1.1) Hardware

Question 1

What does CPU stand for?

Answer 1

Central Processing Unit.

Question 2

What does a computer processor unit do?

Answer 2

Stores 0s + 1s using transistors.
Microscopic switches controlling flow of electricity whether switch on or off.
Transistor contains binary information.

Question 3

What is the CPU architecture?

Answer 3

Controller.
ALU: Arithmetic and Logic Unit.
Registers.
Internal memory.

Question 4

What does the controller or control unit do?

Answer 4

Sends and receives signals from all parts of computer. Ensures all processes take place at right time and in correct order.

Question 5

What does the ALU do?

Answer 5

Part of CPU processes + manipulates data. Performs simple calculations on data temporarily stored in registers.

Question 6

What do registers do?

Answer 6

Storage location found on CPU where data or control information temporarily stored. Registers faster access than internal memory since have to be accessed so often.

Question 7

What does internal memory do?

Answer 7

Internal memory or level 1 cache memory fast access temporary storage on CPU. Data removed from registers to internal memory when not being actively used. Data from internal memory then either written to RAM of called back into registers for further processing.

Question 8

What do buses do?

Answer 8

Allow data transfer to different parts of computer.
Address bus: data saved or loaded from memory, address at which stored or loaded from must be sent.Storage address of data always travels along address bus.
Data bus: Data then need to be moved between several parts of computer. Path along which data travels called data bus.
Control bus: Controller uses control bus to send control signals to different parts of computer.

Question 9

What did Von Neumann propose?

Answer 9

Idea of a stored program.

Question 10

How does the fetch-decode-execute cycle work?

Answer 10

1) Fetch cycle takes address required from memory, stores in instruction register, moves program counter on 1 so it points at next instruction.
2) Control unit checks instruction in instruction register. Instruction decoded to determine action that needs to be carried out.
3) Actual actions that happen during execution cycle depend on instruction itself.