6 exam-style questions with full mark schemes and model answers. Write your own answer and the AI examiner marks it against the mark scheme.
Learn this properly: Primary Storage: RAM and ROMA laptop runs several programs at once. The user notices that when many large programs are open, the laptop slows down and the hard disk light flickers constantly. The laptop uses RAM as its main memory and also uses virtual memory.
Explain the role of RAM and the role of virtual memory in this laptop, and discuss why using virtual memory can cause the laptop to slow down when many programs are open. (6 marks)
A photographer needs portable secondary storage to carry large numbers of high-resolution photographs between locations. They are deciding between a solid state drive (SSD) and a magnetic hard disk drive (HDD).
(a) State two advantages of an SSD compared with an HDD for this use. (2 marks)
(b) State one advantage of an HDD compared with an SSD. (2 marks)
High-level programming languages must be translated before a computer can run them. Two types of translator are a compiler and an interpreter.
Explain one difference between how a compiler and an interpreter translate and run a program, and state one advantage of using a compiler. (3 marks)
A memory card has a capacity of 64 GB. A video studio stores short video clips on it. Each clip has a file size of 800 MB. Take 1 GB=1000 MB.
(a) Calculate the maximum number of complete clips that can be stored on the memory card. Show your working. (2 marks)
(b) State the amount of storage, in MB, that is left over (unused) once that maximum number of clips has been stored. (1 mark)
An operating system (OS) carries out many functions to manage a computer system.
State two functions of an operating system. (2 marks)
One type of primary storage keeps its contents when the power is switched off and normally cannot be written to during everyday use. It typically holds the start-up instructions a computer needs when it is first turned on.
State whether this describes RAM or ROM. (1 mark)