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IGCSE - 3.1 - Computer systems

Total questions: 56

Worksheet time: 28mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the main feature of the von Neumann Computer architecture?

a)

There is a single MEMORY for both data and instructions.

b)

The model as a single CPU

c)

The instructions are stored in PRIMARY MEMORY

d)

Data is stored in SECONDARY STORAGE

2.

What are the MAIN COMPONENTS of the CPU? (Tick all that are correct).

a)

ALU

b)

CU

c)

Registers

d)

BIOS

3.

Which of these are REGISTERS in the CPU? (Tick ALL that are correct)

a)

Accumulator

b)

ALU

c)

Program Counter

d)

Memory Address Register

e)

Control Bus Register

4.

Tick all options that happen in the FETCH CYCLE?

a)

PC is incremented

b)

The Instruction at the MAR address is read from RAM

c)

The PC value is copied to the MAR

d)

The instruction in the CIR is decoded

e)

The value in the MDR is written to the address in the MAR.

5.

Tick all options that happen in the DECODE CYCLE?

a)

PC is incremented

b)

The Instruction at the MAR address is read from RAM

c)

The PC value is copied to the MAR

d)

The instruction in the CIR is decoded by the CU

e)

The value in the MDR is written to the address in the MAR.

6.

Increasing which of these can improve system performance? (Tick all that apply)

a)

Cache Size

b)

Control bus width

c)

Number of Cores

d)

System Clock Speed

7.

The Memory Address Register (MAR) holds ...........

a)

Location of the CPU

b)

Location in memory of the instruction to be fetched or stored

c)

Location of the RAM

d)

Location of the data

8.

Which register is responsible for temporarily storing the data or program instruction fetched from memory

a)

Memory Address Register

b)

Program Counter

c)

Accumulator

d)

Memory Data Register

9.

Which register is responsible for storing the results of mathematical and logical calculations

a)

Memory Address Register

b)

Program Counter

c)

Accumulator

d)

Memory Data Register

10.

Which register is responsible for holding the memory address location of the next instruction

a)

Memory Address Register

b)

Program Counter

c)

Accumulator

d)

Memory Data Register

11.

Which register is responsible for holding the address of the instruction to be fetched or stored?

a)

Memory Address Register

b)

Program Counter

c)

Accumulator

d)

Memory Data Register

12.

True or False, the Arithmetic and Logic Unit is linked directly to the Accumulator?

a)

True

b)

False

13.

Which of the buses is responsible for carrying the address from the processor to memory or input/output devices?

a)

Address

b)

Control

c)

Data

14.

Which of the buses is responsible for sending the data between the processor, memory and input/output devices?

a)

Address

b)

Control

c)

Data

15.

Which of the buses is responsible for communicating with the memory to tell it to either read or write the instructions?

a)

Address

b)

Control

c)

Data

16.

What are the three common buses used in the von Neumann architecture?

a)

Control bus, Input bus, Output bus

b)

Address bus, Data bus, Control bus

c)

Memory bus, Instruction bus, Clock bus

d)

Address bus, Data bus, Power bus

17.

What is meant by the fetch-decode-execute cycle?

a)

A method of data transfer between different components of a computer system

b)

A process where data is retrieved from memory, interpreted, and executed by the CPU

c)
c) A technique used to compress data before it is stored in memory
d)
d) A mechanism for organizing files and folders on a storage device
18.

What is the significance of the width of the address bus in computer architecture?

a)

Controls the flow of data between CPU and memory

b)

Affects the number of memory locations that can be addressed

c)

Regulates the power consumption of the system

d)

Determines the clock speed of the system

19.

During the fetch stage of the FDE cycle, where are the instructions fetched from?

a)

A memory Stick

b)

Hard-Drive

c)

Current Instruction Register

d)

RAM

20.

What does a processor need to do to a binary instruction after it is fetched?

a)

Store it

b)

Decode it

c)

Check for viruses

d)

Convert it to hexadecimal

21.

What does the program counter do during the fetch stage?

a)

Nothing

b)

Increases by 1

c)

Counts how long the fetch takes

d)

Stores the next instruction

22.

The CPU inspects the instruction and works out what it is that needs doing. Which stage is this?

a)

fetch

b)

decode

c)

execute

23.
Which best describes the CPU's execute job?
a)
Carries out the instruction
b)
Executes the binary
c)
Calculates the binary
d)
Sends to an output device
24.

Which mathematician first described the architecture upon which the modern computer would be based?

a)

Alan Turing

b)

Von Neuman

c)

John Von Neumann

d)

Charles Babbage

25.
What does the Memory Data Register do?
a)
Temporarily stores the data that has just been read from or the data needs to be written.
b)
Small memory cells that operate at high speeds
c)
A part of the processor which directs operations inside the CPU.
d)
holds the address of the next instruction.
e)
Holds the address of a location that is to be read from or written to.
26.

Which CPU component are very very small storage locations designed to store a very specific item of data.

a)

ALU

b)

RAM

c)

Clock

d)

Control Unit

e)

Registers

27.

What doesn’t affect the performance of the computer

a)
Number of Cores
b)
Clock Speed
c)
Cache Size
d)
The number of instructions in the program
28.

If the number of cores goes up from 2 to 4 – what is the exact effect on performance?

a)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be halved

b)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be doubled

c)
Performance decreases
d)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be quadrupled

29.

If the processing speed goes up from 1GHZ to 4GHZ – what is the exact effect on the performance of the computer?

a)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be quadrupled.

b)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be halved.

c)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be doubled.

d)

The maximum number of instructions executed per second can be quartered.

30.

Firmware in which software and hardware are integrated on a circuit board is often used in what type of system?

a)
Point of Sales System
b)
Desktop System
c)
Operating System
d)
Embedded System
31.

Processors don’t do the following

a)
Operate in Hz
b)
Process Data
c)
Execute Instructions
d)
Execute Data
32.

What acts as an intermediary between the processor and the Main Memory?

a)
Clock
b)
Bus
c)
User
d)
Cache
33.

What is held in cache?

a)
Instructions that have been processed
b)
Data that hasn’t been used for a long time
c)

frequently used instructions and data

d)
All of the programming instructions
34.
The system clock keeps everything synchronised inside the computer
a)
true
b)
FALSE
35.
Clock speed is measures in
a)
bytes
b)
bits
c)
time
d)
hertz
36.

A computer measured in 1 hertz can do how many operations a second

a)
100
b)
1
c)
2
d)
1000
37.
You can overclock a computer to make the processor run faster which increases the processing power.
a)
true
b)
FALSE
38.
Overclocking can break your computer
a)
true
b)
FALSE
39.
You can underclock a processor.
a)
true
b)
FALSE
40.

Essentially all a CPU does is carry out instructions, one after another, billion of times a second. This process is often broken down into a cycle called Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle (FDE Cycle).

a)

True

b)

False

41.

1 Hertz mean a CPUs Clock will pulse _____ per second.

a)

1

b)

2

c)

1 000

d)

1 000 000

42.

5 KHz mean a CPUs Clock will pulse _____ per second.

a)

1

b)

5

c)

5 000

d)

5 000 000

43.

Select the faster CPU...

a)

Intel CPU

Quad Core

3.0 GHz

b)

AMD CPU

Dual Core

4.5 GHz

c)

AMD CPU

Dual Core

5.0 GHz

d)

Intel CPU

Single Core

3.9 GHz

44.

Select the slowest CPU...

a)

Intel CPU

Quad Core

3.0 GHz

b)

AMD CPU

Dual Core

4.5 GHz

c)

AMD CPU

Dual Core

5.0 GHz

d)

Intel CPU

Single Core

3.9 GHz

45.

A CPU is traditionally made up of a processor with a single core. Most modern CPUs have two, four or even more cores however.

a)

True

b)

False

46.

The higher the clock speed...

a)

The more instructions per second are processed

b)

The hotter the CPU will get

c)

The fewer instructions per second are processed

d)

The cooler the CPU will get

47.

Cache helps improve CPU performance because...

a)

CPU Cache is faster than registers

b)

CPU Cache is faster than RAM

c)

CPU Cache has a higher capacity than registers

d)

CPU Cache has a higher capacity than RAM

48.

The diagram shown here represents cores/channels in a CPU. Which of the following sentences is correct?

a)

There are 4 Cores and 6 Channels in this CPU

b)

There are 6 Cores and 4 Channels in this CPU

c)

You could double the number of cores to double the CPU speed

d)

This CPU has 4 Ghz clock speed

49.

Embedded Systems use Microprocessors to control specific functions relating to the device they are installed on.

a)

True

b)

False

50.

What are examples of Embedded Systems?

a)

Mobile Phone

b)

Washing Machine

c)

Microwave

d)

Fridge

e)

Laptop

51.

Which are not examples of Embedded Systems?

a)

Mobile Phone

b)

Washing Machine

c)

Microwave

d)

Fridge

e)

Laptop

52.

Which is a disadvantage of an embedded system?

a)

As it is written for specific hardware it often uses low energy consumption.

b)

Smaller in size.

c)

Difficult to program and requires specialist knowledge.

53.

A General Purpose Computer.. pick 2

a)

is easy to reprogram

b)

is difficult to reprogram

c)

uses specialist input/output hardware

d)

can carry out a wide range of functions

54.

The object in the image is ....

a)

an Embedded System

b)

a General Purpose System

c)

not a system.

55.

The object in the image is ....

a)

an Embedded System.

b)

a General Purpose System

c)

not a system.

56.

An embedded system is one that is..

a)

built into a larger system and can be easily reprogrammed

b)

the main system but cannot be reprogrammed

c)

the main system and can easily be reporgrammed

d)

built into a larger system and has only limited functions