Question

1. Describe the similarities and differences between memory and secondary storage.IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Answer 1

Primary and Secondary memories are both data storage devices

Definitions:

Memory so called primary memory is the main memory which is directly accessed by the CPU so as to store and retrieve the information. It is of 2 kinds namely main memory where operating system is stored and RAM, Random Access Memory

Secondary memory is also a memory where data is stored externally and is not accessed directly by the CPU viz. CD, floppy, magnetic disks etc

Differences:

• Primary memory storages are faster whereas secondary storages are slower
• Primary memory is temporary storage whereas secondary memory is permanent storage
• Primary memory is expensive and smaller whereas secondary memory is cheaper and larger
• Primary memory devices are connected using buses to CPU and is directly accessed whereas secondary storage devices are connected through data cables externally which cannot be directly accessed by CPU
• Primary memory is composed of programs and data that are presently used by the microprocessor where as secondary memory is enough capable of storing huge amounts of information