What does RAM stand for, and what makes it different from a hard drive?

Random Access Memory — it's fast but loses all data when power is off Read And Manage — it organizes files on the hard drive Rapid Access Module — it's slower than hard drives but more reliable Remote Application Memory — it stores downloaded apps

An SSD (Solid State Drive) is faster than a traditional HDD (Hard Disk Drive) mainly because:

SSDs use flash memory chips with no moving parts; HDDs have spinning disks and a mechanical arm SSDs plug into faster USB ports while HDDs use slower SATA connectors SSDs are always larger in capacity, giving more room for the OS to work SSDs run at a higher voltage which lets them process data faster

You save a 10 MB document to your hard drive. Where does the data go?

It gets written to magnetic or flash storage and stays there even after the computer is turned off It stays in RAM permanently until you delete it It's sent to the cloud automatically It gets copied to the CPU cache for faster access

Which of these stores the MOST data in a modern personal computer?

The hard drive or SSD (storage) The RAM The CPU cache The graphics card memory

Your computer has a CPU cache. What is the CPU cache?

A tiny, ultra-fast memory built into the CPU that stores frequently used data so the CPU doesn't have to wait for RAM A part of the hard drive that stores temporary internet files A backup system that saves your work automatically every hour A special type of RAM used only for graphics

Why do computers need both RAM AND a hard drive? Why not just use one type of storage?

RAM is fast but expensive and loses data when off; hard drives are cheap and permanent but slow — using both gives the best balance Hard drives are required by law in all computers RAM can only store programs, not user files Hard drives are faster than RAM for large files

What happens to data in RAM when the computer loses power suddenly?

All data in RAM is immediately and permanently lost RAM has a small battery backup that keeps data safe for 10 minutes RAM automatically saves its contents to the hard drive before power cuts Data in RAM gets frozen and can be recovered when power returns

A computer has 8 GB of RAM. You open a video editing program that needs 6 GB, plus a browser with 10 tabs using 2 GB. What will likely happen?

The computer will slow down as the OS moves some data from RAM to the much slower hard drive The computer will crash immediately since there's no RAM left The browser will automatically close some tabs to free up memory Everything will work normally since 8 GB is always enough

A flash drive (USB stick) is an example of which type of storage?

Non-volatile portable storage that keeps data without power Volatile RAM-like storage that's faster than internal drives A type of optical storage like a DVD A wireless storage device that streams data from the cloud

Moore's Law, observed in 1965, predicted that the number of transistors on a chip would double roughly every two years. What has this meant for computers over time?

Computers have become dramatically more powerful while getting smaller and cheaper Computers have gotten bigger to hold more transistors Computer prices have doubled every two years Software has gotten twice as complex every two years to keep up