.short-term memory is often called working memory because it holds information that you are working with at a given moment, but only for about 20 seconds. Then,unless the information is processed further, it is quickly forgotten. For example,if you were asked to dial an unfamiliar telrphone number, received a busy signal,and were then distracted by something else for 20 seconds, you probably would have forgotten the number at that point. Unless information in short-term memory is processed further,it does not make it to long-term memory
.Long-term memory can hold recollections of personal experiences as well as factual knowledge acquired through other means such as reading.It also holds skills such as knowing how to ride a bicycle. In its ability to learn and remember, the brain can distinguish between fact and skills.When you acquire facture knowledge by memorizing dates, word definitions, formulas, and other information, you can consciously retrieve this fact memory from the data bank of your long-term memory. In contrast,skill memory usually involves motor activities that you learn by repetition without consciously remembering specific information. you perform lerned motor skills,such as walking or riding a bicycle, without consciously recalling the individual steps required to do these tasks