1.1 Systems architecture

Question 1

CPU stands for…

Answer 1

Central Processing Unit

Question 2

FDE cycle stands for…

Answer 2

Fetch Decode Execute cycle

Question 3

RAM stands for…

Answer 3

Random Access Memory

Question 4

ROM stands for…

Answer 4

Read-Only Memory

Question 5

What are the four registers in the Von Neumann architecture?

Answer 5

Memory Address Register, Memory Data Register, Accumulator and the Program counter

Question 6

What are the four Acronyms for the registers in the Von Neumann architecture?

Answer 6

MAR,MDR,PC,ACC

Question 7

What is the role of the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) ?

Answer 7

It carries out the Arithmetic and Logical calculations of the computer e.g. add (+), subtract (-), multiply (*), divide (/), DIV, MOD, greater than (>), less than (<), equal to (==), equal to or greater than (>=), equal to or less than (<=), not equal to (!=)

Question 8

What is the role of the Control Unit (CU) ?

Answer 8

The Control Unit (CU) decodes instructions and sends signals to control how data moves around the CPU

Question 9

What is the role of the Accumulator (ACC) ?

Answer 9

Holds the result of the calculations performed by the ALU

Question 10

What is the role of the Program Counter (PC) ?

Answer 10

Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed in memory and it counts which instruction has just been executed so that it does not confuse itself

Question 11

What is the role of the Memory Data Register (MDR) ?

Answer 11

Holds the data fetched from or to be written into memory

Question 12

What is the role of the Memory Address Register (MAR) ?

Answer 12

Holds the address of where data is to be fetched or stored

Question 13

What is Cache Memory?

Answer 13

Cache is temporary storage of frequently accessed data and instructions being read to and written from

Question 14

What is Clock Speed?

Answer 14

Clock speed is the number of FDE cycles that are carried out per second by the CPU. Measured in Hertz/Gigahertz

Question 15

How does Clock Speed affect the performance of the CPU?

Answer 15

Larger Clock Speed means that more FDE cycles can be carried out by the CPU per second which increases performance

Question 16

How does Cache Size affect the performance of the CPU?

Answer 16

Larger Cache Size allows for more high speed memory meaning that instructions don’t have to go all the way to RAM (Main Memory)

Question 17

How does Number Of Cores affect the Performance of the CPU?

Answer 17

More Cores allows for the computer to split the amount of instructions needing to be processed between its CPUs giving the illusion that they are being processed quicker

Question 18

What are the negatives of having multiple Cores?

Answer 18

Doubling the cores, does not increase Clock Speed, many programs are not designed to make full use of multiple Cores

Question 19

What does having multiple Cores allow the computer to do? (100 instructions example)

Answer 19

If a computer needed to process 100 instructions, then a Dual Core will split this into 2 sets of 50 instructions being done at the same time

Question 20

What are Embedded systems?

Answer 20

Objects that have a computer system built into them with a set of instructions that CANNOT be changed (e.g. Dishwasher, fridge, washing machine, calculator)