Memory, Storage and Virtual Memory

Question 1

Which type of memory loses its contents when the power is turned off?

Accepted Answer

RAM — RAM is volatile, so its contents are lost when power is removed.

Question 2

Which memory is non-volatile and usually stores the computer's start-up instructions?

Accepted Answer

ROM — ROM is non-volatile and typically holds the boot-up instructions.

Question 3

Virtual memory works by using part of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Secondary storage — Virtual memory uses space on secondary storage to extend the effective amount of RAM.

Question 4

Which of these is an example of secondary storage?

Accepted Answer

Solid state drive — An SSD is non-volatile secondary storage for long-term data.

Question 5

A key reason a computer uses virtual memory is to:

Accepted Answer

Allow more programs to run than would fit in RAM alone — Virtual memory frees RAM by moving inactive data to disk so more can run at once.

Question 6

Compared with RAM, secondary storage is generally:

Accepted Answer

Slower but larger and non-volatile — Secondary storage has larger capacity and keeps data without power, but is slower than RAM.

Question 7

Why can heavy use of virtual memory slow a computer down?

Accepted Answer

Disk access is much slower than RAM access — Moving data to and from the slower disk takes more time than using RAM.

Question 8

Which statement about RAM is correct?

Accepted Answer

Its contents can be read and changed — RAM can be both read from and written to while the computer is running.

Question 9

Which memory is accessed directly by the CPU and holds programs currently in use?

Accepted Answer

RAM — RAM is primary memory directly accessed by the CPU to hold currently running programs.

Question 10

Data placed in virtual memory is physically stored:

Accepted Answer

On secondary storage such as a hard disk — Virtual memory data is written to secondary storage like a hard disk, not extra RAM.