Storage Devices

1. List of some computing devices that are available on today’s market. For each one explain the main storage device/method used.

Laptop- Memory Cards and Flash Drive

Phone- Memory Cards and Micro SD Cards

Ipad- Icloud and SSD cards

2. Complete the table below.

Device	Capacity	Speed of access	Portable?	Durable?
USB Memory Stick	16GB/32GB/64GB...	80MB/s	Yes	yes
HDD - Hard Disk Drive	30/40TB Large Capacity	fast	only external hard drives are	yes
CD	700MB/80 mins music time	quick	yes	not really
DVD	4.7GB typically	quick	yes	not really
Memory Card	can go up to 32GB and more	fast	yes	sort of
SSD - Solid State Drive	up to 1.7TB. large	fast	yes, external ones are	yes

3. Suggest an appropriate storage device for each of the following applications.

 Store a high definition movie

Blue ray/DVD

 Distribute some software that you've written

A computer

Transfer GCSE Media coursework between home and school

Memory stick/Flash drive/Floppy disk

 Storage area on a college network

Memory stick

4. Describe two factors that should be considered when selecting a suitable storage medium to use in a given situation.

5. Name one device that makes use of solid state memory storage.

6. Describe one benefit of using a magnetic storage device like a HDD compared to a

solid state device, such as an SSD for storing files on a network.

Fetch-Execute Cycle

1(a) What do the initials CPU stand for?

C: Central

P: Processing

U: Unit

(b) List three components of the CPU.

CPU, ALU (arithmetic logic unit) and registers

(c) In relation to computer architecture, what are buses?

Communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer. 

2(a) Program counter

Is a register in a computer processor that contains the address of the instruction being executed at the current time. 

(b) The address bus

An address bus is a computer bus (a series of lines connecting two or more devices) that is used to specify a physical address.

(c) The data bus

Is a computer subsystem that allows the transferring of data from one component to another.

(d) The decoder

Undoes the encoding so that the original information can be received.

 (e) The Arithmetic and Logic unit

In digital electronics, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) is a digital circuit that performs integer arithmetic and logical operations. The ALU is a fundamental building block of the central processing unit of a computer, and even the simplest microprocessors contain one for purposes such as maintaining timers.