Choosing a secondary storage device for a scenario

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A company needs to keep 20 TB of old records as a cheap backup archive. Which storage suits best?

A Magnetic storage (HDD or tape) because it gives a large capacity at a low cost per GB

B Solid-state storage because it is always the cheapest per GB for huge capacities

2. A wildlife photographer needs a camera card that is small, light and can survive being dropped and shaken. Which is best?

A A hard disk drive because its spinning platters are very durable

B An SD card (solid-state) because it has no moving parts and is portable

3. Which reason justifies choosing an SSD as the main drive of a laptop?

A It is fast to start up and load programs, uses little power and has no moving parts

B It is the cheapest way to store many terabytes of data

4. A company wants to sell a film to thousands of customers in a cheap, mass-produced format. Which storage fits?

A Optical disc (DVD or Blu-ray) because it is very cheap to produce in bulk

B Internal SSD because each copy can be sold at a very low cost

5. Which statement about choosing storage is correct?

A Always pick the fastest type, because speed matters most in every scenario

B Pick the type whose strengths match the scenario's needs, then give reasons

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Backup archive: 20 TB of rarely used files kept cheaply		ALaptop drive = SSD (solid-state)
2Camera memory: small, light, shock-proof, no moving parts		BA USB flash drive has too little capacity and costs too much per GB for a large archive. Magnetic storage such as an HDD or tape should be chosen.
3A laptop main drive needs fast start-up, low power use and resistance to bumps, so choose this		CChoose magnetic storage (HDD or tape) because it gives very large capacity at low cost per GB
4Distributing films or software cheaply to many customers who only need to read the data		DChoose solid-state storage (SD card) because it is portable, durable and fast to write photos
5Backup archive of 20 TB -> choose a small USB flash drive		EDistribution = DVD or Blu-ray (optical)
6Camera used on a rough hiking trip -> choose an HDD for photos		FAn HDD has moving parts that can be damaged by knocks and it is bulky. Solid-state storage such as an SD card is more durable and portable.

Definitions

Choosing storage

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

scenario ← "backup archive" need ← "large capacity at low cost" storage ← "________"

scenario ← "camera memory card" need ← "small, portable, shock resistant" storage ← "___________"

scenario ← "laptop main drive" need ← "fast access, no ______ parts" storage ← "solid-state"

scenario ← "distributing films or software" need ← "cheap to produce, easy to post" storage ← "_______"

scenario ← "backup archive" storage ← "magnetic" reason ← "high capacity at low ____"

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A SCENARIO ← "Backup archive"

B NEED ← "Big and cheap"

C CHOICE ← "Small SD card"

D REASON ← "Low cost per GB"

Question 2

A SCENARIO ← "Portable camera"

B NEED ← "Small and fragile"

C CHOICE ← "SD card"

D REASON ← "No moving parts"

Question 3

A SCENARIO ← "Laptop main drive"

B NEED ← "Fast and durable"

C CHOICE ← "SSD"

D REASON ← "Has spinning disks"

Question 4

A SCENARIO ← "Distribute films"

B NEED ← "Cheap copies to post"

C CHOICE ← "Internal SSD"

D REASON ← "Cheap to produce"

Question 5

A SCENARIO ← "Backup archive"

B NEED ← "Very large capacity"

C CHOICE ← "Magnetic HDD"

D REASON ← "Highest cost per GB"

Answer Key

Choosing a secondary storage device for a scenario

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Magnetic storage (HDD or tape) because it gives a large capacity at a low cost per GB

B — An SD card (solid-state) because it has no moving parts and is portable

A — It is fast to start up and load programs, uses little power and has no moving parts

A — Optical disc (DVD or Blu-ray) because it is very cheap to produce in bulk

B — Pick the type whose strengths match the scenario's needs, then give reasons

Section B: Match the Pairs

Backup archive: 20 TB of rarely used files kept cheaply → Choose magnetic storage (HDD or tape) because it gives very large capacity at low cost per GB

Camera memory: small, light, shock-proof, no moving parts → Choose solid-state storage (SD card) because it is portable, durable and fast to write photos

A laptop main drive needs fast start-up, low power use and resistance to bumps, so choose this → Laptop drive = SSD (solid-state)

Distributing films or software cheaply to many customers who only need to read the data → Distribution = DVD or Blu-ray (optical)

Backup archive of 20 TB -> choose a small USB flash drive → A USB flash drive has too little capacity and costs too much per GB for a large archive. Magnetic storage such as an HDD or tape should be chosen.

Camera used on a rough hiking trip -> choose an HDD for photos → An HDD has moving parts that can be damaged by knocks and it is bulky. Solid-state storage such as an SD card is more durable and portable.

Section C: Definitions

Choosing storage — Match a scenario's needs (capacity, speed, portability, durability, cost) to magnetic, optical or solid-state storage, then justify the choice with reasons.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

scenario ← "backup archive"
need ← "large capacity at low cost"
storage ← "magnetic"

scenario ← "camera memory card"
need ← "small, portable, shock resistant"
storage ← "solid-state"

scenario ← "laptop main drive"
need ← "fast access, no moving parts"
storage ← "solid-state"

scenario ← "distributing films or software"
need ← "cheap to produce, easy to post"
storage ← "optical"

scenario ← "backup archive"
storage ← "magnetic"
reason ← "high capacity at low cost"

Section E: Spot the Error

C — A backup archive needs huge capacity at low cost. SD cards hold little and cost more per GB. It should be a magnetic hard disk drive (HDD).

B — A camera used on the move must survive knocks, so the need is small and durable, not fragile. The rest of the program chooses an SD card because of this.

D — An SSD is solid-state and has no spinning disks or moving parts. That is why it is fast and durable. The reason should be about quick start-up and no moving parts.

C — An internal SSD is built into a computer and cannot be posted to customers. It is also costly per copy. Optical discs such as Blu-ray are cheap, light and portable for distributing films.

D — Magnetic storage is chosen for archives because it has the LOWEST cost per GB. A high cost per GB would be a reason to avoid it, not choose it.