Virtual memory, paging and segmentation are used in memory management.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2022). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [3] One mark for each correct point (Max 3)
2. • Disk / secondary storage is used to extend the RAM / memory available
3. • ... so the CPU appears to be able to access more memory space than the available RAM
4. • Only the data in use needs to be in main memory so data can be swapped between RAM and virtual memory as necessary
5. • Virtual memory is created temporarily.
6. [1] One mark for a correct statement about the difference between paging and segmentation e.g.
7. • Paging allows the memory to be divided into fixed size blocks and Segmentation divides the memory into variable sized blocks.
8. • The operating system divides the memory into pages, the compiler is responsible for calculating the segment size.
9. • Access times for paging is faster than for segmentation.