Real Life Examples of Computer Storage: Hard Drives & SSDs

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🧲 Hard Disk Drives (HDDs): Use magnetic platters to store data. Data is accessed by a moving read/write head.
• ⚡ Solid State Drives (SSDs): Use flash memory to store data electronically. No moving parts, resulting in faster access times.
• ⚙️ Capacity: Both HDDs and SSDs come in various sizes (e.g., 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or more).
• 🚀 Speed: SSDs are significantly faster than HDDs in terms of read and write speeds.
• 💰 Cost: HDDs are generally cheaper per gigabyte compared to SSDs.
• 💾 Lifespan: SSDs have a limited number of write cycles, but modern SSDs are very durable for typical user use.

Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following storage devices uses magnetic platters to store data?
   1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
   2. Solid State Drive (SSD)
   3. USB Flash Drive
   4. SD Card
2. Which type of drive generally offers faster read and write speeds?
   1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
   2. Solid State Drive (SSD)
   3. Optical Disc Drive
   4. Floppy Disk Drive
3. Which storage device is commonly used in external portable storage due to its small size and durability?
   1. HDD
   2. SSD
   3. CD-ROM
   4. Blu-ray Disc
4. Which of the following is an advantage of SSDs over HDDs?
   1. Lower cost per gigabyte
   2. Higher storage capacity for the same price
   3. Faster boot times and application loading
   4. Resistance to physical shock
5. A photographer needs to store a large number of high-resolution photos. Which storage type would be the most cost-effective?
   1. SSD
   2. HDD
   3. RAM
   4. Cache Memory
6. Which storage type is generally more resistant to physical damage?
   1. Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
   2. Solid State Drive (SSD)
   3. CD-ROM
   4. DVD-ROM
7. A video editor requires fast access to large video files. Which storage solution would be most suitable?
   1. HDD
   2. SSD
   3. Tape Drive
   4. Floppy Disk