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Computing GCSE > Memory and Storage > Flashcards

Memory and Storage Flashcards

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1
Q

What is primary storage?

A

It’s low-capacity, internal storage that can be directly accessed by the CPU

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2
Q

Why was primary storage needed?

A

Primary storage access speeds are much faster than secondary storage

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3
Q

What does RAM mean and what are its features?

A

Random Access Memory
Volatile (temporary)
Stores all the programs that are currently running

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4
Q

What does ROM mean and what are its features?

A

Read-Only Memory
Non-volatile
Can’t be changed
Stores boot program/ BIOS
BIOS loads operating system

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5
Q

Where are programming instructions stored and what is the processing of them?

A

Stored by the RAM
It’s copied from the hard drive into the RAM which can the be processed by the CPU

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6
Q

Why is virtual memory need?

A

If there isn’t enough space for all the programs in the the RAM
The Hard Drive Disk can be used as an extension -virtual memory

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7
Q

What are some characteristics of primary storage?

A

Very quick as it’s accessed by CPU
Smaller storage size
Called ‘main memory’

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8
Q

What are some characteristics of secondary storage?

A

Slower not directly accessed by CPU
Larger storage size
Long-term storage of data and files

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9
Q

Why is secondary storage needed?

A

To save and store data that will be accessed repeatedly
Non-volatile storage

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10
Q

Examples of magnetic storage:

A

Floppy disk
Magnetic tape

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11
Q

What are some magnetic storage characteristics?

A

Large capacity
Cheaper than solid state
Not durable or portable
Slow access speed (faster than optical storage)

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12
Q

Examples of solid state storage:

A

USB flash drives
SD card

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13
Q

What are some optical storage characteristics?

A

Low capacity
Not durable
Portable
Slowest access speed

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14
Q

Examples of optical storage:

A

CD
DVD
Blu-Ray

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15
Q

What are some solid state storage characteristics?

A

High capacity
More expensive
Durable
Portable
Fast access speeds

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16
Q

What are characteristics that can be mentioned when talking about secondary storage?

A

Capacity
Speed
Portability
Durability
Reliability
Cost

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17
Q

Order the units of data storage:

A

Bit
Nibble (4 bits)
Byte (8 bits)
Kilobyte (1,000 bytes or 1KB)
Megabyte (1,000KB)
Gigabyte (1,000MB)
Terabyte (1,000GB)
Petabyte (1,000TB)

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18
Q

Why must data be stored in a binary format?

A

All data is presented in binary
Everything that needs to be processed on the computer needs to be converted into a binary format so it’s understood

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19
Q

How to calculate the size of a sound file?

A

Sound file size = sample rate x duration (s) x bit depth

20
Q

How to calculate the image file size?

A

Image file size = colour depth x image height (px) x image width (px)

21
Q

How to calculate the text file size?

A

Text file size = bits per character x number of characters

22
Q

What is an overflow error?

A

When a binary number is too big to be stored in the bits available

23
Q

1 binary shift to the left equals?

A

Multiply by 2

24
Q

2 binary shifts to the left equals?

A

Multiply by 4

25
Q

1 binary shift to the right equals?

A

Divide by 2

26
Q

2 binary shifts to the right equals?

A

Divide by 4

27
Q

What is a character set?

A

Collections of characters that a computer recognises from their binary representation

28
Q

What are two common character sets?

A

ASCII and Unicode

29
Q

How many characters can ASCII store?

A

256 characters as it uses 1 byte

30
Q

How many characters can Unicode store?

A

65,536 characters as it uses 2 bytes

31
Q

Compare Unicode and ASCII:

A

ASCII only has english - doesn’t take up much memory space
Unicode has different languages, symbols and emojis - more memory is required

32
Q

What are bitmap images made of?

A

Pixels, single coloured squares on a grid

33
Q

Each pixel has:

A

Each pixel has an individual binary which represents the colour of the pixel

34
Q

Whats the relationship between file size of an image when changing colour depth and resolution?

A

The file size gets bigger when the colour depth and resolution is increased

35
Q

What does metadata store?

A

It stores additional image information like height and width

36
Q

How are analogue sound waves stored?

A

They must be digitally recorded and converted into binary

37
Q

How would you record a sound?

A

The amplitude of the sound wave is measured and recorded in binary at specific intervals

38
Q

How would you get a high quality sound?

A

Many samples are taken to recreate the analogue wave as closely as possible

39
Q

What is sample rate and what is it measured in?

A

The number of times per second the amplitude of a wave is recorded
In Hertz (Hz)

40
Q

What is bit depth in sound?

A

The number of bits available to represent each sample

41
Q

What is duration?

A

The number of seconds of audio the sound file contains

42
Q

What are benefits of compression of files ?

A

Files take up less space
Files can be transferred faster
Files can be read from or written to faster

43
Q

What is lossy compression?

A

Permanently removes data that can’t be seen or heard by humans - reduces size of file

44
Q

What is lossy compression used on?

A

Images, audio, and videos

45
Q

What is lossless compression?

A

Reduces size of file without permanently removing data (can be decompressed) - bigger file size

46
Q

What is lossless compression used on?

A

Executable files (programs and games) and word documents

Computing GCSE (9 decks)

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