Question

Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A): Optical disk drives are slower than magnetic disk drives. Reason (R): In optical disk, each sector has the same length regardless of its position from the center. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :

• A. Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
• B. Both (A) and (R) are correct but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
• C. (A) is correct but (R) is not correct
• D. (A) is not correct but (R) is correct

Hint:

Remember:
• Magnetic disks \(\rightarrow\) Faster access and higher speed.
• Optical disks \(\rightarrow\) Laser-based storage, slower access speed. Examples: \[ \text{HDD} \rightarrow \text{Magnetic Storage} \] \[ \text{CD/DVD} \rightarrow \text{Optical Storage} \]

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Concept: Storage devices are commonly classified into:
• Magnetic disks — such as hard disk drives (HDDs).
• Optical disks — such as CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray disks. Magnetic disks generally provide faster read/write access because they use magnetic recording with efficient track and sector organization. Optical disks use laser technology for reading and writing data. Their physical organization and access mechanism make them comparatively slower.

Step 1: Examine Assertion (A).
\[ \text{Optical disk drives are slower than magnetic disk drives} \] This statement is correct because:
• Optical disks rely on laser beams for accessing data.
• Their rotational speed and data transfer rates are lower.
• Magnetic disks have faster seek time and higher transfer speed. Hence, Assertion (A) is true.

Step 2: Examine Reason (R).
\[ \text{In optical disk, each sector has the same length regardless of its position from the center} \] In optical disks, tracks are generally arranged in a spiral form and sectors maintain equal size irrespective of their distance from the center. This organization limits efficient utilization of outer tracks compared to magnetic disks. Therefore, Reason (R) is also correct.

Step 3: Determine whether Reason explains Assertion.
Because optical disks maintain fixed sector lengths and use optical reading mechanisms, their storage efficiency and access speed are lower compared to magnetic disks. Thus, the reason correctly explains why optical disk drives are slower. Therefore: \[ \boxed{\text{Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) correctly explains (A)}} \] Hence, the correct option is: \[ \boxed{(1)} \]