What is fragmentation?

• A. When files are stored contiguously
• B. When files are moved, deleted or change size, small gaps are created. When the OS writes to a file, it splits it into blocks to fill the gaps. Over time this makes the disk fragmented.
• C. When files are encrypted
• D. When CPU processes tasks

Answer: (B)

Fragmentation happens when free space on a disk becomes scattered into many small gaps because files are created, moved, deleted, or resized over time. When the OS writes data, it stores a file in blocks, and if there are holes in between those blocks, the file ends up spreading across noncontiguous locations. This scattered layout means the disk head must jump around to read a single file, which can slow things down due to more seeks. Over time, this accumulation of small gaps and scattered blocks is what we call fragmentation.

This option correctly describes that process: operations that create gaps, and the file system filling those gaps with file data in non-contiguous blocks, leading to fragmentation. In contrast, storing files contiguously would minimize fragmentation, encryption is unrelated to how data is laid out on disk, and CPU tasks are a different aspect of system operation.