revised: 01/18/1999, 01/16/2000, 01/09/2006, 08/22/2008, 07/20/2010, 10/01/2017, 06/26/2025

CHAPTER 3 — Computer Memory

Chapter Topics:

Bits and Bytes
Kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes
Main memory and addresses
Secondary memory
Files

Recall from chapter one that the major hardware components of a computer system are:

Processor
Main memory
Secondary memory devices
Input/output devices

This chapter looks at main and secondary memory.

QUESTION 1:

(Educated Guess: ) If you bought a new computer, about how much main memory would you expect it to have: 1600 bytes, 16 kilobytes, 16 megabytes, or 16 gigabytes?