Page 10 - Computer Genius Class 05
P. 10

When you were a child, you were taught about alphabets and numbers. Do you still remember
                  it?  How?  This is because these  were  stored  in  your  memory.  Just  like human  memory,
                  computers also have memory to store all the data and instructions for performing various
                  tasks.

                  Data and Information


                   n your daily li e  you come across a lot o   acts and figures in the  orm o  num ers  images,
                  etc. These are called data. You can say that a collection of raw and unorganised facts is
                   no n as data.  hen you organise the data and pro ide a specific context  it can  e called
                  information.

                  Memory


                  The data and instructions that are entered into the computer using input devices are to be
                  stored inside the memory. There are two types of memory:
                  1. Primary Memory

                  2. Secondary Memory
                  Primary Memory

                  This is the main memory of the computer. The CPU can directly access this memory. It is
                  fixed on the mother oard o  the computer.

                  Primary memory is further divided into two types:
                  1. Random Access Memory (RAM)

                  2. Read Only Memory (ROM)
                  Random Access Memory (RAM)


                  RAM is a temporary memory. The information stored in
                  this memory is lost  hen the computer is turned off. That
                  is why it is also called volatile memory. It stores data and
                  instructions given by the user and also the results produced by the computer temporarily.


                  Types of RAM:
                  1.  Dynamic RAM (DRAM): It requires continuous power to refresh the data stored.

                  2.  Static RAM (SRAM): It also requires constant power to hold on to data, but it does not
                     need to be continuously refreshed the way DRAM does.

                     o e er       is significantly  aster and uses less po er than     .
                  Read Only Memory (ROM)

                  Information stored in ROM is permanent in nature, that is, it holds the data

                  e en i  the system is s itched off.  t holds the starting instructions that
                  are required to start a computer. It is also called non-volatile memory.

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