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.
8 Computer Genius-V

