condary Storage Devices

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is equivalent to one (2) 4 GB SD card

gigabyte? (3) 1 TB hard disk
(1) 1,024 KB (4) Blu-ray Disc
(2) 1,000 MB A. (4) > (3) > (2) > (1)
(3) 1 TB ÷ 1,024 B. (4) > (2) > (3) > (1)
(4) 1,024 × 1,024 × 1,024 B C. (3) > (4) > (2) > (1)
A. (1) and (2) only D. (3) > (4) > (1) > (2) C

B. (3) and (4) only

5. Arrange the following storage areas of a hard
C. (1), (3) and (4) only
disk in ascending order of their storage capacity.
B
D. (2), (3) and (4) only
(1) Cylinder
2. Which of the following is an optical storage (2) Cluster
device? (3) Platter
A. DVD (4) Sector
B. SD card A. (4) < (2) < (3) < (1)
C. USB flash drive B. (4) < (2) < (1) < (3)
A
D. ROM chip C. (2) < (4) < (3) < (1)

3. How many pieces of CD-ROMs, which has a D. (2) < (4) < (1) < (3) B

capacity of 750 MB each, can give a total

capacity that is approximately equal to that of a 6. Which of the following descriptions about a
32 GB Memory Stick? hard disk is correct?

A. 40 A. It accesses data sequentially.

B. 44 B. A cylinder is formed by all the tracks

located on the same position of each platter.
C. 48
C. The read/write heads on the platters can
B
D. 52 move in and out to different tracks
individually.
4. Arrange the following storage devices in
descending order of their storage capacity. D. The main reason for the platters together
with the read/write heads to be sealed in a
(1) CD-RW metal case is to avoid oxidation.
B

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 13 Secondary Storage Devices

7. Which of the following are the reasons of the (2) The storage capacity is small.
popularity of USB flash drives? (3) There are no external floppy disk
(1) The size of a USB flash drive is small. drives.
(2) The price per unit storage capacity of a (4) There is no write-protect mechanism.
USB flash drive is cheaper than that of A. (1) and (2) only
a hard disk.
B. (2) and (3) only
(3) More and more electronic products are
equipped with USB ports. C. (3) and (4) only
A
(4) Using a USB flash drive to back files D. (1), (2) and (4) only
up is faster and more convenient than
through burning a disc. 11. Which of the following storage media is/are
suitable for the flight recorder of an aircraft?
A. (1) and (2) only
(1) RAM
B. (2) and (3) only
(2) Floppy disk
C. (1), (3) and (4) only
(3) Magnetic tape
C
D. (1), (2), (3) and (4)
A. (2) only
8. From the point of view of reuse, which of the B. (3) only
following is the most unfriendly to the C. (2) and (3) only
environment?
B
D. (1), (2) and (3)
A. CD-RW
B. DVD-R 12. Which of the following statements about
C. SD card DVD-Rs and CD-Rs are correct?

D. USB flash drive B (1) Reading a CD-R at a speed of 24x is

faster than reading a DVD-R at a speed
9. Which of the following is the most suitable for of 4x.
connecting to the set-top box of a high- (2) Both DVD-Rs and CD-Rs apply the
definition television in order to record television principle of laser beam reflection to
programmes? read the stored data.
A. DVD-R (3) The capacity of a dual layer DVD-R is
B. External hard disk at least ten-fold as much as that of a
CD-R.
C. USB flash drive
A. (1) and (2) only
B
D. Magnetic tape
B. (1) and (3) only
10. Which of the following are the reasons for C. (2) and (3) only
floppy disks to be superseded eventually? D. (1), (2) and (3) C

(1) The cost per unit storage capacity is

high.

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 mputer System Fundamentals

Short Questions

1. Kary is a computer engineer. She hopes to design a hard disk that is much smaller than the ordinary ones.
She suggests the following two methods.
Method 1: Reduce the number of platters in the hard disk by half.
Method 2: Reduce the radius of the platters in the hard disk by half.

(a) Which method can reduce the seek time of that hard disk? Explain briefly. (3 marks)
Method 2. (1) It is because the area of a platter is reduced (1), the extent that a read/write head can move and the time needed are reduced

as well (1).

(b) Which method can reserve more storage capacity for that hard disk? Explain briefly. (3 marks)
Method 1. (1) In method 1, reducing the number of platters by half will reduce the storage capacity of that hard disk by half. (1)

In method 2, reducing the radius of the platters by half will make the area and hence the storage capacity of the platters reduce to a quarter

of their original. (1)

2. Some mini notebook computers use solid state drives (SSDs) instead of traditional hard disks. Try searching
information about SSD on the Internet and answer the following questions.

(a) Apart from notebook computers, state one storage device that uses an SSD. (1 mark)
Memory card (1)

(b) State four advantages of an SSD, when compared with a traditional hard disk. (4 marks)
• SSD consumes less power.

• Since there are no rotating platters, SSD does not create noise.

• Since there are no moving parts, SSD can endure better external vibration.

• SSD is smaller in size.

• SSD is lighter in weight.

• Since SSD does not have platters, unlike a hard disk which has to await the platters to rotate from still to the required speed at its start-up,

the time needed to activate a computer will be shorter. (any four × 1)

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 13 Secondary Storage Devices

(c) State two disadvantages of an SSD, when compared with a traditional hard disk. (2 marks)
• The price per unit storage capacity of an SSD is higher.

• The current upper limit of the storage capacity of an SSD is lower.

• If the data stored in an SSD is damaged, it is difficult to restore. (any two × 1)

3. When compared with each of the following storage media, write one advantage of using a USB flash drive.
(a) Floppy disk (1 mark)
The storage capacity of a USB flash drive is larger. (1)

(b) CD-RW (1 mark)

The storage capacity of a USB flash drive is larger. (1)

(c) DVD+R (1 mark)

The data in a USB flash drive can be rewritten, so it is more environmental friendly. (1)

(d) CompactFlash card (1 mark)

USB flash drive does not need a memory card reader to transfer data. (1)

(e) Magnetic tape (1 mark)

The speed of reading data from a USB flash drive is higher. (1)

(f) External hard disk (1 mark)

The size of a USB flash drive is smaller. (1)

4. Television recorders available on the market makes use of different storage media, e.g. video tapes, DVDs
and hard disks.

(a) State two reasons for video tapes to be superseded. (2 marks)

• The size of a video tape is rather large. (1)

• Since data on a video tape is accessed sequentially, if a tape has to be wound forward or backward, or a certain part has to be replayed,

this may take a rather long time. (1)

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 mputer System Fundamentals

(b) DVD recording starts to be superseded after it is feasible to record and store television programmes in
a hard disk. Explain briefly the reasons why DVD recording is superseded in each of the following
aspects.

(i) Storage capacity (1 mark)

The storage capacity of a hard disk is larger than that of a DVD; information can be kept in a hard disk for a longer time. (1)

(ii) Portability (1 mark)

Hard disk video recorders nowadays can use with external hard disks. Their portability is similar to that of DVDs. (1)

(iii) Quality of storage (1 mark)

Hard disks are suitable for recording some high-definition programmes that are large in volume and require a high accessing

speed. (1)

5. Lilia plans to buy a DVD drive, but she finds that there are different types for her to choose: DVD Combo,
DVD-ROM, DVD±R/±RW and DVD DL.

(a) Describe the use of the common DVD Combo drive. (2 marks)
DVD Combo drive is a composite drive. Besides reading DVDs (1), it can write CD-R/RW (1).

(b) What is DVD DL? What is its storage capacity in general? (2 marks)
DVD DL is a dual layer DVD. It can be used to write DVD±R/±RW and CD-R/RW. (1)

Its storage capacity can be up to 8.4 GB in general. (1)

(c) More and more people use Blu-ray Discs. Briefly state the reason and their common uses. (2 marks)
The capacity of a Blu-ray Disc is higher than that of a DVD. A single layer one can have a capacity up to 25 GB while a dual layer one can

have a capacity up to 50 GB. (1)

Blu-ray Discs are commonly used to produce high-definition videos. (1)

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 13 Secondary Storage Devices

Long Questions

1. (a) The average speed of a magnetic tape drive in winding a magnetic tape is 1.2 m/s. If a magnetic tape is
96 m long, and every 200 KB of data takes 2 cm of the tape to record.

(i) Find the storage capacity of the magnetic tape. Express your answer in MB and correct it to 1
decimal place. (2 marks)
The storage capacity of the magnetic tape = 200 KB × 96 m ÷ 2 cm (1)

= 960,000 KB

= 937.5 MB (1)

(ii) Find the average transfer rate of the magnetic tape drive in reading data. Express your answer in
MBps and correct it to 1 decimal place. (2 marks)
The average transfer rate of the drive = 1.2 m/s × 200 KB ÷ 2 cm (1)

= 12,000 KBps

= 11.7 MBps (1)

(b) The data transfer rate of a hard disk is 20 MBps, and the rotational speed of its platters is 5,400 rpm.

(i) Find the time needed for a platter in the hard disk to rotate one turn. Correct your answer to 3
significant figures. (2 marks)
The time needed for the platter to rotate one turn = 1 min ÷ 5,400 (1)

= 0.0111 s (1)

(ii) Find the capacity of a track on a platter of the hard disk. Express your answer in KB and correct it
to 1 decimal place. (2 marks)
The capacity of a track on the platter = 0.0111 s × 20 MBps (1)

= 0.222 MB

= 227.6 KB (1)

(c) If the hard disk changes to operate in 7,200 rpm, what will its data transfer rate be? Express your
answer in MBps. (2 marks)
The data transfer rate of the hard disk = 20 MBps ÷ 5,400 × 7,200 (1)

= 26.7 MBps (1)

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 mputer System Fundamentals

2. June is an experienced photographer and the digital single-lens reflex camera she uses is the most advanced
one. The file size of each photo taken by her is 30 MB before compression. As she often needs to deliver
plenty of photos to her clients, she plans to use a USB flash drive, which has a storage capacity of 16 GB, to
store these photos.

(a) Calculate the number of photos that the USB flash drive can store. (2 marks)
16 GB × 1,024 ÷ 30 MB = 546.133 (1)

Therefore, that USB flash drive can store at most 546 photos. (1)

(b) June every time takes at least 60 photos for her client. However, after getting the photos, her clients
seldom return the drives to her. Jimmy suggests June use the following storage media, so as to reduce
her loss. Briefly explain whether it is appropriate to use them.

(i) CD-R (2 marks)

No (1), because a CD-R only has a capacity of 750 MB, which at most can store 25 photos (1). / Yes (1), but at least 3 CD-Rs are

needed, and the cost will increase (1).

(ii) DVD+R (2 marks)

Yes (1), because a DVD+R can store more than 60 photos, and its cost is lower than that of a USB flash drive (1).

(iii) Blu-ray Disc (2 marks)

No (1), because Blu-ray Discs are not yet very common, her clients may not have a corresponding reader (1). / Yes (1), because a

Blu-ray Disc can store more than 60 photos, and the prices of its discs and readers are decreasing (1).

(c) June wants to store the photos in the Internet hard drive rented by the company, and provide individual
login information for her clients, so as to let them download their photos themselves. Briefly state two
advantages and two disadvantages of doing this. (4 marks)
Advantages: • Her clients can download the photos from a computer connected to the Internet anytime and anywhere. (1)

• The cost of giving storage media to the clients is saved. (1)

Disadvantages: • The downloading speed is slow and the time taken to download 60 photos is long. (1)

• The capacity of the Internet hard drive rented by the company is limited. If its capacity is to be increased, the renting cost

will increase. (1)

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