Which characteristic distinguishes primary storage from secondary storage?

The characteristic that distinguishes primary storage from secondary storage is the speed of access. Primary storage, often referred to as main memory or RAM, provides very fast access times to data, which is crucial for the performance of running applications and processes. This speed enables immediate read and write capabilities, allowing the CPU to retrieve and execute instructions quickly, which is essential for system performance.

In contrast, secondary storage includes devices like hard drives, SSDs, and optical discs, which, while providing larger storage capacities at a lower cost per gigabyte, typically have slower access speeds compared to primary storage. This means that while secondary storage is more suited for long-term data retention, it does not match the rapid speed of primary storage.

Choosing the option of speed of access accurately highlights this fundamental difference between the two types of storage, which is pivotal for understanding how data is managed in computing systems.