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A level computing AQA > Computer organisation > Flashcards

Computer organisation Flashcards

1
Q

Purpose of the control unit

A

Coordinates all activities of the CPU

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2
Q

What does the control unit make extensive use of

A

Status register and clock

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3
Q

What is the purpose of the status register

A

Contains information about the state of the processor

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4
Q

What is the purpose of the clock

A

Synchronises related components by generating pulses at a constant rate

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5
Q

What is clock speed measured in

A

Hertz (Hz)

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6
Q

What is the purpose of the ALU

A

Performs arithmetic and logical operations

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7
Q

What are the general purpose registers

A

Tiny areas of extremely fast memory located in the processor normally designed for a specific purpose

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8
Q

What is the purpose of the program counter

A

Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed

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9
Q

What is the purpose of the memory address register

A

Holds the address of the memory location from which data or an instruction is fetched from

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10
Q

What is the memory buffer register

A

Used to temporarily store the data which is read from or written to memory

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11
Q

What is the purpose of the CIR

A

Holds the current instruction being executed

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12
Q

How does Von Neumann architecture work

A

Instructions and data share the same memory space and format, uses a single control unit or processor, one instruction at a time, registers are used as fast access to instructions or data

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13
Q

How does Harvard architecture work

A

Instruction and data are stored in separate memory units, each has its own bus, reading and writing data can be done at the same time as fetching an instruction, used by RISC processors

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14
Q

What does the accumulator do

A

stores the result of the ALU

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15
Q

What are buses

A

Communication channels

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16
Q

What does the address bus carry

A

Address of instruction

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17
Q

What does the data bus carry

A

Carries data from and to the RAM

18
Q

What does the control bus do

A

Sends control signals from and to the processor

19
Q

What is the instruction made up of

A

Opcode + operand

20
Q

What is the opcode

A

What we need to do (OPeration)

21
Q

What is the operand

A

What do we need to do it to (can contain actual data or an address where the data is found)

22
Q

In an 8-bit instruction which bit is the addressing mode

A

4th bit

23
Q

What bits are the basic machine operation in an 8-bit instruction

A

1st, 2nd, 3rd bits

24
Q

In an 8-bit instruction which bits are the operand

A

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th bit

25
Q

In an 8-bit instruction how many different Opcode are available

A

16

26
Q

What does “fetch” mean in the FDE cycle

A

The binary code in the program counter is copied to the MAR which is then put through the ram to get a binary code out which then the control bus sends a signal to read the memory, then the binary code gets sent through the data bus into the memory data register and then into the current instruction register

27
Q

What does “decode” mean in the FDE cycle

A

The Current instruction register contains the opcode and the operand, then the operand is searched in the decode unit and then searches for the instruction

28
Q

What does “execute” mean in the FDE cycle

A

MAR receives the address that is needed by the decode unit and then puts it through the RAM and then through the data bus into the MDR and then into the accumulator after receiving a signal from the control unit

29
Q

What are the most common types of storage devices

A

Optical, magnetic and solid state

30
Q

Which storage device has the most capacity

A

Magnetic

31
Q

What are the optical storage devices

A

Blu-ray, CD and DVD

32
Q

How do optical storage devices work

A

They work by being scanned by a laser and data is stored in pits and lands

33
Q

What are the positives for optical storage

A

Cheap, light weight, portable

34
Q

What are the negatives for optical storage

A

Slow access times, prone to scratches

35
Q

What are the positives for magnetic storage

A

Cheap, large capacity

36
Q

What are the negatives for magnetic storage

A

Slow access times, fragile

37
Q

How do solid state drives work

A

Flow of electricity forcing electrons into floating gates between oxide layers, electrons then change lanes which signifies a 1 or 0

38
Q

Positives for a solid state drive

A

Durable, fast access times

39
Q

What are the negatives for solid state drives

A

Cost, limited read/writes

40
Q

Why do magnetic storage devices eventually fail

A

Moving parts eventually break

A level computing AQA (3 decks)

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