GCSE J277 Unit 1.

2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Name: Zainuddin Subedar

Specification and learning objectives

By the end of this topic, you will have studied:
• Units of data storage: Bit, nibble, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte
• How data needs to be converted into a binary format to be processed by a computer
• Data capacity and calculation of data capacity requirements
• How to convert positive denary whole numbers into binary (up to and including 8 bits) and vice versa
• How to add two binary integers together (up to and including 8 bits) and explain the overflow errors that may occur
• How to convert denary whole numbers into 2-digit hexadecimal and vice versa
• How to convert binary integers to their hexadecimal equivalents and vice versa
• Binary shifts
• Character sets and the use of binary codes to represent characters
• The relationship between the number of bits per character in a character set and the number of characters that can be represented (e.g., ASCII, UNICODE)
• How an image is a series of pixels represented in binary and what image metadata is
• The effect of colour depth and resolution on the quality of an image and the size of an image file
• How sound can be sampled and stored in digital form
• The effect of sample rate, duration and bit depth on playback quality and the size of an audio file
• The need for compression
• Lossy and lossless compression

Resources
We recommend the OCR-endorsed text book from PG Online for use during your GCSE studies.
Craig ‘n’ Dave videos for SLR 1.2
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Bit, nibble, byte, kilobyte and megabyte

Bit: 0 Binary digit. Boolean values: False or True.

Nibble: 0 1 0 1 4 bits. Half a byte. An encoded number for an LCD display.

Byte: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 A 8 bits. A single character.

Kilobyte: 1024 bytes which can be approximated to 103 or 1000 bytes. The symbol for a kilobyte is KB

You can store a few paragraphs of text in a single kilobyte. In the 1980s, a 5.25-inch floppy disk would store 160 – 360 kilobytes of data.

Megabyte: 1,000,000 bytes,

1024 kilobytes which can be approximated to The symbol for a megabyte is MB
10^6

You can store a small photograph in a single megabyte. In the 1990s, a 3.5-inch floppy disk would store 1.44 megabytes of data.
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Gigabyte, terabyte and petabyte

Gigabyte: 1,000,000,000
1024 MB which can be approximated to The symbol for a gigabyte is GB
Bytes, 10^9

You can store 12 hours of music in a single gigabyte. In the 1990s, a MiniDisc would store 1 gigabyte of data.

Terabyte: 1,000,000,000,0
1024 GB which can be approximated to The symbol for a terabyte is TB
00 bytes, 10^12

You can store 1 million novels in a single terabyte. Today, hard disks are readily available with multiple terabytes of data capacity.

1,000,000,000,0
Petabyte: 1024TB which can be approximated to 00,000 bytes, The symbol for a petabyte is PB
10^15

You can store 100 years of television in a single petabyte. The amount of data Google processes in an hour can be measured in petabytes.
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Units of data storage

Unit conversions:

Sophie has 1500 high-resolution photographs, each

Bytes KB MB GB with a file size of 5MB. What size memory card in GB
will she need as a minimum to store these images?
6567 6.567 0.006567 0.000006567

7.5GB
130 0.13 0.00013 0.00000013

10700000 10700 10.7 0.0107 A portable video player stores films in a compressed
format on its internal flash memory. Each film is 4.7GB.
How many films can a 32GB player store?
2300000 2300 2.3 0.0023

6.8
5000000 5000 5 0.005

1400000000 1400000 1400 1.4

A dashboard camera records video at 120MB per
second. How much storage is required in gigabytes for
30 seconds of footage?
5000000 5000 5 0.05

200000000 200000 200 0.2 3.6

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Units of data storage

The human brain 0.004MB of RAM in

stores 2,500,000GB Apple’s first
of data computer in 1976

= 2.5 PB = 40 KB
15.4PB of video IBM’s Watson
uploaded to supercomputer
YouTube in 2012 16TB RAM

= 15400 TB = 0.016 PB

Large Hadron Collider All the DNA in a human

produces 0.47GB data body cell is 1.5GB
per second.

= 470 MB = 1500 MB
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Why data needs to be converted into a binary format to be processed by a computer

Computers store data in binary (0 or 1) because: It is easier and cheaper to manufacture

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Calculating data capacity requirements

Typical examples of file sizes: File type Approximate size

One-page text document with no images 0.1MB (100KB)

Postcard-sized photograph 6MB

Three-minute MP3 music file 6MB

One-minute compressed video file 50MB

Standard-definition feature film 4000MB (4GB)

High-definition feature film 8000 – 15000MB (8 – 15GB)

A 100-page book with 30 postcard-sized photos: 18GB

Photo album with 230 postcard-sized photos and 40 half-minute video clips: 2.380GB

A portable music player capable of holding 3000 three-minute songs and ¼-postcard-sized thumbnail images:
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

How to convert positive denary whole numbers (0-255) into 8-bit binary and vice versa

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
16 0001000=16
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Adding two 8-bit binary integers and overflow errors

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
no1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 =00010000=16
no2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 =10000011=131
answer 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1
carries 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Overflow errors can occur when adding binary numbers because: The number is to big and carries on
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Binary shifts

A left shift performs a: Multiplication

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 00010110=22
0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
00101100=44

A right shift performs a: division

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 00010110=22
0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
00001011=11
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Converting from binary to hexadecimal and vice versa

Denary Binary Hex

10

11

12

13

14

15
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Converting positive denary whole numbers (0 – 255) into 2-digit hexadecimal and vice versa

How to convert from denary to hexadecimal: How to convert from hexadecimal to denary:

Divide the denary number by 16,16, and write down the result and the Take each hex digit separately and find its equivalent denary value.
remainder. Repeat the division until you get a result of 0,0. Convert the Convert each denary value to a four-digit binary number using appropriate
denary remainders to their hexadecimal equivalent place values for each of the digits; each value has to be expressed using four
digits, so always pack with leading zeros if needed.
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Number conversions

B in 1 1 0 1
De
110 11000

96 r y

ary
D8 imal

01
na
Binary ec

01
xad

01001010
e

Binary
H

6A mal
5D
Hexadecimal

ci
De 11
Hexadecimal

ade
y
56 nar

na
De 6

Hex
ry
8

99 y
ar
B in 1 1 1
00

00
Den
11
11
ar y 1

AB
Bin 0000
Hexadecimal ary

Hexadecimal
al
11 nary

im

He
xa 3F
0

De 1 30

FF
Bi

y
c
1

de

ar
x
0 00

14 0 r y
01
Bin 0 1 0 1
n
a
BE De

na
d
na

10
e

e cim
1

ar y
20 r y
H

De
9
al

Denary
10 Binary 2B imal
11
0 01 0 10
ec
xad

01100000
e

Binary
H

y
nar
De 0
78
al
exa decim 4
H 8C imal 1 10
0
ec B in 1 1 1 0
00 100

00
xad
Binar 0

11111111

0 e ar y
Bi 0 1 0

Hexadecimal
H
Binary
l

ry
ecima

na 1
na 1
01

ry 1

al
y

11 nary
e

im
1F

D 10

22
xa 12
1
ry

Bi

c
0
Hexad

na De

de
0 11
De 4 na
7 18 ry

e
0
Dena

H
ry
190
Denary
48
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Characters and character sets

Computers store and process all data in binary. Therefore, all data including text, images and sounds must be represented with just 1s and 0s.

How my first name is stored in binary using the 8-bit Extended ASCII character set:

Letter Binary

Z 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0

A 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

I 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1

N 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

My binary bracelet:
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Characters and character sets

A character set is: A coding system of how a computer recognises characters

ASCII is a 7-bit character set – this means you can represent 128 Extended ASCII is an 8 bit character set – this means you can represent 256

characters in that set because there are 2 7 permutations of 7 bits. characters in that set because there are 2 8 permutations of 8 bits.

Standard ASCII character set – characters 32-127: Extended ASCII character set – characters 128-255:
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Characters and character sets

UNICODE was introduced because:

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Bitmap images

1-bit image:

In this image, each pixel is stored in: 1 bit.

Metadata includes:
ADDITIONAL DATA

The file size can be

calculated as: Colour depth+resolution=file size

The file size for this

image is: 64
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Bitmap images

2-bit image:

In this image, each pixel is stored in: 2 bits.

The file size for this

image is: 40

The colour palette

metadata is:
4
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Bitmap images

3-bit image:

In this image, each pixel is stored in: 3 bits.

The impact of colour depth on file size:

As the bit depth increases, the file

size of the image also increases
The impact of resolution on file size:

When you increase the number of pixels,

you increase the file's size by the square
of the value.
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

How sound can be sampled and stored in digital form

101

100
Bit depth (3 bits)

011

010

001

000
Sample rate

Binary for the sound could be: 011001011011100010100 27 bits.

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

The effect of doubling the bit rate on sound quality and file size

1010
1001
1000
0111
Bit depth (4 bits)

0110
0101
0100

0011
0010
0001
0000
Sample rate

Binary for the sound could be: 010100010101001101010011100101000110 36 bits.

The quality has: improved

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

The effect of doubling the sample rate and bit rate on sound quality and file size

1010
1001
1000
0111
Bit depth (4 bits)

0110
0101
0100

0011
0010
0001
0000
Sample rate

Binary for the sound could be: 010100010101001101010011100101000110 36 bits.

The quality has: improved

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Compression is used to Shorten the file size

The benefits of compression include: Make more space in storage

Lossy compression causes some data to be lost in the process – this reduces quality but also significantly reduces file size.

to compress multimedia especially in

Lossy compression is used for applications such as streaming media and and cannot be used for It can afford to lose data
internet telephony

Lossless compression does not cause any data to be lost. Instead, the data is encoded in a different way.

Lossless compression is used for Making storage and is less effective for Losing storage
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Lossy compression

Lossy compression causes some data to be lost in the process – this reduces quality but also significantly reduces file size.
With JPEG encoding, larger regions of the image are drawn using the same colour as the degree of compression increases.

100% quality: 80% quality: 60% quality:

2 3

40% quality: 20% quality: 2% quality:

4 5 6
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Lossless compression

An example of run-length lossless compression:

000
Colour palette: 000
001
001
010
010
011
011
111
111

You don’t need to know

about specific compression
algorithms for your exams
– this exercise is just to
show you how it works.

Assuming the first 3 bits are the colour and the next 4 bits are the number of pixels of that colour,
the first two lines of this image encoded in binary are:
111111000000000000000000000000000000000000111111111000000
111111, Uncompressed total bits: Total bits with lossless compression:
111000001001001001001001001001001001001001001000000000001
000111111
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Lossless compression

000
Colour palette: 000
001
001
010
010
011
011
111
111

Assuming 3 bits for colour and 4 bits for number of pixels:

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Units of data storage

Elizabeth wants to upgrade her phone. She is having trouble choosing between model A and model B.

Model A Model B

Storage capacity 64GB 256GB

Camera 8 megapixels, 24-bit colour 12 megapixels, 24-bit colour

1080p (2 megapixels) 4K HD (8 megapixels)

Video at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps at 24 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps

Consider that 32GB of data storage will be used for apps and assume 50% compression.

Maximum number of
photographs that could be
stored on the phone:
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Assessment Target: Overall grade:

Minimum expectations by the end of this unit

 Learn terms 30-60 from GCSE Level Key Terminology.
 Completed all pages of the workbook.
 Score 80% in the end-of-unit test.

Feedback
Breadth Depth Understanding

 All aspects complete  Excellent level of depth  All work is accurate

 Most aspects complete  Good level of depth  Most work is accurate

 Some aspects complete  Basic level of depth shown  Some work is accurate

 Little work complete  Little depth and detail provided  Little work is accurate

Comment and action Student response

GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Reflection and Revision checklist

Confidence Clarification
 I can explain the following units of storage: bit, nibble, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte, petabyte.

 I can explain why data needs to be converted into a binary format to be processed by a computer.

 I can explain how to calculate data capacity requirements.

 I can explain how to convert positive denary whole numbers (0 – 255) into 8-bit binary numbers and vice versa.

 I can explain how to add two 8-bit binary integers.

 I can explain what overflow is and why it might occur when performing binary addition.
 I can explain how to convert positive denary whole numbers (0 – 255) into 2-digit hexadecimal numbers and vice versa.
 I can explain how to convert binary integers into their hexadecimal equivalents and vice versa.
 I can explain what a binary shift is and what it can be used for.
 I can explain how binary codes are used to represented characters.
 I can explain what a character set is.
 I can explain the relationship between the number of bits per character and the number of characters that can be represented in a character set.
 I can explain the difference between the ASCII and UNICODE character sets.
My revision focus:
GCSE J277 Unit 1.2 | Memory and storage – Part 2 Craig’n’Dave

Reflection and Revision checklist

Confidence Clarification
 I can explain how an image is a series of pixels represented in binary.

 I can explain what metadata is and provide examples.

 I can explain the effect of colour depth and resolution on the size of an image file.

 I can explain how sound can be sampled and stored in a digital form.

 I can explain how sample rate can affect the size and quality of an audio file.

 I can explain how sample duration can affect the size and quality of an audio file.

 I can explain how bit depth can affect the size and quality of an audio file.

 I can explain the need for compression.

 I can explain what lossy compression is.

 I can explain what lossless compression is.

 I can explain the advantages and disadvantages of lossy vs lossless compression.
My revision focus: