Memory and storage
5 subtopics
The biggest topic in Paper 1, and the one that comes up most. It covers the difference between RAM and ROM, what virtual memory is and why a computer needs it, and the three types of secondary storage: optical, magnetic and solid state.
You also need the characteristics that let you compare storage: capacity, speed, portability, durability, reliability and cost. Exam questions very often give you a scenario and ask which storage suits it and why, so the comparison matters more than the list.
The rest is data representation and compression. Units from bit up to petabyte, binary and hexadecimal conversion, binary shifts, character sets, images, sound, and the difference between lossy and lossless compression.
Revise with flashcards
All of Memory and storage in one deck, for active recall.
Primary storage (memory)
Why primary storage is needed, the differences between RAM and ROM, virtual memory, and cache.
Secondary storage
Optical, magnetic and solid state storage and choosing storage for a scenario.
Units
Bits to petabytes and calculating file sizes for text, images and sound.
Data storage
How numbers, text, images and sound are stored in binary and the effect on size and quality.
Compression
Why compression is used and the difference between lossy and lossless compression.