Types of storage

Question 1

What is storage?

Answer 1

a term for something that holds information

Question 2

Describe magnetic storage

Answer 2

can be stored on tape reels, floppy disks or HDDs
uses polarity of magnetic field in material to store 1s and 0s
needs drive head to physically move across media to read data

Question 3

Describe optical storage

Answer 3

used mainly for one-way transport of data e.g CD DVD blu-ray
uses layers to read and write information

Question 4

Describe solid state

Answer 4

uses electric-charge held in semi-conductor laltices to store data
is written and read by electric current

Question 5

Two advantages of magnetic storage

Answer 5

cheap
large
capacity

Question 6

Three advantages of optical storage

Answer 6

cheap to mass produce
lightweight
portable

Question 7

Three advantages of solid state

Answer 7

very fast access times
very dense storage capacity
durable

Question 8

Two disadvantages of magnetic storage

Answer 8

slow access time
fragile/ susceptible to physical damage easily

Question 9

Three disadvantages of optical storage

Answer 9

limited capacity
scratches can permanently damage data
slow access time

Question 10

Two disadvantages of solid state

Answer 10

expensive
limited lifespan/ read and writes