How Memory works

By Aiden Svitich
February 5, 2016
Translate Aiden S to ASCII (decimal)

A-65
i-105
d-100
e-101
n-110
S-83

Translate Decimal to Binary

65-01000001
105-01101001
100-01100100
101-01100101
110-01101110
83-01010011

1. List six of the ten different types of electronic memory from page 1 of the website.
1. RAM
2. ROM
3. Cache
4. Flash Memory
5. Virtual Memory
6. BIOS

2. Check out the Memory Hierarchy Pyramid on the Computer Memory Basics page
(page 2) and read the included explanation. Insert a copy of the picture below and
then, in one sentence, explain what it means when Level 2 cache is further up the
hierarchy than a USB drive.

1.

Memory is stored in the level 2 cache before it

is moved into a USB storage area. This is the order of storage from topdown.

3. ROM stands for read-only-memory. It is a type

of permanent/temporary (highlight one) memory.
4. BIOS stands for basic input/output system. It provides basic information for the
computer on storage devices, boot sequences, security and Plug and Play.
5. RAM stands for random-access-memory. It is a type
of permanent/temporary (highlight one) memory.
6. Page 2 describes all the things that can be loaded into RAM. List three or four.
1. Operating system
2. Applications
3. Opening files

4. Keyboard input
7. What happens to the data stored in RAM when an application is closed?
1. The files are deleted from the RAM.
8. What is the cheapest form of read/write memory available today? Why is it so
popular to use large quantities of this kind of storage?
1. Hard Disk- The amount of permanent storage on a hard disk is massive,
compared to its price.
9. What does bit-size mean (as in 32-bit or 64-bit computer)?
1. It is the amount of information (bytes) that the computer can access at the
same time. Ex 32-bit can process 4 bytes of information and a 64-bit
computer can process 8 bytes of information at one time.
10. The length of the clock cycle is used to determine a CPUs processing speed. What
unit of measurement is used?
1. Megahertz (MHz) in millions per second. Ex. 32-bit 800MHz= 4 bytes
simultaneously at 800 000 000 times per second.
11. RAM is not fast enough to keep up with the CPU. Therefore some even higher
speed memory is needed. What is this high speed memory called?
1. It is called a Cache
12. Explain registers. Where do they sit on the memory hierarchy pyramid?
1. These are memory cells that are built into CPU for immediate data access.
These are on the highest level of the hierarchy.
13. What are the Memory Address Register and the Memory Data Register? What are
they used for? What is virtual memory? How does it relate to the hard drive?
1. The memory address register is a 2 way register that holds the address of
the current instruction being executed. The memory data register is a

buffer that keeps information ready to use by memory address register .

Both work together to perform a command.
2. Virtual memory copies areas of RAM that have not been used recently, and
puts it into the hard drive. This frees up more space for the RAM by placing
unused information to the cheaper hard drive.