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Systems Architecture

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 15mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What does CPU stand for?

a)

Computer Processing Unit

b)

Central Processing Unit

c)

Central Permutation Unit

d)

Conflagrational Pessimism Ubiquity

2.

Which of the following is a method for measuring the performance of a CPU?

a)

Amount of cache

b)

Clock speed

c)

Number of cores

d)

All of the above

3.

In the context of the Von Neumann architecture, what does PC stand for?

a)

Personal Computer

b)

Program Calculator

c)

Program Counter

d)

Position Counter

4.

What is a register?

a)

That thing your teacher always forgets to do at the start of the lesson

b)

A very small temporary memory store located inside the CPU

c)

A reasonably large temporary memory store located on the CPU in order to speed up processing

d)

A location in memory which stores the program being run

5.

What is the purpose of the data bus?

a)

To transport data from the CPU to the memory store, or from the memory store to the CPU

b)

To store the address to be accessed by the CPU

c)

To perform calculations required by the program

d)

To transport data from the memory store to the CPU but NOT back the other way

6.

The memory store contains the following data:

000 - LDA 005

001 - ADD 006

002 - STA 004

003 - HALT

004 - 567

005 - 4

006 - 68

What is the value stored in the PC after a single cycle?

a)

1

b)

0

c)

LDA 005

d)

005

7.

Select the THREE stages of a Von Neumann CPU cycle

a)

Process

b)

Decode

c)

Decrypt

d)

Execute

e)

Fetch

8.

Jodi wants to run multiple applications at the same time (for example, a video editor, post processing tools and a compression program. Which CPU will be best?

a)

A single core CPU with 8MB cache running at 5GHz

b)

A quad core CPU with no cache running at 3.5GHz

c)

A quad core CPU with 4MB cache, running at 3.5GHz

d)

A dual core CPU with 16MB cache, running at 4.5GH

9.

The memory store contains the following data:

000 - LDA 005

001 - ADD 006

002 - STA 004

003 - HALT

004 - 567

005 - 4

006 - 68


What is contained in the current instruction register after the SECOND cycle?

a)

LDA 005

b)

ADD 006

c)

0

d)

1

10.

A small but very fast temporary storage area located on the CPU is called the...

a)

cache

b)

core

c)

bus

d)

accumulator

11.

True or false: a 500MHz dual core CPU is twice as fast as a 500MHz single core CPU

a)

True

b)

False

12.

CPU clock speed is measured in...

a)

Hertz

b)

Bytes

c)

FLOPS

d)

centimetres

13.

CPU cache size is measured in

a)

Hertz

b)

Bytes

c)

Kilometres per hour

d)

Number of transistors

14.

What is the purpose of the MAR?

a)

To store the address of the next memory location to be accessed

b)

To store the data either being transferred to or from memory

c)

To aid in calculations processed by the ALU

d)

To regulate the flow of data to and from the memory store

15.

What does ALU stand for?

a)

Arithmetic Logic Unit

b)

Artificial Logic Unit

c)

Arbitrary Latitiude Universe

d)

Accumulator Logic Unit

16.

Which element of the Von Neumann architecture is responsible for managing and controlling the fetch-decode-execute cycle?

a)

CU

b)

PC

c)

ALU

d)

FDEU

17.

Select the correct order for the FETCH stage of the CPU cycle

a)

PC copied to MAR; Memory store access at address in MAR; contents copied to MDR; MDR copied to CIR; PC incremented

b)

PC copied to MAR; Memory store access at address in MAR; contents copied to MDR; MDR copied to ACC; PC incremented

c)

PC copied to MAR; Memory store access at address in MAR; contents copied to MDR; MDR copied to ACC

d)

PC copied to MDR; Memory store access at address in MAR; contents copied to MAR; MDR copied to ACC; PC incremented

18.

What is the OPERAND of the instruction BRA 0110

a)

0110

b)

BRA

c)

There is no operand

d)

YOU'RE an operand

19.

what is the OPCODE of the instruction HALT?

a)

HALT

b)

There is no opcode

c)

0

d)

Opcode, schmopcode

20.

What is the clock speed a measurement of?

a)

The number of CPU cycles which complete each second

b)

The number of instructions which are executed in a given program

c)

The maximum framerate of the computer

d)

the speed at which the lesson finished because you're enjoying it so much

21.

What is a common bottleneck in multi-core systems?

a)

Individual cores cannot communicate with each other

b)

Only one core can be active at once

c)

All cores must share the same memory bus

d)

Some cores refuse to pitch in and help because they think they're better than the others, or they have rich parents, or maybe they think the world owes them a living

22.

Why does more cache speed up a system?

a)

regularly used instructions and data are stored on the CPU, reducing the need for memory access

b)

It provides an additional data bus pipeline to the main memory store

c)

While the CPU works on one instruction, the cache can fetch the next one

d)

It has RGB lighting

23.

Select the BEST definition for an embedded system

a)

A computer system designed for a dedicated purpose which is built into a larger system

b)

A dedicated computer system which is embedded in a larger device like a robot arm

c)

A dedicated computer system designed to do one specific task and do it well

d)

A mumble rap act from western Pennsylvania whose music was banned on the grounds that it was completely incomprehensible

24.

Which of the following might contain an embedded system (select all which apply)

a)

Washing machine

b)

USB stick

c)

landline telephone

d)

sat-nav

e)

Egg

25.

Why aren't multiple choice questions used in real tests?

a)

They only test your ability to select the correct option from a number of pre-selected answers, rather than actually formulating your own

b)

They're too easy

c)

The exam board hates you

d)

They're too hard

26.

The billions of tiny switches inside the CPU are called...

a)

Resistors

b)

Transistors

c)

Transducers

d)

Thyristors

27.

Sensors in an embedded system are an example of...

a)

inputs

b)

outputs

c)

processing

d)

crocodiles

28.

Actuators in an embedded system are examples of

a)

Input

b)

Output

c)

Processing

d)

Aardvarks

29.

True or False: CPUs contain a small amount of gold

a)

True

b)

False

30.

True or False: Mobile phones are embedded systems

a)

True

b)

False