(a) Explain the following terms: (i) storage device; (ii) virtual memory.
(b) Two storage devices have capacities 2KB and 2MB respectively. (i) Calculate the number of bits that each of 2KB and 2MB can hold. 2 KB: 2 MB
(i) Putting the two storage together, calculate the total capacity in bytes.
Explanation
a)(i) Storage Device: It is a piece of computer equipment/device/hardware/peripheral which can hold or store data/information. It can also be used to transfer data.
OR
Storage device can either be external/internal device used to hold/store data/information, for example, magnetic disk, diskette, flash drive, hard drive. DVD and VCD.
OR
Storage device is a digital medium/piece of computer equipment/device/hardware capable of storing/holding data/information either temporarily or permanently.
(i) Virtual Memory: This is the type of memory which allows a programmer to make a memory device behave as itf it has unlimited storage capacity. This supposed 'extra' memory is stored on secondary storage.
OR
Virtual memory is a technique by which additional memory is created on hard disc to compliment the activity of computer real memory.
OR
It is temporary.storage used by a computer to run programs that need more memory than it has.
OR
It is a memory management technique that provides an idealized abstraction of the storage resources that are actually available.
OR
It is a given machine which creates the illusion to users of a very large memory.
OR
It is a memory management capability of an operating system that uses hardware and software to allow a computer to compensate for physical memory shortages by temporarily transferring data from random access memory (RAM) to dick storage.
(b)(i) Calculating Number of Bits Held by Each Device: 2KB (ii) Calculation of Total Capacity:
1 Kilobyte = 1024 bytes
1 byte = 8 bits
2 kilobytes = 2 x 1024 x 8
→ 16384 bits
2MB
1 Megabyte = 1024 kilobytes
1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes
2 kilobytes = 2 x 1024 x 8
1 byte = 8 bits
Therefore, 2MB = 2 x 1024 x 1024 x 8 = 16777216 bits
To add 2MB and 2KB together,
2Mb = 2 x 1024 x 1024 bytes
= 2097152 bytes
2KB = 2 x 1024 bytes
= 2048 bytes
Total in bytes = 2097152+ 2048 bytes
= 2,099,200 bytes