Which of the following is an example of volatile memory?
- A.ROM
- B.RAM
- C.Hard disk
- D.Pen drive
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, RAM. Random Access Memory holds a bit only while it is powered, whether the cell is a flip-flop in static RAM or a leaking capacitor in dynamic RAM. Cut the supply and everything in RAM is gone, which is why unsaved work is lost in a power failure.
Option A, ROM, is the standard non-volatile primary memory and keeps the bootstrap loader and the BIOS ready for the next start-up. Option C, the hard disk, stores data as permanent magnetic patterns on its platters, so it needs no power to remember. Option D, the pen drive, uses flash memory, which traps charge in a floating gate and holds it for years without a supply. In short, only RAM among the four is volatile; cache, being static RAM, is volatile too, and is the answer when RAM is not listed.
Read the full article: Memory and Storage: RAM, ROM, Cache and Units
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following is the fastest memory in a computer system?
- A.Cache memory
- B.Register
- C.Main memory
- D.Hard disk
Show answer
A register is built into the CPU itself and holds the word the arithmetic and logic unit is operating on at that instant, so it is read and written in a single clock cycle.
Read the full explanation →How many bits make one nibble?
- A.2 bits
- B.4 bits
- C.8 bits
- D.16 bits
Show answer
A nibble is half a byte, that is four binary digits, and it matters because one nibble is written as exactly one hexadecimal digit, from 0 to F. That is why memory addresses in hexadecimal are read four bits at a time.
Read the full explanation →Which type of memory has to be refreshed thousands of times per second to retain its contents?
- A.SRAM
- B.DRAM
- C.ROM
- D.Flash memory
Show answer
Dynamic RAM stores each bit as a charge on a very small capacitor, and that charge leaks away in a few milliseconds, so the memory controller has to read and rewrite every cell continuously.
Read the full explanation →The contents of an EPROM chip are erased by exposing it to
- A.An electrical signal
- B.Ultraviolet light
- C.A magnetic field
- D.Infrared radiation
Show answer
An Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory chip carries a small quartz window over the silicon; ultraviolet light shone through that window releases the trapped charge from every cell at once and returns the chip to its blank state, after which it can be programmed again.
Read the full explanation →One terabyte is equal to how many gigabytes?
- A.100 GB
- B.512 GB
- C.1,024 GB
- D.2,048 GB
Show answer
Every step in the ladder of storage units multiplies by 1,024, because 1,024 is 2 raised to the power 10 and memory is addressed in binary.
Read the full explanation →