Memory + Storage

Question 1

What is ROM

Answer 1

ROM is non-volatile and is non-editable

Question 2

What is RAM

Answer 2

RAM is volatile and is used to store data/instructions. It also holds the OS and any open applications

Question 3

What is virtual memory and when is it used

Answer 3

When the RAM is full, it gets moved to the virtual memory (temporarily till there is space in the RAM) which is in the hard disk.

Question 4

Magnetic Storage

Answer 4

Magnetic devices such ashard disk drivesuse magnetic fields to magnetise tiny individual sections of a metal spinning disk. Each tiny section represents onebit.
e.g Hard Disk

Question 5

Optical Storage

Answer 5

Optical devices use alaserto scan the surface of a spinning disc (CD/Disks) made from metal and plastic.
e.g CD’s

Question 6

Solid State Storage

Answer 6

Solid state devices use (RAM)to store data. They tend to have much faster access times than other types of device and are more durable.
e.g USB drive

Question 7

Cache

Answer 7

Cache is a quicker version of RAM which is built-in into the CPU.
Cache memory is used to temporarily hold data andinstructionsthat the processor is likely to reuse.

Question 8

Characteristics of Secondary Storage

Answer 8

-speed (how quickly data can be accessed)
-cost per storage unit (price per gigabyte or megabyte)
-durability (toughness)
-portability (how easy it is to move it from one computer to another)

Question 9

Embedded Systems examples

Answer 9

Coffee machine
Phone
Traffic Lights