Detective Devices and Media

Question 1

what does storing data mean?

Answer 1

it means putting the data in a known place

Question 2

what is a main memory?

Answer 2

is where data is stored temporarily

Question 3

what is another way for saying main memory?

Answer 3

RAM and ROM

Question 4

what is backing storage?

Answer 4

the name for all the data storage devices. It stores data for a long time

Question 5

what does volatile mean?

Answer 5

storing data for a short time

Question 6

what does non-volatile mean?

Answer 6

storing data for a long

Question 7

what is the name for the device that actually holds data?

Answer 7

storage medium

Question 8

what is the name of the device that saves data onto the storage medium?

Answer 8

storage device

Question 9

give an example of the storage medium being

a fixed past of the storage device

Answer 9

the magnetic coated discs built into a hard drive

Question 10

give an example of the storage medium being removable from the device

Answer 10

CD-ROM can be taken out of a CD drive

Question 11

what is the name that refers to a collection of data stored in a computer system

Answer 11

file

Question 12

what are files organised into?

Answer 12

folders

Question 13

what is a serial (or sequential) access storage device?

Answer 13

it is one that stores files one-by-one in a sequence

Question 14

what is a non-computer serial access device that will be familiar to you?

Answer 14

VHS videotape

Question 15

why is a VHS videotape a serial access device?

Answer 15

because video is stored on a long piece of tape, when TV shows are recorded onto the tape, they go on one-by-one, in order…

Question 16

what is a direct (or random) access storage device?

Answer 16

it is one that stores files so that they can be instantly accessed. There is no need to search over through other files to get to the one you want

Question 17

what is an example of direct access device that you are familiar with?

Answer 17

a DVD. you can jump to any scene on a DVD

Question 18

what is a thousand bytes (B) known as?

Answer 18

1,000B = 1kB (kilobytes)

Question 19

what is a million bytes (B) known as?

Answer 19

1,000,000B = 1MB (megabyte)

Question 20

what is a thousand million bytes (B) known as?

Answer 20

1,000,000,000B = 1GB (gigabyte)

Question 21

what is a million million bytes (B) known as?

Answer 21

1,000,000,000,000B = 1 TB (terabyte)

Question 22

the more GB (gigabytes) the more what?

Answer 22

the more data capacity

Question 23

list some storage media devices from least to most data capacity

Answer 23

floppy disc (1.44MB)
zip disc
CD-ROM
jaz drive 
DVD
USB memory stick 
backup tape
hard drive (1,000,000MB)

Question 24

how do magnetic storage media and devices store data?

Answer 24

in the form of tiny magnetised dots

Question 25

how are magnetised dots created, read and erased?

Answer 25

using magnetic fields created by very tiny electromagnets

Question 26

how are the magnetised dots arranged in case of a magnetic tape?

Answer 26

the dots are arranged along the length of a long plastic strip which has been coated with a magnetisable layer

Question 27

how are the magnetised dots arranged in case of magnetic discs?

Answer 27

the dots are arranged in circles on the surface of a plastic metal or glass disc that has a magnetisable coating

Question 28

how is the storage capacity for hard drives?

Answer 28

it has a very large storage capacity (up to 1TB). They can be used to store vast amounts of data

Question 29

what type of device are hard drives?

Answer 29

random access devices

Question 30

what is the name for a hard-drive built into the case of a computer?

Answer 30

fixed hard drive. Almost every computer has a fixed hard drive

Question 31

a fixed hard drive act as what?

Answer 31

it acts as the main backing storage device for almost all computers since they provide almost instant access to files

Question 32

what is a portable hard-drive

Answer 32

it is one that is placed into a small case along with some electronics that allow the hard-drive to be accessed using a USB or similar connection

Question 33

how much data do portable hard-drives allow to be transported?

Answer 33

it allows large amounts of data to be transported from computer to computer

Question 34

when are magnetic tapes used?

Answer 34

when large amounts of data need to be stored, but where quick access to individual files is not required. A typical use is for data back-up

Question 35

remember the website:

Answer 35

https://www.igcseict.info/theory/3/optic/index.html