Computer Languages Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Correct answer: Control unit and ALU

The CPU consists of the control unit, which directs operations, and the arithmetic logic unit, which performs them. Registers are storage inside it rather than one of the two functional halves, and main memory sits outside the CPU altogether.

Answer: A

Correct answer: System clock rate

Every instruction takes a whole number of clock cycles, so the rate at which the clock ticks sets the pace at which the processor works. Booting and memory rates affect how quickly particular operations finish but not the processor's own speed.

Answer: C

Correct answer: 8 bits

The data path is the number of bits the processor moves at once, and in the eight-bit microprocessors these questions are written around - the 8080, the 6502, the Z-80 - that width is one byte. Later families widened it to 16, 32 and 64 bits.

Answer: C

Correct answer: By binary codes

Everything inside the machine is held as patterns of bits, so both the operation to be performed and the address it refers to are represented by binary codes. A parity bit checks for error and a character code represents text, neither of which is what an instruction is made of.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Buses

A bus is a set of parallel conducting lines shared by the components on the motherboard - an address bus, a data bus and a control bus. Wires and conductors describe the material rather than the structure, and connectors are the plugs at the ends.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Arithmetic logic and control unit

The CPU is made up of the arithmetic logic unit and the control unit. Storage and output are separate parts of the machine, which is why the options pairing them with control are wrong.

Answer: C

Correct answer: The control unit

The machine cycle - fetch, decode, execute, store - is sequenced by the control unit, which issues the signals for each step in turn. The ALU acts when told to, and memory responds to addresses rather than directing anything.

Answer: D

Correct answer: All of the above

The machine cycle is precisely the sequence of fetching an instruction from memory, decoding it, and executing it, so all three belong to it. The store or write-back step is sometimes counted as a fourth.

Answer: A

Correct answer: Power PC

The PowerPC is a RISC design - a small set of fixed-length instructions, most of them executing in one cycle. The Intel 486DX belongs to the x86 family, which is CISC.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Command coming from control section

The ALU does nothing on its own: it performs an operation when the control unit selects it and enables the registers holding the operands. Memory supplies data, not commands.