QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WRITTEN
CORRECTLY
What is faster, Main Memory or Registers? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Registers are faster than main
memory.
What is smaller, Main Memory or Registers? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Registers are smaller than main
memory.
3 Types of registers typically available are: - ANSWER✔✔✨---Data Registers (storing data), Address
Registers (stack pointer, frame pointer), Condition Codes (addl, mult)
The instruction execution consists of what two steps? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Fetch, Execute
Where does the processor fetch an instruction from? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Cache / Main Memory
Where does the processor hold the address of the next instruction? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Program
Counter (PC)
Where does the processor hold the instruction fetched? - ANSWER✔✔✨---Instruction Register (IR)
A Computer's Basic Elements. List the 4 high level components of a computer: - ANSWER✔✔✨---
Processor, Bus (Control), I/O, Memory
...contains the address of an instruction to be fetched. - ANSWER✔✔✨---What is the Program
Counter?
, ...contains the instruction most recently fetched. - ANSWER✔✔✨---What is the Instruction Register
(IR)?
-Exploits the hardware resources of one or more processors
-Provides a set of services to system users
-Manages secondary memory and I/O devices - ANSWER✔✔✨---What is an Operating System?
When an external device becomes ready to be serviced by the processor, the device sends this type of
signal to the processor: - ANSWER✔✔✨---Interrupt Signal
Two accepted methods of dealing with multiple interrupts is to: - ANSWER✔✔✨---Define priorities
for the interrupts, Disable interrupts while an interrupt is being processed
A common class of interrupts is: - ANSWER✔✔✨---Program, Timer, I/O
When a new block of data is written into cache memory, the following determines which cache location
the block will occupy: - ANSWER✔✔✨---Mapping Function
Direct Memory Access (DMA) operations require the following information from the processor: -
ANSWER✔✔✨---Address of I/O device, Starting memory location to read/write, Number of words to
be read/written
T / F - An operating system controls the execution of applications and acts as an interface between
applications and the computer hardware. - ANSWER✔✔✨---True
T / F - The operating system typically runs in parallel with application programs, on it's own special O/S
processor. - ANSWER✔✔✨---False
A computer hardware feature that is vital to the effective operation of a multiprogramming operating
system is: - ANSWER✔✔✨---I/O interrupts and DMA