WGU C952 computer architecture Appraisal Exam
Assessment Questions and Correct Answers Latest Updates
2024/2025
Hexadecimal - correct answer numbers in base 16
Opcode - correct answer the field that denotes the operation and format of an
instruction
And - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
only if there is a 1 in both operands
Or - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
if there is a 1 in either operand
Not - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with one operand that inverts the bits;
that is, it replaces every 1 with a 0, and every 0 with a 1
Eor - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates the
exclusive or of the two operands. That is, it calculates a 1 only if the values are different
in the two operands
Conditional branch - correct answer an instruction that tests a value and that allows for
a subsequent transfer of control to a new address in the program based on the outcome
of the test
Basic block - correct answer a sequence of instructions without branches (except
possible at the end) and without branch targets or branch labels (except possibly at the
beginning)
Branch address table - correct answer also called branch table. A table of addresses of
alternative instruction sequences
,Procedure - correct answer a stored subroutine that performs a specific task based on
the parameters with which it is provided
Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer an instruction that branches to an address
and simultaneously saves the address of the following instruction in a register (lr or x30
in legv8)
Return address - correct answer a link to the calling site that allows a procedure to
return to the proper address; in legv8 it is stored in register lr (x30)
Caller - correct answer the program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values
Calle - correct answer a procedure that executes a series of stored instructions based
on parameters provided by the caller and then returns control to the caller
Stack - correct answer a data structure for spilling registers organized as a last-in-first-
out queue
Stack pointer - correct answer a value denoting the most recently allocated address in
a stack that shows where registers should be spilled or where old register values can be
found. In legv8, it is register sp
Push - correct answer add element to stack
Pop - correct answer remove element from stack
Global pointer - correct answer the register that is reserved to point to the static area
Procedure frame - correct answer also called activation record. The segment of the
stack containing a procedure's saved registers and local vatriables
,Frame pointer - correct answer a value denoting the location of the saved registers
and local variables for a given procedure
Text segment - correct answer the segment of a unix object file that contains the
machine language code for routines in the source file
Pc-relative addressing - correct answer an addressing regime in which the address is
the sum of the program counter (pc) and a constant in the instruction
Addressing mode - correct answer one of the several addressing regimes delimited by
their varied use of operands and/or addresses
Data race - correct answer two memory accesses from a data race if they are from
different threads to same location, at least one is a write, and they occur one after
another
Assembly language - correct answer a symbolic language that can be translated into
binary machine language
Pseudoinstruction - correct answer a common variation of assembly language
instructions often treated as if it were an instruction in its own right
Symbol table - correct answer a table that matches names of labels to the addresses
of the memory words that instructions occupy
Linker - correct answer also called link editor. A system program that combines
independently assembled machine language programs and resolves all undefined
labels into an executable file
Executable file - correct answer a functional program in the format of an object file that
contains no unresolved references. It can contain symbol tables and debugging
, information. A "stripped executable" does not contain that information. Relocation
information may be included for the loader
Loader - correct answer a system program that places an object program in main
memory so that it is ready to execute
Dynamically linked libraries (dll) - correct answer library routines that are linked to a
program during execution
Java bytecode - correct answer instruction from an instruction set designed to interpret
java programs
Java virtual machine (jvm) - correct answer the program that interprets java bytecodes
Just in time compiler (jit) - correct answer the name commonly given to a compiler that
operates at runtime., translating the interpreted code segments into the native code of
the computer
Loop-unrolling - correct answer a technique to get more performance from loops that
access arrays, in which multiple copies of the loops body are made and instructions
from different iterations are scheduled together
Public - correct answer a java keyword that allows a method to be invoked by any
other method
Protected - correct answer a java keyword that restricts invocation of a method to other
methods in the package
Package - correct answer basically a directory that contains a group of related classes
Static method - correct answer a method that applies to the whole class rather to an
individual object. It is unrelated to static in c
Assessment Questions and Correct Answers Latest Updates
2024/2025
Hexadecimal - correct answer numbers in base 16
Opcode - correct answer the field that denotes the operation and format of an
instruction
And - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
only if there is a 1 in both operands
Or - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
if there is a 1 in either operand
Not - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with one operand that inverts the bits;
that is, it replaces every 1 with a 0, and every 0 with a 1
Eor - correct answer a logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates the
exclusive or of the two operands. That is, it calculates a 1 only if the values are different
in the two operands
Conditional branch - correct answer an instruction that tests a value and that allows for
a subsequent transfer of control to a new address in the program based on the outcome
of the test
Basic block - correct answer a sequence of instructions without branches (except
possible at the end) and without branch targets or branch labels (except possibly at the
beginning)
Branch address table - correct answer also called branch table. A table of addresses of
alternative instruction sequences
,Procedure - correct answer a stored subroutine that performs a specific task based on
the parameters with which it is provided
Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer an instruction that branches to an address
and simultaneously saves the address of the following instruction in a register (lr or x30
in legv8)
Return address - correct answer a link to the calling site that allows a procedure to
return to the proper address; in legv8 it is stored in register lr (x30)
Caller - correct answer the program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values
Calle - correct answer a procedure that executes a series of stored instructions based
on parameters provided by the caller and then returns control to the caller
Stack - correct answer a data structure for spilling registers organized as a last-in-first-
out queue
Stack pointer - correct answer a value denoting the most recently allocated address in
a stack that shows where registers should be spilled or where old register values can be
found. In legv8, it is register sp
Push - correct answer add element to stack
Pop - correct answer remove element from stack
Global pointer - correct answer the register that is reserved to point to the static area
Procedure frame - correct answer also called activation record. The segment of the
stack containing a procedure's saved registers and local vatriables
,Frame pointer - correct answer a value denoting the location of the saved registers
and local variables for a given procedure
Text segment - correct answer the segment of a unix object file that contains the
machine language code for routines in the source file
Pc-relative addressing - correct answer an addressing regime in which the address is
the sum of the program counter (pc) and a constant in the instruction
Addressing mode - correct answer one of the several addressing regimes delimited by
their varied use of operands and/or addresses
Data race - correct answer two memory accesses from a data race if they are from
different threads to same location, at least one is a write, and they occur one after
another
Assembly language - correct answer a symbolic language that can be translated into
binary machine language
Pseudoinstruction - correct answer a common variation of assembly language
instructions often treated as if it were an instruction in its own right
Symbol table - correct answer a table that matches names of labels to the addresses
of the memory words that instructions occupy
Linker - correct answer also called link editor. A system program that combines
independently assembled machine language programs and resolves all undefined
labels into an executable file
Executable file - correct answer a functional program in the format of an object file that
contains no unresolved references. It can contain symbol tables and debugging
, information. A "stripped executable" does not contain that information. Relocation
information may be included for the loader
Loader - correct answer a system program that places an object program in main
memory so that it is ready to execute
Dynamically linked libraries (dll) - correct answer library routines that are linked to a
program during execution
Java bytecode - correct answer instruction from an instruction set designed to interpret
java programs
Java virtual machine (jvm) - correct answer the program that interprets java bytecodes
Just in time compiler (jit) - correct answer the name commonly given to a compiler that
operates at runtime., translating the interpreted code segments into the native code of
the computer
Loop-unrolling - correct answer a technique to get more performance from loops that
access arrays, in which multiple copies of the loops body are made and instructions
from different iterations are scheduled together
Public - correct answer a java keyword that allows a method to be invoked by any
other method
Protected - correct answer a java keyword that restricts invocation of a method to other
methods in the package
Package - correct answer basically a directory that contains a group of related classes
Static method - correct answer a method that applies to the whole class rather to an
individual object. It is unrelated to static in c
