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Year 10
OCR

Secondary storage

I can compare the characteristics of different types of secondary storage.

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New
New
Year 10
OCR

Secondary storage

I can compare the characteristics of different types of secondary storage.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

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These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Secondary storage types are optical, magnetic and solid state.
  2. The most commonly used secondary storage devices are optical storage using lasers, and solid state using 0s and 1s.

Keywords

  • Solid state storage - no moving parts; stores data in electrical circuits using 0s and 1s

  • Optical storage - uses lasers to read and write data on a reflective surface

  • Magnetic storage - older format; data stored in series as polarised dots

Common misconception

More storage always means a faster computer.

Upgrading from a HDD to a SSD will improve speed, but simply increasing the capacity of the same type of drive does not make the computer faster.


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Secondary storage, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Having physical examples of the types of storage media can aid understanding as well as considering the types of secondary storage for different scenarios.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Pupils do not require any specific equipment for this lesson.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does RAM stand for?
Correct Answer: Random Access Memory, random access memory
Q2.
Which small, fast type of memory stores instructions that the CPU uses most often?
Correct Answer: cache
Q3.
Which memory type is temporary and changes as you use the computer?
ROM
cache
Correct answer: RAM
hard drive
Q4.
What is the main function of ROM?
running games
Correct answer: storing start-up instructions
saving documents
downloading updates
Q5.
What does cache memory help the computer do?
Correct answer: run faster
store photos
print documents
connect to wi-fi
Q6.
Put these types of memory in order from fastest to slowest:
1 - cache
2 - RAM
3 - virtual memory
4 - hard drive

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is storage media?
Correct answer: the physical material that holds data
the speed of the computer
the amount of RAM
the operating system
Q2.
Which statement is correct about storage and computer speed?
more storage always makes a computer faster
Correct answer: upgrading from a hard disk drive to a solid state drive improves speed
buying a larger hard drive guarantees faster performance
only optical storage can speed up a computer
Q3.
Match each example to its storage type:
Correct Answer:DVD,optical storage

optical storage

Correct Answer:HDD,magnetic storage

magnetic storage

Correct Answer:SSD,solid state storage

solid state storage

Q4.
How does solid state storage store data?
by using moving parts
with lasers and a reflective surface
Correct answer: in electrical circuits using 0s and 1s
by spinning magnetic disks
Q5.
What is a key feature of magnetic storage?
no moving parts
Correct answer: stores data as polarised dots
uses lasers
only works with cloud storage
Q6.
Which type of secondary storage uses lasers to read and write data on a reflective surface?
Correct Answer: optical, optical storage