DT4 Workbook

WJEC Digital
Technology

Unit 1:

The digital world

DT4:

Solid-state storage

2

Starter:

Bit

Byte

GB

KB

MB

Nibble

PB

TB

1

Rank these units of data in order. (1 = Smallest to 8 = largest) – The first one has been done for

you.

Convert the following units of data – the first one has been done for you.

Unit

Conversion

How many bits in a byte?

8 Bits

How many bits in a nibble?

How many nibbles in a byte?

How many MB in a GB?

Starter:

Bit

Byte

GB

KB

MB

Nibble

PB

TB

1

3

6

4

5

2

8

7

Rank these units of data in order. (1 = Smallest to 8 = largest) – The first one has been done for

you.

Convert the following units of data – the first one has been done for you.

Unit

Conversion

How many bits in a byte?

8 Bits

How many bits in a nibble?

4 Bits

How many nibbles in a byte?

2 Nibbles

How many MB in a GB?

1000 MB or 1024 MB

5

Data capacity conversions

MB: ……………………..

The capacity of this USB Flash Drive is 8GB.

MB: ……………………..

This Solid State drive has a capacity of 2TB.
GB: ……………………..

TB: ……………………..

MB: ……………………..

6

Data capacity conversions

MB: 4.526

The capacity of this USB Flash Drive is 8GB.

MB: 8000

This Solid State drive has a capacity of 2TB.
GB: 2000

TB: 0.00377

MB: 0.938

Starter

Name these storage devices and identify their purpose.

Name this storage device

What is the purpose of
this device?

Starter

Name these storage devices and identify their purpose.

The purpose of this is
to store files such as
documents, images,

video etc. It’s

becoming a common
alternative to HDD as

they get cheaper.

The purpose of this is
provide users with the
opportunity to transfer

files to a portable
device that can be

moved from machine

to machine.

The purpose of this
storage device is to
store files. They’re
commonly used in
digital cameras or
handheld devices.

Solid-state drive

USB Flash drive

SD Card
Name this storage device

What is the purpose of
this device?

Lesson Objectives:

Curricular goal:

•A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses
integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using
flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of
computer storage.

•Identify a range of solid-state storage devices and their purpose.

•Describe the six characteristics used to assess the suitability of a storage
device for a given purpose.

•Use these characteristics to assess the suitability of solid-state storage.

9

Lesson components:

Match them up

These characteristics are used to decide what type of storage is best suited to a given purpose. Match up the
characteristics to correct statement.

1. Capacity

A. This refers to how quickly the data can be read and transferred from
the storage device.

2. Cost

B. This refers to how easy is it to transport from one place to another.

3. Speed

C. This refers to how expensive per byte it is.

4. Portability

D. This refers to longevity – how well does it maintain performance over
time?

5. Durability

E. This refers to how resistant it is to external factors such as being
dropped, scratched and how it responds to being in extreme conditions.

6. Reliability

F. This refers to how much space is available on the storage device.

Match them up

These characteristics are used to decide what type of storage is best suited to a given purpose. Match up the
characteristics to correct statement.

1. Capacity

A. This refers to how quickly the data can be read and transferred from
the storage device.

2. Cost

B. This refers to how easy is it to transport from one place to another.

3. Speed

C. This refers to how expensive per byte it is.

4. Portability

D. This refers to longevity – how well does it maintain performance over
time?

5. Durability

E. This refers to how resistant it is to external factors such as being
dropped, scratched and how it responds to being in extreme conditions.

6. Reliability

F. This refers to how much space is available on the storage device.

Focus: Reliability

Scenario

On the left are four second-hand cars for sale.

Complete the table below to identify their ranking by

mileage.

1 = Lowest mileage to 4 = Highest mileage

Rank

Make/Model

Mileage

1

2

3

4

Focus: Reliability

Scenario

On the left are four second-hand cars for sale.

Complete the table below to identify their ranking by

mileage.

1 = Lowest mileage to 4 = Highest mileage

Rank

Make/Model

Mileage

1

Peugeot 108 5dr

3,604 miles

2

Peugeot 108 3dr

48,457 miles

3

Vauxhall Corsa

72,000 miles

4

Citroen C3

101,000 miles

Purpose

In theory, the Peugeot 108 5dr would be the most reliable
because it has done less miles. Cars that tend to do more
miles, get less reliable over time. The same applies to the

storage devices we use. They have a certain life span.

Solid-state storage

Key Questions:

Use the bars below to rank solid-state storage against
the different storage characteristics. You must justify

your answer.

Capacity

10 = Good 1 = Bad

Justification

Cost

Justification

Solid-state storage

Key Questions:

Use the bars below to rank solid-state storage against
the different storage characteristics. You must justify

your answer.

Capacity

10 = Good 1 = Bad

Justification

In it’s infancy, the data storage capacity was relatively small.

Even now a standard USB flash drive can only store about
128GB. Solid-state drives offer much more, but at a cost.

Cost

Justification

This is relatively new technology and therefore cost per GB is

quite high. Solid-state drives are double the price of hard
disk drives. USB flash drives can be quite expensive for the

amount of capacity users get.

Solid-state storage

Key Questions:

Use the bars below to rank solid-state storage against
the different storage characteristics. You must justify

your answer.

Speed

10 = Good 1 = Bad

Justification

Portability

Justification

Solid-state storage

Key Questions:

Use the bars below to rank solid-state storage against
the different storage characteristics. You must justify

your answer.

Speed

10 = Good 1 = Bad

Justification

It is very quick to read data this is because there is no

actuator arm on a spinning disk trying to find it. There is no
spin up time and that leads to the computer booting up much

quicker.

Portability

Justification

It has a small, lightweight design to it. This makes it very easy

to carry around. Useful in USB flash drives and SD cards

where data might need to be transferred from one device to

another.

Solid-state storage

Key Questions:

Use the bars below to rank solid-state storage against
the different storage characteristics. You must justify

your answer.

Durability

10 = Good 1 = Bad

Justification

Reliability

Justification

Solid-state storage

What is flash memory?

Solid-state storage is a form of flash memory. It’s a
non-volatile form of storage which has the ability to
read and write data. These are commonly used in

laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Durability

Justification

It is able to withstand being dropped because it has no

moving parts. This is because it has a circuit board with a set

of flash memory chips soldered on to them.

Reliability

Justification

Despite it’s high level performance and the fact is uses less
power, it’s not a long-term solution. This is because SSD’s can
only perform a limited number of read/write cycles which

means performance will drop over time.