

Input data is raw fata, by processing it we give it meaning and can complete the associated task

Question 2

Examples of input devices

Answer 2

Mouse Camera keyboard

Question 3

examples of accessibility input devices

Answer 3

Braille keyboard, eye tracker , microphone

Question 4

What does a output device do?

Answer 4

Takes processed data and interprets it to present for a user.

Question 5

examples of output devices

Answer 5

monitor, printer , speaker

Question 6

example of accessibility output devices

Answer 6

Braille Embosser

Question 7

What are the primary storage devices

Answer 7

RAM/CACHE/ROM

Question 8

What are the pros and cons of primary memory`

Answer 8

Very fast/ close to the CPU

Volatile - loses contents when no power

Question 9

What does RAM do?

Answer 9

RAM is used to store currently running programs and data

Question 10

What are secondary storage devices?

Answer 10

Magnetic Hard Disk Drive / SSD / CD / DVD

Question 11

What are the pros and cons of secondary storage

Answer 11

• Slower read/write speeds than primary memory

- non-volatile - retains it’s contents when there is no power

Question 12

What is the purpose of secondary storage

Answer 12

• To store the OS

- To store programs and data whilst not in use

Question 13

What are the different types of secondary storage

Answer 13

Optical / Magnetic / Solid State

Question 14

How does Optical storage work?

Answer 14

Uses a laser to read pits and lands by reading the reflection.

Large volumes can created quickly and they are lightweight and cheap - making them perfect for distributing music / games / software / films

Question 15

What are the Pros and cons of optical storage?

Answer 15

• Lightweight
• cheap
• portable
• easy to scratch
• slow read / write

Question 16

How does Magnetic storage work?

Answer 16

Uses polarity to ‘read’ and ‘write’ magnetism to a disk/tape

a HDD has a read-write head that is very close to the fast spinning platters - makes it delicate

Question 17

What are the Pros and cons of magnetic storage?

Answer 17

• Price per GB is very cheap
• Large Capacity

Fragile
Mechanical - Will eventually fail

Question 18

how does solid state memory work?

Answer 18

uses logic gates to store 1s and 0s (many NAND gates)

No moving parts therefore more durable and less power required

Question 19

what are the prose and cons of SSD

Answer 19

• Very fast read/write speeds
• Durable and lightweight
• in general more expensive per GB the HDD
• limited number of read/writes

Question 20

What is Virtual Storage

Answer 20

When data/files are physically stored on a computer (server) in another location, accessed via a network.

Such as n: drive at collage. Or Google Drive

Question 21

What is Virtual Memory

Answer 21

When free space in RAM is low. The OS can use your HDD / SSD as virtual Memory (a bit like RAM).

Parts of currently running programs might be transferred to Virtual memory to free up some space

if the pages in virtual memory are needed by the CPU they need to be transferred back to RAM first.

Virtual Memory slows down your computer but, at least it doesn’t crash

Question 22

what are the pros and cons of virtual storage

Answer 22

• Can store a lot of data (perhaps more than you could on your computer)
• Can access your files from any location
• Can share / collaborate on a document
• Might incur a cost
• Security /backup you are trusting another company to look after your data and not get hacked
• relies on a connection with enough bandwidth

Question 23

What is ROM

Answer 23

Read only memory.
A computer might use ROM to store the Bootstrap program.

A small program that helps to get your OS loaded from Secondary Storage when you first turn on your computer

-its non-volatile

some embedded computers might only have ROM and secondary storage. As they only need to load their programs and these programs never change.