computer systems and the cpu

Question 1

what is hardware

Answer 1

the physical stuff inside the computer

Question 2

give 3 examples of hardware

Answer 2

cpu, gpu, ram

Question 2

what is software

Answer 2

the programs a computer system runs

Question 3

embedded systems

Answer 3

small computer usually built into other devices, usually control systems

Question 4

give 3 examples of where you might find an embedded system

Answer 4

dishwasher, sat nav, microwave

Question 5

why are embedded systems used

Answer 5

they are usually easier to design, cheaper to produce and more efficient at their tasks than general purpose systems

Question 6

what are peripherals

Answer 6

larger pieces of external hardware

Question 7

give 3 examples of peripherals

Answer 7

keyboard, mouse, headphones

Question 7

what does cpu stand for

Answer 7

central processing unit

Question 8

what happens in the cpu

Answer 8

it is where the computer processes all data and instuctions

Question 9

what does the cu stand for

Answer 9

control unit

Question 10

what happens in the control unit

Answer 10

controls the flow of data in and out of the cpu
it also manages the fetch decode and execution of instructions

Question 11

what does the ALU stand for

Answer 11

arithmetic logic unit

Question 12

what happens in the ALU

Answer 12

carry’s out calculations including addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. also preforms binary shifts and logic operations

Question 13

what happens in the cache

Answer 13

stores regularly used instructions/data
low capacity but high speeds

Question 14

what are the three levels of cache memory

Answer 14

L1-decreasing speed
L2 - in the middle
L3- increasing capacity

Question 15

what happens in the registers

Answer 15

temporarily holds small amounts of dat. very fast to read or write to

Question 16

what are the 4 common cpu components

Answer 16

control unit
arithmetic logic unit
cache
registers

Question 17

three factors affecting cpu preformance

Answer 17

number of cores
clock speed
cache size

Question 18

what is the importance of the amount of cores

Answer 18

each core processes data independently, so the more cores the more F,D,E cycles can be preformed at once
some software is designed to take advantage of multicore processing

Question 19

what is the importance of clock speed

Answer 19

this is the amount of F,D,E cycles a single core can preform a second

Question 20

what is the importance of the cache size

Answer 20

a larger cache size gives the cpu access to more data faster

Question 21

what will affect the performance of the cpu but also the price

Answer 21

if a cpu has more cores and a higher clock speed it will have better performance but it will also cost more