Big A-Level Quiz

Match the following registers with their purpose

• MDR

• Holds the current instruction.

• ACC

• Holds the result of the current instruction.

• MAR

• Holds the memory location from which or to which data will be read or written.

• CIR

• Holds data that has been read from memory or is about to be written to memory.

• PC

• Holds the memory location of the next instruction to be fetched.

Put these into the correct order.

• Retrieve the instruction stored at the memory address specified by MAR via the data bus.

• Load the address of the next instruction from the Program Counter (PC) into the Memory Address Register (MAR).

• Decode the instruction stored in the Current Instruction Register (CIR).

• Transfer the fetched instruction into the Current Instruction Register (CIR) for decoding.

• Send the address from MAR over the Address Bus to memory.

​ (a)   ​ in CPUs is a technique used to enhance efficiency by ​ (b)   the execution of multiple instructions. In a pipelined processor, the execution of an instruction is divided into several stages, allowing multiple instructions to be processed ​ (c)   . As one instruction progresses through the pipeline stages, the CPU can initiate the execution of the next instruction, resulting in better ​ (d)   .​

• pipelining
• overlapping
• concurrently
• throughput
• in parallel
• caching
• stopping
• forcing

Sort these statements as to whether they describe Harvard or Von Neumann Architecture.

Groups:

(a) Harvard

,

(b) Von Neumann

• Single memory space for both data and instructions.

• Parallel access speeds up execution.

• Separate memory spaces for instructions and data.

• Widely used in general purpose computers.

• Used in embedded systems.

• Typically slower execution of instructions.

Sort these statements into those that describe RISC and those that describe CISC.

Groups:

(a) RISC

,

(b) CISC

• Supports pipelining

• Typically have higher power consumption.

• Have large and diverse instruction sets.

• Has a simplified instruction set.

Using multiple cores allows for ________ processing.

Which of these is NOT an advantage of cloud storage?

• It provides easily scalable storage.

• It is accessible from anywhere with internet access.

• It allows for easy sharing and collaboration on files.

• It is more expensive than local storage.

Match the following scheduling techniques with their descriptions.

• Shortest Job First

• Executes processes in the order they arrive, with the first process to enter the ready queue being served first until completion before moving on to the next process.

• FIrst Come First Served

• Selects the process with the shortest completion time first, prioritising smaller tasks to minimize waiting time and maximize throughput.

• Round Robin

• Allocates CPU time in fixed time slices to each process, allowing each process to run for a certain amount of time before switching to the next process in a circular manner.

• Multi-Level Feedback Queues

• organises processes into multiple queues with different priority levels and adjusts priority based on recent CPU usage.

Using techniques like processor scheduling and pipelining allows for __________ processing.

Which of these is not a common type of operating system?

• Distributed

• Embedded

• Real Time

• Dedicated