Memory & StorageDeep Dive

Deep Dive: Why Compression Matters

Part of CompressionGCSE Computer Science

This deep dive covers Deep Dive: Why Compression Matters within Compression for GCSE Computer Science. Revise Compression in Memory & Storage for GCSE Computer Science with 15 exam-style questions and 16 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 2 of 11 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 2 of 11

Practice

15 questions

Recall

16 flashcards

Deep Dive: Why Compression Matters

The Storage Crisis

Remember Topic 15? An uncompressed 3-minute CD-quality song = 31.7 MB. A 4K movie uncompressed = 6,000 GB (6 TB)! Without compression:

  • Your 128GB phone would store ~4,000 photos instead of 40,000
  • Netflix would need 100× more servers
  • Downloading a movie would take days instead of minutes
  • Web pages would load in minutes instead of seconds

Compression is the invisible hero that makes modern digital life possible. Every photo, song, video, and web page you interact with is compressed.

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Compression. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Practice Questions for Compression

Which statement correctly describes lossy compression?

  • A. The original file can be perfectly restored after decompression.
  • B. Data is permanently removed and the original cannot be exactly recreated.
  • C. The compressed file is always the same size as the original.
  • D. No data is removed during the compression process.
1 markfoundation

Explain how run-length encoding (RLE) works to compress data.

3 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

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