Test Questions for Chapter 12
True/False
1. T F The most common form of RAM memory units today are SDRAM DIMMs.
2. T F A chipset is another name for the CPU.
3. T F CAV disks usually have greater data capacities than similarly sized ZCAV disks.
4. T F Magnetic tape offers an inexpensive medium for archiving or creating offline back ups of important data.
5. T F CD-RW discs/drives are based on optical phase-change technology.
6. T F CD-ROM disks contain data that cannot be modified without producing a new disk or version.
7. T F CD-R discs cannot be read by conventional CD-ROM players (drives).
8. T F Latency time refers to the amount of time needed to read or write data on the disk.
9. T F In direct access, seek time refers to the amount of time required to locate the proper track for a data transaction.
10. T F Cylinders are created by combining data from the same tracks and sectors of multiple fixed disks.
Matching
1. _____ DASD a. approximately one billion bytes of
binary data.
2. _____ SASD b. approximately one hundred bytes of
binary data.
3. _____ CAV c. approximately one thousand bytes of
binary data.
4. _____ CLV d. approximately one million bytes of
binary data.
5. _____ CD-ROM e. approximately one trillion bytes of
binary data.
6. _____ CD-R f. an optical technology employed to
produce nonerasable data in small quantities
(i.e., one disc at a time).
7. _____ KB g. an optical technology employed to
publish nonerasable data in mass production
(i.e., large quantities of discs).
8. _____ MB h. an optical technology employed to
store data that may be erased and
overwritten when no longer needed.
9. _____ GB j. most older magnetic hard disks and all
floppies use this format.
10. _____ TB k. many optical discs employ this format
which affords a greater data capacity.
11. _____ CD-RW l. magnetic disks and optical discs belong
to this category.
m. slower access speeds due to the linear
or sequential organization of data stored on these media.
n. an optical technology based on CD-ROM, but offering much greater data storage capacities.
Multiple Choice
1. Secondary memory in a computer system is needed as
a. a cheaper source of mass storage.
b. backup facilities for volatile RAM.
c. offline archiving of data and programs not in current use.
d. all of the above.
2. Direct Access Storage Devices and Media
a. include magnetic tape as a source for archiving large amounts of data.
b. represent the most common form of secondary memory used in most desktop systems.
c. have faster access speeds than main memory.
d. all of the above.
3. Sequential Access Storage Devices and Media
a. include magnetic tape as a source for archiving large amounts of data.
b. represent the most common form of secondary memory used in most desktop systems.
c. have faster access speeds than main memory.
d. all of the above.
4. Removable hard disks
a. offer convenient, high capacity offline storage.
b. must be erased before rewriting.
c. have comparable capacities and transfer rates as (fixed) magnetic hard drives.
d. all of the above.
5. ZCAV format for direct access storage media
a. means that the number of sectors varies depending upon the area or zone of the disk.
b. supports higher data capacity compared to conventional disks of the same size.
c. do not guarantee data transfers from the disk at uniform speeds.
d. all of the above.
6. Mulisession or multiplay drives
a. can hold several discs at a time.
b. can read sections of an optical disc recorded at different times.
c. can read both CD and DVD discs.
d. all of the above.
7. Transactional processing
a. means that the computer system interacts with a user or another system.
b. usually involves a series of interchanges.
c. often requires sufficient amounts of online storage for consulting databases or information during transactions.
d. all of the above.
8. The system bus
a. is controlled by secondary memory devices connected to it.
b. usually transfers data at rates comparable to main memory (RAM).
c. is the main highway for data transfers in traditional processor designs.
d. all of the above.
9. UDF
a. is an open standard for representing and storing file information on optical discs.
b. supports variable-length packets for writing data.
c. supports uniform-length packets for writing data.
d. all of the above.
Fill in the Blanks
1. ______storage devices and media are organized to permit immediate access of data while ______storage devices and media require searching or traversing the data in order to locate the proper item.
2. Magnetic disks come in three varieties: ______can be used for storing modest amounts of data offline; ______may also be taken offline but have larger capacities; and ______have greatest capacities but are employed as fixed or online storage.
3. ______time refers to the amount of time required to locate the desired track on a disk. ______, on the other hand, is the time it takes for the disk to rotate the proper sector into position.
4. ______lists the various sectors or data blocks belonging to a file stored on that disk.
5. ______discs are best suited for publishing large amounts of data in large quantities. On the other hand, when only a small number of discs are needed, then ______discs are a more economical choice for publishing that data.
6. ______supports rewrites but not random writes.
7. A ______is a collection of integrated circuits that manages the transfer of data between the main components of the processor.
8. A ______is a sequence of items of the same type and usually stored on a secondary storage medium.
(correct choices plus distractors)
CD-R CD-ROM CD-RW chipset
direct access directory disk farm DVD-RW
DVD+RW FAT file floppy disks
hard disks latency multispeed random access
read/write removable hard disk seek sequential access
Short Essay Questions
1. What are the chief functions of secondary memory?
2. Explain how the memory storage hierarchy (current processing, online storage, and archival storage) serve the general processing needs of a typical computer system.
3. What are the chief differences between SASD and DASD?
4. Describe the variety of DVD formats available. Specifically, for each format, what is its capacity and how may it be used (read-only, random writes, rewrites)?