The J277 Secondary Storage Quiz!

Learn about Magnetic, Optical, and Solid State storage.

Enter your name to begin:

Part 1: The 3 Types of Storage

Computers need **secondary storage** to store data long-term (non-volatile). There are three main types:

1. Magnetic

Uses magnets to read/write data on spinning platters or tape.

Pros: Very cheap, huge capacity.
Cons: Slow, has moving parts, less durable.
Examples: Hard Disk Drive (HDD), Magnetic Tape.

2. Optical

Uses a laser to read/write data on a spinning disc.

Pros: Very cheap, portable, lightweight.
Cons: Very slow, small capacity, easily scratched.
Examples: CD, DVD, Blu-Ray.

3. Solid State

Uses flash memory chips with no moving parts.

Pros: Extremely fast, very durable, quiet.
Cons: Most expensive.
Examples: Solid State Drive (SSD), USB Stick.

Part 2: Characteristics (Multiple Choice)

Test your knowledge of storage characteristics.

Part 3: Match the Device (Drag & Drop)

Drag the storage devices into their correct category.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

CD-ROM

Solid State Drive (SSD)

DVD-R

USB Flash Drive

Magnetic Tape

Magnetic

Optical

Solid State

Part 4: Application & Scenarios

Choose the *best* storage device for each scenario.

1. A photographer needs to transfer 50GB of photos from their PC to a client's PC. They need it to be fast and portable.

CD-R (700MB Capacity)

External SSD (Fast & Portable)

Internal HDD (Not portable)

2. A company needs to archive 100TB of financial records. They need the *lowest cost* per TB and will almost never access the data.

A server full of SSDs (Very expensive)

Thousands of USB drives (Impractical)

Magnetic Tape (Low cost, high capacity)

3. A student needs to submit a 10MB homework file. They need a device that is cheap, portable, and will work on any school computer.

External HDD (Too bulky, more fragile)

USB Flash Drive (Cheap, portable, common)

Blu-Ray Disc (Needs special drive)

Lesson Complete!

Well done, Student!

You've completed the J277 Secondary Storage Quiz.

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