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WorksheetsNEW 1.1.1 Structure and function of the processor
Total questions: 80
Worksheet time: 40mins
Which bus carries signals to co-ordinate all of a computer activities?
Address
Control
Data
Serial
What is one purpose of the CPU?
Save instructions
Make a computer run faster
Portable storage medium
Fetch instructions
Which register is connected to the data bus?
Current Instruction Register
Memory Data Register
Interrupt Register
Memory Address Register
One purpose of the memory data register is to?
Hold the address of an instruction passed from the program counter
Hold the results of calculations
Hold the address of data ready for use by the memory data register
Hold data fetched from, or to be written to the memory
One purpose of the memory address register is to?
Hold the data from the memory data register
Store the result of calculations from the ALU
Hold the address of data to be sent to the memory data register
Cache data from the memory data register
What is one purpose of the CPU?
Define a set of characters the computer understands
Optimise a set of instructions
Execute instructions
Prevent phishing
The three buses that make the systems bus.
Serial, Data, Address
Control, Data, Serial
Conrtol, Serial, Address
Address, Data, Control
What does it mean if a CPU is quad-core?
The physical processor chip has 4 duplicate CPUs built in
The CPU can perform 4 operations at the same time
There are 4 physically separate processor chips
The CPU has 6 cores
What does the program counter hold?
Data being transferred to and from main memory
The current instruction to be executed
Address of the next instruction to be executed
Address of the instruction or piece of data to be fetched or stored
Which part of the F-D-E cycle can be described as, 'the current instruction is carried out.'
Fetch
None
Execute
Decode
This component performs calculations.
Arithmetic logic unit
Control unit
Memory unit
Decode unit
Which one of the following is least likely to affect the performance of the CPU?
Cache size
Number of cores
Clock speed
Choice of operating system
One purpose of the cache is to?
Enable the computer to run more programs that is has physical RAM to hold
Decode instructions
Keep the internal components of the CPU synchronised
Hold frequently used items of data
The value in the program counter is passed to which register during a fetch operation?
Memory data register
Memory address register
Accumulator
Program counter
The assembly language code 'ADD 6' has been fetched. Which register will this be stored in to be decoded?
Memory data register
Memory address register
Current instruction register
Accumulator
The main components of a computer, including main memory and the processor are connected together by a series of what?
Pathways
Interconnectors
Connectors
Buses
The accumulator and memory data register are used by which component in the CPU to perform calculations?
Decode unit
Arithmetic logic unit
Interrupt handler
Control unit
Which of these is a function of the ALU?
Arithmetic
Cache
Control
Fetch
How does pipelining increase the speed of the computer?
Two instuctions can be executing at the same time
As one instruction is executing another can be fetched at the same time
The memory controller sends two adjacent instructions down the data bus
Specialised circuitry is dedicated to arithmetic such as polygon calculations in a graphics card
One purpose of the memory address register is to?
Hold the results of calculations
Hold data being written back to memory
Hold the address of an instruction passed from the program counter
Connect to the data bus
What is the main advantage of the cache on board the CPU?
Allows for two way communication between the CPU and RAM
Allows sharing of data between registers
Allows calculation to be performed on the CPU
Fast access to frequently used instructions and data without having to go to RAM
Which bus carries the location of where data should be read/written to and from?
Data
Address
Control
Serial
Which of these statements describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Instructions and data stored in separate memory units
Each memory unit has its own bus
A single control unit follows fetch, decode, execute cycle one instruction at a time
Reading and writing data can be done at the same time as fetching instructions
To which registers could the current instruction register pass an operand to depending on the instruction and mode of addressing?
Accumulator and program counter only
Memory address register and program counter only
Accumulator, memory, address register and program counter
Memory address register and accumulator only
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'ADD 6'. The number 6 is an address (by using direct addressing). To which register is the number 6 sent to?
Memory address register
Memory data register
Accumulator
Program counter
Which of these statements describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Shared memory space for instructions and data
Instructions and data stored in separate memory units
Reading and writing data can be done at the same time as fetching instructions
Each memory unit has its own bus
Which of these is a description of the CPU?
Control Processing Unit
Central Processing Unit
Central Protocol Unit
Control Protocol Unit
Removing the instructions being decoded and fetched in pipelining is called what?
Farming
Flowing
Flushing
Forgetting
Assembly language instructions such as BRZ, BRP and BRA can change the program flow by changing which register?
Program Counter
Accumulator
Memory Data Register
Memory Address Register
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'ADD 6'. The number 6 is data (by using immediate addressing). To which register is the number 6 added?
Memory data register
Program counter
Memory address register
Accumulator
Why does having a small cache increase the speed of the CPU?
There is no need to transfer binary between the accumulator and memory address register
The cache is another register that can be used
Frequently used instructions and data are already in the CPU and are not fetched again from RAM
Programs do not need to be executed from the hard disk
What is the disadvantage of pipelining?
It can slow the computer down deciding which instruction to fetch next
Programs have to be written in a way to take advantage of this architecture
The pipeline can become full with instructions
The instruction being decoded may not be the next one to execute
Which of these program instructions can cause the program counter to change the value it stores?
A jump insutrction e.g. condition or iteration
A load instruction e.g. to load a value into the accumulator
An add instruction e.g. to sum two number
A store instruction e.g. to put the value of the accumulator back into RAM
Which of these characteristics of a computer system affects the performance of a CPU?
The number of comments in code
The number of secondary storage devices
The number of external peripherals
The number of cores
Which registers provide a value to the memory address register?
Program counter and current instruction register
Program counter and accumulator
Current instruction register and accumulator
Current instruction register and memory data register
One purpose of the control unit is to?
Store instructions in RAM
Send signals down the address bus
Decode instructions
Execute instructions
Which of these statements describes a Harvard architecture?
Shared memory space for instructions and data
Instructions and data stored in separate memory units
One system bus connects processor to the memory
A single control unit follows fetch, decode, execute cycle one instruction at a time
What does the memory data register hold?
The current instruction to be executed
Data being transferred to and from main memory
Address of the instruction or piece of data to be fetched or stored
Address of the next instruction to be executed
What does the memory address register hold?
The current instruction to be executed
Data being transferred to and from main memory
Address of the instruction or piece of data to be fetched or stored
Address of the next instruction to be executed
Which of these statements describes a Harvard architecture?
A single control unit follows fetch, decode, execute cycle one instruction at a time
Fetching instructions and writing data can be done at the same time
One system bus connects processor to the memory
Shared memory space for instructions and data
Which computer architecture holds both programs and data in same main memory?
Harvard
Modern
Contemporary
Von Neumann
The processor carries out which three tasks?
Fetch-Data-Entered
Fetch-Decode-Execute
Fetch-Decipher-Execute
First-Decoded-Entry
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'BRA 6'. If the accumulator holds the value 0, to which register is the number 6 sent to?
Memory data register
Memory address register
Accumulator
Program counter
What happens to the value in the program counter after it is transferred to the memory address register?
It is incremented
It is decremented
It waits to be changed by the current instuction
It is copied to the memory data register
Which of these is a register in the CPU?
Program counter
Program controller
Program clock
Program control
Which of these statements describes a Harvard architecture?
Shared memory space for instructions and data
Each memory unit has its own bus
One system bus connects processor to the memory
A single control unit follows fetch, decode, execute cycle one instruction at a time
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'BRP 6'. If the accumulator holds the value 2, to which register is the number 6 sent to?
Memory data register
Accumulator
Program counter
Memory address register
What is meant by the term 'clock speed'?
The number of cycles per second
The process of keeping a computers internal clock synchronised
The process of overclocking a computer processor
The speed at which a computer operates
Which of the following types of memory is in the processor?
Registers
Virtual memory
Main memory (ROM)
Main memory (RAM)
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'BRZ 6'. If the accumulator holds the value 0, to which register is the number 6 sent to?
Program counter
Memory data register
Accumulator
Memory address register
Which of these situations could cause the pipeline to be flushed?
Execution of a sequential command
Execution of a condition command
Execution of a variable assignment
Execution of an assembly language load command: LDA
This component performs calculations and logical comparisons.
Control unit
Memory unit
Arithmetic logic unit
Decode unit
Which of these is a function of the ALU?
Bus check
Speeding up the processor
Binary shift
Stores frequently used instructions
The current instruction register holds the assembly language code 'LDA 6'. To which register is the number 6 sent to?
Memory data register
Memory address register
Accumulator
Program counter
Which bus sends a binary program instruction from the main memory to the CPU?
Serial
Address
Data
Control
Which of these describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Has one data bus for the transfer of instructions and data between the CPU and RAM
Has two data buses for the transfer of instructions and data between the CPU and RAM
Has an address bus and a data bus that can be used to transfer instructions and data between the CPU and RAM
Has an instruction bus and a data bus for the transfer of instructions and data between the CPU and RAM
Which register receives an instruction from the address in the memory address register?
Memory data register
Program counter
Interrupt register
Accumulator
Which register holds the address of the next instruction or the address of data to be fetched?
Memory data register
Memory address register
Accumulator
Program counter
What type of quick access memory often sits between the CPU registers and the main memory (RAM)?
Immediate access memory
Cache memory
Backup memory
Primary memory
One purpose of the cache is to?
Hold frequently used instructions
Enable the computer to run more programs that is has physical RAM to hold
Decode instructions
Keep the internal components of the CPU synchronised
Which register holds data fetched from or written to the RAM?
Memory data register
Accumulator
Program counter
Memory address register
Which of these describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Data transfers and instruction fetches from RAM cannot be performed at the same time
Data transfers and instruction fetches can be performed at the same time
Uses separate memory address space for instructions and data
The processor only ever requires one cycle to complete an instructions
What is one purpose of the CPU?
Decode instructions
Protect from malware
Input sound
Make a computer run faster
One purpose of the control unit is to?
To control peripherals using device drivers
Send signals to control how data moves around the CPU
To perform calculations in the CPU
Control the loading of data from the hard disk to RAM
Which of these characteristics of a computer affects the performance of a CPU?
The size of the motherboard
The size of the address bus
The size of the CPU fan
The size of the cache
What is meant by multi-core processor?
A processor that has backup cores in case one fails
A computer with more than one physical CPU chip inside
A cpu with two or more independent processing cores
A processor which doubles the speed of your computer system
Which of these characteristics of a computer affects the performance of a CPU?
Increased hard disk capacity
Increased clock speed
Increased number of USB ports
Layering protocols
One purpose of the control unit.
Remove the need for a hard disk so an SSD can be used instead
Hold instructions that are frequently used to speed up the computer
Enable the computer to run more programs that is has physical RAM to hold
Keep the internal components of the CPU synchronised
This register always holds the address of the next instruction.
Accumulator
Memory data register
Memory address register
Program counter
Which of these is a function of the control unit?
Store of frequently used instructions and data
Hold the address of the next instruction
Synchronising data transfers between the registers
Artihmetic and logic calculations
Which of these is a function of the ALU?
Logic
Cache
Control
Fetch
Why does having a very large cache not give a big performance increase for the CPU?
It will take more time to fetch the data in a large cache
A large cache would need to be made of lower grade, cost effective components
A large cache is more unreliable
Instructions are not always sequential
Which of these describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Data transfers and instruction fetches can be performed at the same time
Uses separate memory address space for instructions and data
The processor only ever requires one cycle to complete an instructions
Uses the same physical memory address for instructions and data
What is clock speed measured in?
Clock ticks
Clock cycles
Hertz
Processes per second (PPS)
What does the current instruction register hold?
Address of the instruction or piece of data to be fetched or store
The current instruction to be executed
Address of the next instruction to be executed
Data being transferred to and from main memory
What is the purpose of the accumulator?
To decode an instruction to calculate a total
To store the results of calculations
To execute a calculation
To fetch the next instruction to calculate data
Which of these describes a classic von Neumann architecture?
Control unit is more complicated to handle separate instruction and data buses
Data transfers and instruction fetches from memory can be done at the same time
An instruction can take more than one cycle to execute
Uses sepaate memory addresses for instructions and data
Why does increasing the number of cores increase the speed of the CPU?
More than one instruction can be executed at the same time
The clock ticks more quickly allowing the fetch, decode, execute cycle to operate more quickly
There is a reduced requirement for RAM
Frequently used instructions and data can be held in the CPU
Why does increasing the clock speed of a CPU increase performance?
More busses can be used to transfer data between the CPU and RAM
More than one instruction can be executed at the same time
More instructions and data can be held within the processor requiring less read/write operations to the RAM
More instructions can be fetched, decoded and executed in the same amount of time
Which register always holds the results of calculations from the ALU?
Accumulator
Memory data register
Program counter
Memory data register
