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Chap 8 Q Ans

This document discusses different types of computer storage including primary storage, secondary storage, RAM, ROM, hard disk drives, Blu-ray disks, and solid-state storage. It provides explanations of the differences between primary and secondary storage, how RAM differs from ROM, how hard disk drives read and write data, why Blu-ray disks can store more data than CDs, and why solid-state storage is less common than hard disk drives despite advantages in speed.

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144 views

Chap 8 Q Ans

This document discusses different types of computer storage including primary storage, secondary storage, RAM, ROM, hard disk drives, Blu-ray disks, and solid-state storage. It provides explanations of the differences between primary and secondary storage, how RAM differs from ROM, how hard disk drives read and write data, why Blu-ray disks can store more data than CDs, and why solid-state storage is less common than hard disk drives despite advantages in speed.

Uploaded by

rahimuddin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CHAP-8

Memory, Storage Devices and Media


1) Explain the difference primary storage
and secondary storage.
Ans:
Primary Storage Secondary Storage
It is easily accessible by the It is not as easily accessible
processor as it is the as the data has to ran
computer’s internal through RAM
storage
Data is instantly Slower to read and write
readable and writable data as it needs to go
through RAM first
Are mostly only a few Can be higher than a
gigabytes terabyte
Data is kept temporarily Data is stored permanently
till erased or overwritten
Not removable from the Some are removable
computer
2) Describe three ways in which RAM
differs from ROM.
Ans: RAM is volatile meaning it cannot retain its
memory when the computer is turned off and
ROM is involatile it can retain its memory even
after the computer is turned off. RAM is used in
general purpose computers for running the
operating system and running programs, ROM is
used to store firmware and bootstraps. RAM is
usually used in a few gigabytes and ROM is used
in for a few gigabytes.
3) Explain how a hard disk drive reads and
writes data.
Ans: Hard disk drives have several disks called
platters made of glass or metal that have a
magnetic coating on which the data is stored.
The platters are attached to a rotating spindle
and are spun at high speeds as an arm with a
read/write heads read, write or erase data. For
accessing data on different tracks, the hand
moves back forth for accessing different rows or
tracks of data.

4) What enables a Blu-ray disk to hold more


data than a compact disk?
Ans: Blu-disks have a blue-violet laser which
enables them to operate at a shorter wave
length meaning they can pack data more
tightly and the data can be read more
efficiently.
5) A company is sending out an electronic
catalogue to its customers. Suggest a
suitable storage medium and justify your
choice with reasons.
Ans: Blu-ray disks would be a good choice as it
is portable, not that easily lost and a good
amount of data can be stored on it with being
cheap one of the factors as a huge production
of disks would be handed out for all the
customers.
6) A 16-bit color image is 4 inches X 1 inch
in size, with a resolution of 600 dots per inch.
Calculate the storage requirement for this
image.

Ans:
Pixels
1 inch= 600 dots/pixels
=> 4 X 600= 2400
=> 1 X 600= 600
=>2400 X 600= 1440000 pixels
Amount of storage needed
1440000 X 24 = 34560000 bits
34560000 / 8 = 4320000 bytes
4320000 / 1024 = 4217.75 kilobytes
4217.75 / 1024 = 4.12 megabytes (ANS)
7) Explain why data on a magnetic tape may be
accessed quickly or slowly.
Ans: Reading and writing data on a magnetic
tape may be fast or slow, if the magnetic ball
that has that data on the tape is close to the
start of the read/write heads then it would be
found quick, if rather the opposite then it
would take a longer time for the tape to loop
around to the magnetic ball with our data thus
taking a longer time to access it making it
pretty slow and less efficient.
8) Explain why solid-state storage is not as
common in desktops and laptops as hard
disk drives.
Ans: Hard disk drives are more common in
computers and laptops as they are very cheap
and provide larger storage space than solid-
state drives.
THE END

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