OCR J277/01 – 1.2 Memory and Storage

Posted on by Administrator Posted in J277 - Computer Science GCSE (OCR)
1.2 Memory and Storage - Overview / Checklist
1.2.1 Primary storage (Memory)
The need for primary storage
The difference between RAM and ROM
The purpose of ROM in a computer system
The purpose of RAM in a computer system
Virtual memory
1.2.2 Secondary storage
The need for secondary storage
Common types of storage:

    Optical
    Magnetic
    Solid state

Suitable storage devices and storage media for a given application
The advantages and disadvantages of different storage devices and storage media relating to these characteristics:

    Capacity
    Speed
    Portability
    Durability
    Reliability
    Cost
1.2.3 Units
The units of data storage:

    Bit
    Nibble (4 bits)
    Byte (8 bits)
    Kilobyte (1,000 bytes or 1 KB)
    Megabyte (1,000 KB)
    Gigabyte (1,000 MB)
    Terabyte (1,000 GB)
    Petabyte (1,000 TB)

How data needs to be converted into a binary format to be processed by a computer
Data capacity and calculation of data capacity requirements

1.2.4 Data storage
Numbers
How to convert positive denary whole numbers to binary numbers (up to and including 8 bits) and vice versa
How to add two binary integers together (up to and including 8 bits) and explain overflow errors which may occur
How to convert positive denary whole numbers into 2-digit hexadecimal numbers and vice versa
How to convert binary integers to their hexadecimal equivalents and vice versa
Binary shifts

Characters
The use of binary codes to represent characters
The term ‘character set’
The relationship between the number of bits per character in a character set, and the number of characters which can be represented, e.g.:

    ASCII
    Unicode

Images
How an image is represented as a series of pixels, represented in binary
Metadata
The effect of colour depth and resolution on:

    The quality of the image
    The size of an image file

Sound
How sound can be sampled and stored in digital form
The effect of sample rate, duration and bit depth on:

    The playback quality
    The size of a sound file
1.2.5 Compression
The need for compression
Types of compression:

    Lossy
    Lossless

Recommended Resources

1.2.1 Primary storage (Memory)
BBC Bitesize – Primary Memory
1.2.2 Secondary storage
BBC Bitesize – Secondary Storage
1.2.3 Units

Understanding Binary Data

Binary data is made of 0s and 1s. These binary digits are called bits are used to convert numbers into digital/binary data.


101 Binary Watch

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Storage Units Conversions – Quiz

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1.2.4 Data storage

Binary Logic Activities

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Understanding Bitmap Pictures

In this blog post we are investigating what are bitmap pictures and how they are stored on a computer using binary code. Bitmap Pictures? Bitmap pictures (also called raster graphics) are computer graphics made of pixels of different colours. Pictures … Continue reading


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Digital Data – Terminology File Size Calculations Q&A File Size Calculations – Python Challenge ASCII Quiz – Python Challenge
1.2.5 Compression
Lossless Compression Poem Decoding Challenge

Further Reading…

Extra Resources

Memory and Storage Quiz (GCSE Level)

Memory and storage are the backbone of any computer system, but do you know the difference between RAM and ROM, or how SSDs outperform HDDs? If you are studying for your GCSE Computer Science exams, this quiz is the perfect way to test your knowledge of Memory and Storage. Ready to put your memory to the test? … Continue reading


Data Representation Quiz (GCSE Level)

Do you have a secure subject knowledge on the key concepts of Data Representation in OCR GCSE Computer Science? Then it’s time to put your understanding to the test! This quiz covers everything from binary and text encoding to image and sound representation, as well as data compression … Continue reading


Input / Storage / Output Devices – Quiz Computer Hardware Crosswords Computer Hardware Acronyms Hardware Contest

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