Touchpad iPrime Ver. 2.1 Class 4: Windows 10 & MS Office 2016

By Team Orange

Touchpad iPRIME (Ver 2.1) series based on Windows 10 and Office 2016 is comprehensively designed as per the new ICSE syllabus. Learning is done best when it’s fun-filled and activity based. To ensure that the content intrigues the students at all times and keeps them interested throughout the course of the book, we have
included interesting key fe

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orange Education Pvt Ltd.
• Release date: Jun 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9789390475247

Book preview

1 COMPUTERS-STORAGE AND MEMORY DEVICE

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

In your daily life, you come across a lot of facts and figures in the form of numbers, images, etc. These are called data. You can say that a collection of raw and unorganised facts is known as data. When you organise the data and provide a specific context, it can be 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:

Primary Memory

Secondary Memory

Primary Memory

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

The primary memory is further divided into two types:

Random Access Memory (RAM)

Read Only Memory (ROM)

Random Access Memory (RAM)

RAM is a temporary memory. The information stored in this memory is lost when the computer is turned off. That’s 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.

RAM

Types of RAM:

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

Static RAM (SRAM): It also requires constant power to hold on to data, but it doesn’t need to be continually refreshed the way DRAM does.

However, SRAM is significantly faster and uses less power than DRAM.

Read Only Memory (ROM)

ROM

Information stored in ROM is permanent in nature, i.e., it holds the data even if the system is switched off. It holds the starting instructions that are required to start a computer. It is also called non-volatile memory.

Secondary Memory

This memory is permanent in nature and is not directly accessed by the CPU. It allows users to store data that may be easily retrieved. It is cheaper compared to primary memory.

Secondary memory devices are also called secondary storage devices. They are categorised into three types:

Magnetic Disk

A hard disk covered with a magnetic coating is callled a Magnetic disk. You can record and erase data on a magnetic disk any number of times.

Hard Disk

Hard disk

The hard disk consists of one or more magnetic disks called platters. Each disk in the pack has top and bottom surfaces on which data is recorded using a magnetic head. It is permanently fixed in the computer system. It is usually used for permanent mass storage. The most important function of the hard disk is to store program files and data files.

The hard disk comes in a variety of sizes with storage capacities as high as 5 TB (TeraByte) or even more. The CPU accesses data stored on a hard disk much faster than it can access data on a CD.

External hard disk

External hard disks are also available. They are the hard disks that can be connected to any computer with the help of a USB port.

Optical Disc

An optical disc is an electronic data storage medium that can be written to and read using a low-powered laser beam.

Compact Disc (CD)

CD-Drive

The CD drive reads information stored on a compact disc (CD). CD is an external storage device. The lifespan of an optical disc is longer than a magnetic disk. It can hold up to 700 MB of data. CD drive is usually connected inside the CPU box but can also be connected using a USB