Why secondary storage is needed

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Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A student switches off the computer. What happens to a file that was only in RAM?

A It is lost, because RAM is volatile

B It is kept, because RAM is permanent

2. Which statement explains why secondary storage is needed?

A It keeps data when the power is off

B It makes the CPU run faster than RAM

3. Which has the much larger capacity in a typical computer?

A RAM

B Secondary storage, such as an SSD or HDD

4. Where is a saved photo kept when you are not using it?

A In RAM

B In secondary storage

5. Which is a reason RAM cannot be used for permanent storage?

A It is volatile and has limited size

B It is non-volatile and has unlimited size

Match the Pairs

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

Left column		Right column
1Secondary storage		APermanent storage that keeps files, programs and the OS when the power is switched off
2RAM = volatile		BRAM: 8 GB, SSD: 1000 GB
3Data survives power-off, so files can be kept long term		CRAM is volatile, so the homework would be lost when the power goes off. It should be saved to secondary storage.
4Secondary storage has a much larger capacity than RAM		DSecondary storage usually has a much larger capacity than RAM, and RAM is volatile, so files are stored on secondary storage.
5Save my homework in RAM so it is kept forever		EIts contents are lost when power is turned off, so it cannot keep files permanently
6RAM is bigger than secondary storage, so it stores all the files		FSecondary storage = non-volatile

Definitions

secondary storage

Fill in the Blanks

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

RAM is ________, so it loses data

Secondary storage is ____________

IF secondaryCapacity _ ramCapacity THEN

Kept at power off: _________ storage

Programs are loaded from storage into ___

Spot the Error

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

Question 1

A IF power = OFF THEN

B RAM data ← LOST

C SSD data ← LOST

D ENDIF

Question 2

A ram ← 8

B storage ← 4

C IF storage > ram THEN

D OUTPUT "Storage is larger"

E ENDIF

Question 3

A file ← "report.docx"

B SAVE file TO RAM

C POWER OFF

D POWER ON

E OPEN file FROM SSD

Question 4

A POWER ON

B READ OS FROM SSD

C MOVE OS INTO RAM

D RUN OS

Question 5

A Primary: RAM

B Volatile: NO

C Size: small (GBs)

D Secondary: SSD

E Volatile: NO

Answer Key

Why secondary storage is needed

Section A: Quick Questions

A — It is lost, because RAM is volatile

A — It keeps data when the power is off

B — Secondary storage, such as an SSD or HDD

B — In secondary storage

A — It is volatile and has limited size

Section B: Match the Pairs

Secondary storage → Permanent storage that keeps files, programs and the OS when the power is switched off

RAM = volatile → Its contents are lost when power is turned off, so it cannot keep files permanently

Data survives power-off, so files can be kept long term → Secondary storage = non-volatile

Secondary storage has a much larger capacity than RAM → RAM: 8 GB, SSD: 1000 GB

Save my homework in RAM so it is kept forever → RAM is volatile, so the homework would be lost when the power goes off. It should be saved to secondary storage.

RAM is bigger than secondary storage, so it stores all the files → Secondary storage usually has a much larger capacity than RAM, and RAM is volatile, so files are stored on secondary storage.

Section C: Definitions

secondary storage — Permanent, non-volatile storage with a much larger capacity than RAM. It keeps files, programs and the OS safe when the power is off, because RAM is volatile and too small.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

RAM is volatile, so it loses data

Secondary storage is non-volatile

IF secondaryCapacity > ramCapacity THEN

Kept at power off: secondary storage

Programs are loaded from storage into RAM

Section E: Spot the Error

C — An SSD is secondary storage, which is non-volatile. Its data is kept when the power is off, so the line should be SSD data ← KEPT.

B — Secondary storage has a much larger capacity than RAM. A value of 4 is smaller than the RAM value of 8, so it should be a larger number such as 512.

B — RAM is volatile, so a file saved only there is lost when the power goes off. The file must be saved to secondary storage such as the SSD.

C — The OS is copied into RAM to run, so a permanent copy stays on secondary storage. Moving it would leave it only in volatile RAM, and it would be lost at power-off. It should be COPY.

B — RAM is primary storage and is volatile, so its data is lost when the power is off. The line should say Volatile: YES.