AHJN: U4-Processor Fundamentals

What is a key feature of the Von Neumann architecture?

• It uses separate memory for data and instructions.

• It allows programs to be stored in memory along with data.

• It requires manual intervention to load programs.

• It does not support direct memory access by the processor.

What is the function of the Program Counter (PC) in a processor?

• It holds the current instruction being executed.

• It stores the address of the next instruction to be fetched.

• It temporarily holds data being transferred to or from memory.

• It contains status flags indicating the outcome of operations.

Which bus is responsible for carrying memory addresses from the processor to memory?

• Data Bus

• Control Bus

• Address Bus

• System Bus

How does increasing the width of the data bus affect computer performance?

• It enables faster data transfer between the processor and memory.

• It allows more memory locations to be addressed.

• It increases the clock speed of the processor.

• It reduces the need for cache memory.

Which type of port is commonly used for connecting devices like keyboards and mice to a computer?

• HDMI

• VGA

• USB

• Ethernet

During the fetch phase of the fetch-execute cycle, what is copied from the Program Counter (PC) to the Memory Address Register (MAR)?

• The instruction to be executed

• The address of the next instruction

• The data to be processed

• The result of the previous operation

What is the primary purpose of an interrupt in a computer system?

• To increase the clock speed of the processor

• To allow the processor to handle multiple tasks efficiently

• To directly access memory without using the bus

• To perform arithmetic operations faster

What is the main advantage of using assembly language over machine code?

• It is easier to read and write due to the use of mnemonics.

• It can be executed directly by the CPU without translation.

• It is a high-level language that is portable across different machines.

• It allows for object-oriented programming techniques.

Why does a two-pass assembler need to scan the source code twice?

• To check for syntax errors in the assembly code

• To generate machine code in two different formats

• To resolve forward references to labels

• To optimize the code for faster execution

In which addressing mode is the operand itself the data to be used?

• Direct addressing

• Indirect addressing

• Immediate addressing

• Indexed addressing