CHAPTER 4

STORAGE DIVECES
(SHORT QUESTIONS)

Q. 1. What are storage devices?

Ans. The computer storage is also referred to as computer memory. It is used to store the data and program.

Q. 2. What is RAM?
Ans. RAM stands for Random Access Memory. It is the primary storage device. It stores data and instruction temporarily.

Q. 3. What is read and write operations?

Ans. During read operation the contents of memory location are copied to a central processing unit (CPU) register. Whereas during write operation the contents of a central processing unit (CPU) register are copied to the memory location.

Q. 4. What is difference between DRAM and SRAM?

Ans. DRAM is the most commonly used technology to build RAM chips. It consumes a lot of power as data stored in a DRAM needs to be refreshed periodically. While the contents of SRAM do not need to be refreshed periodically and SRAM is faster than the DRAM.

Q. 5. What is a bit?
Ans. A bit is defined as the smallest basic unit of storage in the computer memory that has value 0 or1.

Q. 6. What is secondary memory?

Ans. The secondary memory or storage is used to store information permanently for future use. A large amount of data and programs can be stored into it. Its storage capacity is up to Gigabytes for personal computers.

Q. 7. What is sequential access storage?

Ans. In sequential access storage, the data or records are stored and read in sequential order, i.e. one after the other. The magnetic tape is an example of sequential access storage.

Q. 8. What is data rate?

Ans. The data is the number of bytes per seconds that the drive can deliver to the central processing unit (CPU) rates between 5 and 40 megabytes per second are common.

Q. 9. Define seek time?

Ans. The time used to move the head to the appropriate track after reading the address is called the seek time.

Q. 10. What is relation between a nibble and a byte?

Ans. A group of 4-bits sequence is called a nibble. Where as a byte is a group of 8 bits. Thus, one byte is equal to 2 nibble.

Q. 11. What is magnetic tape storage?

Ans. Magnetic tape is the most popular and oldest secondary used to store large amount of data and instructions permanently. The magnetic tape is a plastic ribbon and one side coated with magnetic recording material.

Q. 12. What is floppy disk?

Ans. A floppy disk is mostly used for transferring data between computer systems and for casual backup of data. They have low capacity and are very, very slow as compared to other storage devices. The most common size of floppy disk is 3.5 inches diameter.

Q. 13. What is compact disk?

Ans. Compact disk (CD) is commonly used to store data. It can store 700 MB of data. It is very useful for storing audio and video data.

Q. 14. How many types of magnetic disk? Write their names.

Ans. There are two types of magnetic disk. a) Hard disk b) Floppy disk

Q. 15. RAM is a volatile memory. Why?

Ans. As the RAM is constructed from integrated circuits so it need to have continuous electrical power supply in order to maintain. When power is switched off all the data into it is lost. So RAM is a volatile memory.

Q. 16. What is main memory of computer?

Ans. Main memory is working area of the computer. It is very fast but limited in capacity. A computer cannot work without having some kind of main memory. The main memory of a computer consists of thousand or even millions cells each capable of storing a bit i.e. 0 or1.

Q. 17. What is meant by disk format?

Ans. The position of tracks and sectors of a disk are not fixed but these positions are marked by a process called format.

Q. 18. What is backing storage device?

Ans. Secondary storage is also called backing storage. It is an addition in main storage. It is very cheap as compared to magnetic disks. A large volume of data can be stored on the backing device.