1.1 Systems Architecture

Question 1

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

Answer 1

Purpose is to process instructions/data by repeatedly carrying out the fetch-execute cycle and generally control the rest of the computer system – ‘The brains of the computer’.

Question 2

Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Answer 2

Carries out arithmetic & logical operations.

Question 3

Control Unit (CU)

Answer 3

Coordinates all of the CPU’s operations in the fetch-decode-execute cycle.

Question 4

Cache

Answer 4

A type of small memory (32MB) that stores copies of frequently used data.

Question 5

Accumulator (ACC)

Answer 5

Holds the result of a calculation performed by the Arithmetic/Logic Unit.

Question 6

Memory Address Register (MAR)

Answer 6

Holds the memory address about to be fetched and used by the CPU.

Question 7

Memory Data Register (MDR)

Answer 7

Holds the actual data or instruction being processed by the CPU.

Question 8

Von Neumann Architecture

Answer 8

Instructions to be executed are stored in memory as binary values for each instruction to be executed squently (One at a time).

Question 9

Embedded System

Answer 9

A special-purpose computer encapsulated by a larger system.
Embedded systems usually only perform specific tasks, and cannot be easily reprogrammed.