Computer System Architecture Questions and Answers

Q: The primary task of registers during processing is to : (Choose the most appropriate option from below)

Registers store data, instructions and intermediate results.Registers are tiny, very fast storage locations inside the CPU. While the processor works, they hold the instruction being executed, the data it is acting on, memory addresses and the intermediate results of calculations, so that the CPU does not have to go to slower main memory for every step.Long-term data is kept in secondary storage such as a hard disk. Arithmetic operations are carried out by the ALU, which uses registers but is not itself a register. Directing data flow is the job of the control unit and the buses.

Q: Data is stored in the cache to : (Choose the most appropriate option from below)

Data is cached to reduce average access time.Cache memory is a small, very fast memory placed between the CPU and main memory. It keeps copies of the data and instructions used most often or most recently, so that the processor can get them quickly instead of waiting for the slower RAM. This lowers the average time taken to access memory.A cache does not save storage space; it adds another copy. It does not keep irrelevant data, since the point is to keep data likely to be needed again. And it is temporary, volatile memory, not a permanent archive.

Q: Where bootstrap program is stored?

The bootstrap program is stored in ROM.The bootstrap loader is the small program that runs when a computer is switched on: it tests the hardware and loads the operating system into memory. It must be available the moment power comes on, so it is kept in read-only memory (or firmware such as BIOS or UEFI chips), which is non-volatile and keeps its contents without power.RAM is volatile and is empty at start-up. The hard disk holds the operating system that the bootstrap program loads, but the loader itself is not run from there. A pen drive is removable storage.

Q: Which one of the following is also known as read/write memory ?

Read/write memory is RAM.Random Access Memory is the computer's main working memory. The processor can both read data from it and write data to it, which is why it is described as read/write memory. It is volatile, so its contents are lost when the power is switched off.ROM (Read Only Memory) can normally only be read. A DVD is an optical storage disc, and a hard disk is secondary storage rather than the memory the term refers to.

Q: A byte consists of how many bits ?

A byte consists of 8 bits.A bit is a single binary digit, 0 or 1. Eight bits make one byte, which can represent 28 = 256 different values, enough for one character in codes such as ASCII and EBCDIC. Larger units build on it: a kilobyte is 1,024 bytes.Half a byte, 4 bits, is called a nibble, and 16 bits is two bytes, often called a word on older machines. 9 and 10 bits are not the size of a byte.

Q: ______ has the shortest access times.

Cache Memory has the shortest access time.Cache is a small, very fast memory placed between the processor and main memory. It keeps copies of the data and instructions the processor is using most, so they can be fetched far faster than from RAM.Secondary memory such as a hard disk is much slower than main memory, and virtual memory is space on the disk used as an extension of RAM, so it is slower still. Since those two are slow, 'All of the above' is wrong as well.

Q: A quad core processor in a computer consists of

A quad core processor consists of 4 CPU.'Quad' means four. A quad core processor has four independent processing units, called cores, on a single chip. Each core can fetch and execute instructions on its own, so it works as a CPU in its own right and four tasks can run at once.Two CPUs would be a dual core processor. Each core contains far more than an arithmetic logic unit, so '4 ALU' describes only part of each core.

Q: A CPU with a clock speed of GHz executes

A clock speed in GHz means billion cycles per second.The prefix giga stands for 109, so one gigahertz is one billion clock cycles per second, and a 3 GHz processor runs three billion cycles each second. (The paper omits the number before GHz; the unit alone settles the question.)Million cycles per second is a megahertz (106), and trillion is a terahertz (1012), far beyond any CPU clock.

Q: Multi-processor system gives a

Correct answer: tightly coupled systemA multiprocessor system has two or more processors sharing the same memory, bus and clock under a single operating system. Processors that share memory in this way are described as tightly coupled. A loosely coupled system is one whose machines have their own memory and communicate over a network - that is a distributed or clustered system, not a multiprocessor.

Q: Another type of multiple-CPU system is the

Correct answer: Clustered SystemA clustered system is the other way of putting several CPUs to work: two or more complete computers, each with its own memory, joined over a network and sharing storage so that they act as one. A minicomputer and a supercomputer are classes of machine, not ways of combining CPUs.

21.

The primary task of registers during processing is to : (Choose the most appropriate option from below)

A.store long-term data.
B.store data, instructions and intermediate results.
C.execute arithmetic operations.
D.guide dataflow through the computer's memory.

Exam Year(s)

RSMSSB - 2025, Rajasthan ANM - 2025,

Answer: B

Registers store data, instructions and intermediate results.

Registers are tiny, very fast storage locations inside the CPU. While the processor works, they hold the instruction being executed, the data it is acting on, memory addresses and the intermediate results of calculations, so that the CPU does not have to go to slower main memory for every step.

Long-term data is kept in secondary storage such as a hard disk. Arithmetic operations are carried out by the ALU, which uses registers but is not itself a register. Directing data flow is the job of the control unit and the buses.

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22.

Data is stored in the cache to : (Choose the most appropriate option from below)

A.save storage space
B.reduce average access time
C.duplicate irrelevant data
D.permanently archive data

Exam Year(s)

RSMSSB - 2025, Rajasthan ANM - 2025,

Answer: B

Data is cached to reduce average access time.

Cache memory is a small, very fast memory placed between the CPU and main memory. It keeps copies of the data and instructions used most often or most recently, so that the processor can get them quickly instead of waiting for the slower RAM. This lowers the average time taken to access memory.

A cache does not save storage space; it adds another copy. It does not keep irrelevant data, since the point is to keep data likely to be needed again. And it is temporary, volatile memory, not a permanent archive.

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23.

Where bootstrap program is stored?

A.RAM
B.ROM
C.Hard disk
D.Pen drive

Exam Year(s)

RSMSSB - 2025, Rajasthan ANM - 2025,

Answer: B

The bootstrap program is stored in ROM.

The bootstrap loader is the small program that runs when a computer is switched on: it tests the hardware and loads the operating system into memory. It must be available the moment power comes on, so it is kept in read-only memory (or firmware such as BIOS or UEFI chips), which is non-volatile and keeps its contents without power.

RAM is volatile and is empty at start-up. The hard disk holds the operating system that the bootstrap program loads, but the loader itself is not run from there. A pen drive is removable storage.

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24.

Which one of the following is also known as read/write memory ?

A.ROM
B.RAM
C.DVD
D.Hard Disk

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2021,

Answer: B

Read/write memory is RAM.

Random Access Memory is the computer's main working memory. The processor can both read data from it and write data to it, which is why it is described as read/write memory. It is volatile, so its contents are lost when the power is switched off.

ROM (Read Only Memory) can normally only be read. A DVD is an optical storage disc, and a hard disk is secondary storage rather than the memory the term refers to.

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25.

A byte consists of how many bits ?

A.8
B.9
C.10
D.16

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2021,

Answer: A

A byte consists of 8 bits.

A bit is a single binary digit, 0 or 1. Eight bits make one byte, which can represent 2⁸ = 256 different values, enough for one character in codes such as ASCII and EBCDIC. Larger units build on it: a kilobyte is 1,024 bytes.

Half a byte, 4 bits, is called a nibble, and 16 bits is two bytes, often called a word on older machines. 9 and 10 bits are not the size of a byte.

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26.

______ has the shortest access times.

A.Virtual Memory
B.Secondary Memory
C.Cache Memory
D.All of the above

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2021,

Answer: C

Cache Memory has the shortest access time.

Cache is a small, very fast memory placed between the processor and main memory. It keeps copies of the data and instructions the processor is using most, so they can be fetched far faster than from RAM.

Secondary memory such as a hard disk is much slower than main memory, and virtual memory is space on the disk used as an extension of RAM, so it is slower still. Since those two are slow, 'All of the above' is wrong as well.

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27.

A quad core processor in a computer consists of

A.2 CPU
B.4 CPU
C.4 ALU
D.None of the above

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2021,

Answer: D

A quad core processor consists of 4 CPU.

'Quad' means four. A quad core processor has four independent processing units, called cores, on a single chip. Each core can fetch and execute instructions on its own, so it works as a CPU in its own right and four tasks can run at once.

Two CPUs would be a dual core processor. Each core contains far more than an arithmetic logic unit, so '4 ALU' describes only part of each core.

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28.

A CPU with a clock speed of GHz executes

A.billion cycles per second
B.million cycles per second
C.trillion cycles per second
D.None of these

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2026,

Answer: A

A clock speed in GHz means billion cycles per second.

The prefix giga stands for 10⁹, so one gigahertz is one billion clock cycles per second, and a 3 GHz processor runs three billion cycles each second. (The paper omits the number before GHz; the unit alone settles the question.)

Million cycles per second is a megahertz (10⁶), and trillion is a terahertz (10¹²), far beyond any CPU clock.

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29.

Multi-processor system gives a

A.small system
B.tightly coupled system
C.loosely coupled system
D.both a and b

Answer: B

Correct answer: tightly coupled system

A multiprocessor system has two or more processors sharing the same memory, bus and clock under a single operating system. Processors that share memory in this way are described as tightly coupled. A loosely coupled system is one whose machines have their own memory and communicate over a network - that is a distributed or clustered system, not a multiprocessor.

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30.

Another type of multiple-CPU system is the

A.mini Computer
B.Super Computer
C.Clustered System
D.both a and b

Answer: C

Correct answer: Clustered System

A clustered system is the other way of putting several CPUs to work: two or more complete computers, each with its own memory, joined over a network and sharing storage so that they act as one. A minicomputer and a supercomputer are classes of machine, not ways of combining CPUs.

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