Section 1 - Components of a Computer

Question 1

CPU

What are the 3 parts of the CPU?

Answer 1

Control Unit
Arithmetic Logic Unit
Reigisters

CU, ALU, Registers

Question 2

CPU

What does the Control Unit (CU) do?

Answer 2

Controls the activity of the CPU

Question 3

CPU

What does the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) do?

Answer 3

Performs arithmetic and logical operations on given data

Question 4

CPU

What instructions does the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) accept?

Answer 4

ADD,
SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY, DIVIDE, AND, OR, NOT, XOR

Question 5

CPU

What is a register?

Answer 5

A small space of CPU memory

Question 6

CPU

What are the 5 registers?

Answer 6

Program Counter
Memory Data Register
Memory Address/Buffer Register
Current Instruction Register
Accumulator

PC, MDR, MAR/MBR, CIR, ACC
Address and Buffer are interchangeable

Question 7

CPU

What does the Program Counter (PC) do?

Answer 7

Increments/Updates with after each Fetch/Decode/Execute cycle and points to the next instruction

Question 8

CPU

What does the Memory Data Register (MDR) do?

Answer 8

Where fetched data goes

Question 9

CPU

What does the Memory Address/Buffer Register (MAR/MBR) do?

Answer 9

Points to next fetch address

Question 10

CPU

What does the Current Instruction Register (CIR) do?

Answer 10

Holds the current instruction

Question 11

CPU

What does the Accumulator (ACC) do?

Answer 11

Holds the result of calculations from the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

Question 12

Busses

What are the 3 busses?

Answer 12

Data Bus
Address Bus
Control Bus

Question 13

Busses

What does the Data Bus do?

Answer 13

Moves data between the CPU and RAM. Data can travel either in direction.

Question 14

Busses

What does the Address Bus do?

Answer 14

Moves the address from the CPU to RAM. The address only travels one-way.

Question 15

Busses

What does the Control Bus do?

Answer 15

Sends signals from the CPU to elsewhere in the computer.
Signals may incldue: Read/Write, Clock, Overflow, etc.

Question 16

Fetch/Decode/Execute

What are the steps of the Fetch/Decode/Execute (FDE) cycle?

6 steps in total

Answer 16

1. PC → MAR
2. PC + 1
3. Address Bus and Data Bus → MDR
4. MDR → CIR
5. Decode instruction into Opcode and Operand
6. Execute

Question 17

CPU Performance

What are the 3 things to consider when looking at CPU performance?

Answer 17

Cache Memory
Clock Speed
Number of Cores

Question 18

CPU Performance

How does cache memory affect CPU performance?

Answer 18

Fastest memory that stores common instructions

Question 19

CPU Performance

How does clock speed affect CPU performance?

Answer 19

Number of operations per second.

Question 20

CPU Performance

How does the number of cores affect CPU performance?

Answer 20

Concurrent processes

Concurrent can be replaced with any synonym (e.g. simultaneous)

Question 21

Pipelining

What is pipelining?

Answer 21

.

Question 22

Types of Processor

What are the names of the two different CPU architectures?

Answer 22

Von Neumann
Harvard

Question 23

Types of Processor

What are the features of Von Neumann Architecture?

Answer 23

One memory
(Simpler, and more flexible)

Question 24

Types of Processor

What are the features of Harvard Architecture?

Answer 24

Instructions and Data are seperate
(Fast)

Question 25

# Types of Processor What is CISC?

Answer 25

Complex Instruction Set Computer

Question 26

# Types of Processor What is RISC?

Answer 26

Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Question 27

# Types of Processor What are the benefits of using CISC over RISC? | 4 benefits

Answer 27

Programs can be shorter Easier to write code Less RAM space required to store instructions Compiler performs less work to translate code

Question 28

# Types of Processor What are the benefits of using RISC over CISC? | 3 benfits

Answer 28

Cheaper Predictable execution times (good for pipelining) More energy efficient per instruction

Question 29

# Types of Processor What is a co-processor?

Answer 29

An extra processor used to supplement the functions of the primary processor (CPU)

Question 30

# Types of Processor What is parallel processing?

Answer 30

The use of multiple processors/cores to perform multiple tasks at once

Question 31

# Types of Processor What is multicore processing?

Answer 31

The use of multiple cores to perform multiple tasks at once | Subset of parallel processing, therefore very similar in definition

Question 32

# Types of Processor What is a GPU? | Give the full name as well as its description

Answer 32

Graphics Processing Unit A specialised processor with thousands of small cores, only capable of completing simple tasks but doing so extremely efficiently. | The GPU is a type of co-processor

Question 33

# Types of Processor Give examples of what a GPU can be used for | 3 examples

Answer 33

Machine learning Bitcoin mining Rendering graphics

Question 34

# Input Devices What is an input device?

Answer 34

A device that can accept data from user to computer

Question 35

# Input Devices What is an output device?

Answer 35

Device that transmits data from computer to user

Question 36

# Input Devices Give examples of input devices | 3 examples

Answer 36

Barcode readers (QR or 2D barcode) Digital cameras Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Question 37

# Output Devices Give examples of output devices | 3/5 examples

Answer 37

Screens Printers Multimedia projectors Speakers Actuators

Question 38

# Storage What is a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)/magnetic storage?

Answer 38

A Hard Disk Drive (HDD) uses magnetic polarisation to represent 0 and 1. The drive head reads/writes data on tracks as the disk spins.

Question 39

# Storage What are the benefits and drawbacks of using a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)/magnetic storage over other storage methods?

Answer 39

Advantages: * Huge storage capacity * Long lifespan Disadvantages: * Not very portable * Slow to read if data is fragmented

Question 40

# Storage What is optical disk storage?

Answer 40

.

Question 41

# Storage What are the benefits and drawbacks of using an optical disk/optical storage over other storage methods?

Answer 41

.

Question 42

# Storage What is a Solid State Drive (SSD)?

Answer 42

.

Question 43

# Storage What are the benefits and drawbacks of using a Solid State Drive (SSD) over other storage methods?

Answer 43

.

Question 44

# Storage What is RAM?

Question 45

# Storage What is ROM?

Question 46

# Storage What is virtual memory?