1.1 Systems Architecture

Question 1

What does the CPU do?

Answer 1

Fetch
Decode
Execute

Question 2

What are the main components of the CPU?

Answer 2

Memory
Arithmetic Logic Unit
Control Unit
Accumulator
Registers

Question 3

What is an embedded system?

Answer 3

A computer built within a larger architecture for a specific purpose

Question 4

What is Vonn Neumann architecture?

Answer 4

Data stored in binary and in primary memory
Instructions are executed in cycles

Question 5

What is OpCode?

Answer 5

Operation code

Question 6

What is OpAnd?

Answer 6

Numerical, text and Boolean values

Question 7

Explain the process of the F-D-E cycle :

Answer 7

PC address copied into the MAR.
PC increments by one.
PC holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched.
MAR holds address.
Signal along the address bus to address.
Data sent along the data bus to the MDR.
The MDR data copied to CIR.
The data in CIR is decoded + executed.
Results stored in ACC.

Question 8

What does the control unit do?

Answer 8

F-D-E cycles
Controls flow of data of CPU
Manage hardware

Question 9

Name three main factors that effect the CPU’s performance :

Answer 9

Number of cores
Clock speed
Cache size

Question 10

What is ‘core numbers’?

Answer 10

Number of processing units

Question 11

What is ‘clock speed’?

Answer 11

Amount of Hz executed per second

Question 12

What is ‘cache’?

Answer 12

Fast memory that temporarily holds frequently used instructions