Secondary storage Practice Questions

Question 1

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using a solid-state drive (SSD) compared to a hard disk drive (HDD)?

Accepted Answer

SSDs are generally more expensive per gigabyte. — SSDs are faster, more durable (no moving parts), and consume less power than HDDs. However, they cost more per unit of storage, which is a common trade-off.

Question 2

A solid-state drive (SSD) is being compared to a hard disk drive (HDD). Which statement is true?

Accepted Answer

An SSD has no moving parts, making it more durable and faster than an HDD. — SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts, which makes them faster (lower access time) and more resistant to physical shock. HDDs have spinning platters and a moving read/write head, making them slower and more fragile.

Question 3

A solid-state drive (SSD) is being compared to a hard disk drive (HDD). Which statement is true?

Accepted Answer

An SSD has no moving parts, making it more durable and faster than an HDD. — SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts, which makes them faster (lower access time) and more resistant to physical shock. HDDs have spinning platters and a moving read/write head, making them slower and more fragile.

Question 4

Which of the following is a key difference between a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD)?

Accepted Answer

HDDs use magnetic platters and moving read/write heads, while SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts. — HDDs store data on spinning magnetic platters and use mechanical arms to read/write, making them slower and more prone to physical damage. SSDs use NAND flash memory, which has no moving parts, offering faster access times, lower latency, and better shock resistance. However, SSDs are generally more expensive per gigabyte.

Question 5

Which of the following is a key advantage of using solid-state drives (SSDs) over traditional hard disk drives (HDDs)?

Accepted Answer

SSDs have faster access times because they have no moving parts. — SSDs use flash memory with no moving parts, allowing near-instantaneous data access. HDDs rely on spinning platters and moving read/write heads, causing mechanical latency. SSDs are generally more expensive per GB, have lower maximum capacities (though improving), and use NAND flash, not magnetic storage.

Question 6

A computer has a hard disk drive (HDD) with a rotational speed of 7200 RPM. What does this specification affect most directly?

Accepted Answer

The time it takes to access data on the disk — The rotational speed (RPM) of an HDD determines how quickly the platters spin, which directly affects the latency (the time it takes for the read/write head to reach the correct sector). Higher RPM means faster access times. Storage capacity is determined by the number of platters and data density, not RPM. Data transfer rate is influenced by RPM but also by other factors like interface speed and cache; however, the most direct effect of RPM is on access time (seek time and rotational latency). Reliability is not directly tied to RPM.

Secondary storage

Subtopics in this area

Secondary storage Revision Guide

Learning Objectives

Sample Exam Questions

Related Topics in OCR GCSE Computer Science

Additional programming techniques

Boolean logic

Programming fundamentals

Primary storage (memory)