lesson 10

Question 1

1. What is the primary material traditionally used for the substrate of a magnetic disk platter?
   a) Glass
   b) Silicon
   c) Aluminum
   d) Plastic

Answer 1

c) Aluminum

Question 2

2. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of using glass substrates in magnetic disks?
   a) Improved uniformity of magnetic film
   b) Increased cost of manufacturing
   c) Ability to support lower fly heights
   d) Greater ability to withstand shock

Answer 2

b) Increased cost of manufacturing

Question 3

3. The time it takes to position the read/write head over the correct track on a magnetic disk is called:
   a) Rotational Delay
   b) Transfer Time
   c) Seek Time
   d) Access Time

Answer 3

c) Seek Time

Question 4

4. In a magnetic disk, a set of tracks at the same radial position across multiple platters is known as a:
   a) Sector
   b) Cylinder
   c) Block
   d) Segment

Answer 4

b) Cylinder

Question 5

5. Which type of flash memory is characterized by bit-addressable access and is often used for BIOS storage?
   a) NAND Flash
   b) NOR Flash
   c) XOR Flash
   d) AND Flash

Answer 5

b) NOR Flash

Question 6

6. Which of the following is a primary advantage of SSDs over HDDs?
   a) Lower cost per gigabyte
   b) Higher maximum storage capacity
   c) Faster random access times
   d) Longer archival lifespan without power

Answer 6

c) Faster random access times

Question 7

7. The issue where an entire block of flash memory must be erased before it can be rewritten is a characteristic primarily affecting:
   a) Magnetic Tapes
   b) HDDs
   c) SSDs
   d) CD-ROMs

Answer 7

c) SSDs

Question 8

8. A technique used in SSDs to evenly distribute write operations across memory cells to prolong lifespan is called:
   a) Defragmentation
   b) Wear-leveling
   c) Error correction
   d) Sector mapping

Answer 8

b) Wear-leveling

Question 9

9. Which optical disk format is designed for write-once, read-many (WORM) applications?
   a) CD-ROM
   b) CD-RW
   c) DVD-ROM
   d) CD-R

Answer 9

d) CD-R

Question 10

10. CD-RW technology relies on what principle to allow rewriting?
    a) Magneto-optical effects
    b) Dye sublimation
    c) Phase-change material
    d) Pit and land deformation

Answer 10

c) Phase-change material

Question 11

11. What is the standard storage capacity of a common CD-ROM?
    a) 100 MB
    b) 650 MB
    c) 4.7 GB
    d) 25 GB

Answer 11

b) 650 MB

Question 12

12. Blu-Ray Discs achieve higher storage density than DVDs primarily due to:
    a) Using a larger disc diameter
    b) Using a shorter wavelength laser (blue-violet)
    c) Using multiple read heads simultaneously
    d) Compressing data more aggressively

Answer 12

b) Using a shorter wavelength laser (blue-violet)

Question 13

13. Magnetic tape stores data in:
    a) Concentric circles called sectors
    b) A helical scan pattern
    c) Parallel tracks running lengthwise
    d) Randomly accessible memory cells

Answer 13

c) Parallel tracks running lengthwise

Question 14

14. The gaps separating blocks of data on a magnetic tape are called:
    a) Inter-sector gaps
    b) Inter-track gaps
    c) Inter-record gaps
    d) File marks

Answer 14

c) Inter-record gaps

Question 15

15. “Winchester” disk technology is characterized by:
    a) Removable platters
    b) Contact head mechanism
    c) Aerodynamic gap head mechanism
    d) Optical read/write heads

Answer 15

c) Aerodynamic gap head mechanism

Question 16

16. The sum of seek time and rotational delay is known as:
    a) Transfer time
    b) Dwell time
    c) Access time
    d) Cycle time

Answer 16

c) Access time

Question 17

17. NAND flash memory, commonly found in USB drives and SSDs, typically reads and writes data in:
    a) Individual bits
    b) Small blocks
    c) Single tracks
    d) Entire platters

Answer 17

b) Small blocks

Question 18

18. Which of these is a non-volatile memory type?
    a) DRAM
    b) SRAM
    c) Cache Memory
    d) Flash Memory

Answer 18

d) Flash Memory

Question 19

19. Data on a magnetic disk is organized into concentric rings called:
    a) Sectors
    b) Cylinders
    c) Tracks
    d) Blocks

Answer 19

c) Tracks

Question 20

20. What is the primary purpose of an inter-sector gap on a magnetic disk?
    a) To allow the head to switch tracks
    b) To provide timing and formatting information
    c) To separate different files
    d) To improve air flow between platters

Answer 20

b) To provide timing and formatting information

Question 21

1. Name four physical characteristics used to classify disk systems.

Answer 21

Answer: Head Motion, Disk Portability, Platters, Sides, Head Mechanism - any four

Question 22

2. List the three main components of disk I/O transfer time after a request is made.

Answer 22

Answer: Seek time, Rotational delay, Transfer time

Question 23

3. Name the two distinctive types of flash memory.

Answer 23

Answer: NOR, NAND

Question 24

4. List three common types of optical disk products

Answer 24

Answer: CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, Blu-Ray - any three

Question 25

5. What are two practical issues peculiar to SSDs that are not typically faced by HDDs?

Answer 25

Answer: Performance slowdown with use/writes, limited write endurance of flash cells