WGU C952 Computer Architecture Exam 326
Questions with Verified Answers
Server - CORRECT ANSWER A computer used for running larger programs for
multiple users, often simultaneously, and typically accessed via a network.
Supercomputer - CORRECT ANSWER A class of computers with the highest
performance and cost; they are configured as servers and typically cost tens to
hundreds of millions of dollars. Also a form of server.
Embedded computer - CORRECT ANSWER A computer inside another device used
for running one predetermined application or collection of software.
Personal mobile devices (PMDs) - CORRECT ANSWER are small wireless devices to
connect to the internet; they rely on batteries for power, and software is installed
by downloading apps. Conventional examples are smart phones and tablets.
Cloud computing - CORRECT ANSWER refers to large collections of servers that
provide services over the internet; some providers rent dynamically varying
numbers of servers as a utility.
Software as a Service (SaaS) - CORRECT ANSWER delivers software and data as a
service over the internet, usually via a thin program such as a browser that runs
on local client devices, instead of binary code that must be installed, and runs
wholly on that device. Examples include web search and social networking.
,Multicore microprocessor - CORRECT ANSWER A microprocessor containing
multiple processors ("cores") in a single integrated circuit.
Terabyte (TB) - CORRECT ANSWER Originally 2^40 bytes, although
communications and secondary storage systems developers started using the
term to mean 10^12 bytes. To reduce confusion, we now use the term tebibyte
(TiB) for 2^40 bytes, defining terabyte (TB) to mean 10^12 bytes.
Moore's Law - CORRECT ANSWER states that integrated circuit resources double
every 18-24 months.
Abstractions - CORRECT ANSWER to characterize the design at different levels of
representation; lower-level details are hidden to offer a simpler model at higher
levels.
Common case - CORRECT ANSWER fast will tend to enhance performance better
than optimizing the rare case.
Parallel - CORRECT ANSWER Computer architects have offered designs that get
more performance by computing operations in parallel.
Pipelining - CORRECT ANSWER which moves multiple operations through
hardware unites that each do a piece of an operation, akin to water flowing
through a pipeline.
Prediction - CORRECT ANSWER In some cases it can be faster on average to guess
and start working rather than wait until you know for sure, assuming that the
,mechanism to recover from a misprediction is not too expensive and your
prediction is relatively accurate.
Hierarchy of memories - CORRECT ANSWER Architects have found that they can
address conflicting demands of fast, large, and cheap memory with a hierarchy of
memories, with the fastest, smaller, and most expensive memory per bit at the
top of the hierarchy and the slowest, largest, and cheapest per bit at the bottom.
Dependable - CORRECT ANSWER Since any physical device can fail, we make
systems dependable by including redundant components that can take over when
a failure occurs and to help detect failures.
Systems software - CORRECT ANSWER Software that provides services that are
commonly useful, including operating systems, compilers, loaders, and
assemblers.
Operating system - CORRECT ANSWER Supervising program that manages the
resources of a computer for the benefit of the programs that run on that
computer.
Compiler - CORRECT ANSWER A program that translates high-level language
statements into assembly language statements.
Binary digit - CORRECT ANSWER Also called a bit. One of the two numbers in base
2 (0 or 1) that are the components of information.
, Instruction - CORRECT ANSWER A command that computer hardware understands
and obeys.
Assembler - CORRECT ANSWER A program that translate a symbolic version of
instructions into the binary version.
Assembly language - CORRECT ANSWER A symbolic representation of machine
instructions.
Machine language - CORRECT ANSWER A binary representation of machine
instructions.
High-level programming language - CORRECT ANSWER A portable language such
as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic that is composed of words and algebraic notation
that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language.
Input device - CORRECT ANSWER A mechanism through which the computer is fed
information, such as a keyboard.
Output device - CORRECT ANSWER A mechanism that conveys the result of a
computation to a user, such as a display, or to another computer.
The Big Picture - CORRECT ANSWER The five classic components of a computer are
input, output, memory, datapath, and control, with the last two sometimes
combined and called the processor. This organization is independent of hardware
technology: you can place every piece of every computer, past and present, into
one of these five categories.
Questions with Verified Answers
Server - CORRECT ANSWER A computer used for running larger programs for
multiple users, often simultaneously, and typically accessed via a network.
Supercomputer - CORRECT ANSWER A class of computers with the highest
performance and cost; they are configured as servers and typically cost tens to
hundreds of millions of dollars. Also a form of server.
Embedded computer - CORRECT ANSWER A computer inside another device used
for running one predetermined application or collection of software.
Personal mobile devices (PMDs) - CORRECT ANSWER are small wireless devices to
connect to the internet; they rely on batteries for power, and software is installed
by downloading apps. Conventional examples are smart phones and tablets.
Cloud computing - CORRECT ANSWER refers to large collections of servers that
provide services over the internet; some providers rent dynamically varying
numbers of servers as a utility.
Software as a Service (SaaS) - CORRECT ANSWER delivers software and data as a
service over the internet, usually via a thin program such as a browser that runs
on local client devices, instead of binary code that must be installed, and runs
wholly on that device. Examples include web search and social networking.
,Multicore microprocessor - CORRECT ANSWER A microprocessor containing
multiple processors ("cores") in a single integrated circuit.
Terabyte (TB) - CORRECT ANSWER Originally 2^40 bytes, although
communications and secondary storage systems developers started using the
term to mean 10^12 bytes. To reduce confusion, we now use the term tebibyte
(TiB) for 2^40 bytes, defining terabyte (TB) to mean 10^12 bytes.
Moore's Law - CORRECT ANSWER states that integrated circuit resources double
every 18-24 months.
Abstractions - CORRECT ANSWER to characterize the design at different levels of
representation; lower-level details are hidden to offer a simpler model at higher
levels.
Common case - CORRECT ANSWER fast will tend to enhance performance better
than optimizing the rare case.
Parallel - CORRECT ANSWER Computer architects have offered designs that get
more performance by computing operations in parallel.
Pipelining - CORRECT ANSWER which moves multiple operations through
hardware unites that each do a piece of an operation, akin to water flowing
through a pipeline.
Prediction - CORRECT ANSWER In some cases it can be faster on average to guess
and start working rather than wait until you know for sure, assuming that the
,mechanism to recover from a misprediction is not too expensive and your
prediction is relatively accurate.
Hierarchy of memories - CORRECT ANSWER Architects have found that they can
address conflicting demands of fast, large, and cheap memory with a hierarchy of
memories, with the fastest, smaller, and most expensive memory per bit at the
top of the hierarchy and the slowest, largest, and cheapest per bit at the bottom.
Dependable - CORRECT ANSWER Since any physical device can fail, we make
systems dependable by including redundant components that can take over when
a failure occurs and to help detect failures.
Systems software - CORRECT ANSWER Software that provides services that are
commonly useful, including operating systems, compilers, loaders, and
assemblers.
Operating system - CORRECT ANSWER Supervising program that manages the
resources of a computer for the benefit of the programs that run on that
computer.
Compiler - CORRECT ANSWER A program that translates high-level language
statements into assembly language statements.
Binary digit - CORRECT ANSWER Also called a bit. One of the two numbers in base
2 (0 or 1) that are the components of information.
, Instruction - CORRECT ANSWER A command that computer hardware understands
and obeys.
Assembler - CORRECT ANSWER A program that translate a symbolic version of
instructions into the binary version.
Assembly language - CORRECT ANSWER A symbolic representation of machine
instructions.
Machine language - CORRECT ANSWER A binary representation of machine
instructions.
High-level programming language - CORRECT ANSWER A portable language such
as C, C++, Java, or Visual Basic that is composed of words and algebraic notation
that can be translated by a compiler into assembly language.
Input device - CORRECT ANSWER A mechanism through which the computer is fed
information, such as a keyboard.
Output device - CORRECT ANSWER A mechanism that conveys the result of a
computation to a user, such as a display, or to another computer.
The Big Picture - CORRECT ANSWER The five classic components of a computer are
input, output, memory, datapath, and control, with the last two sometimes
combined and called the processor. This organization is independent of hardware
technology: you can place every piece of every computer, past and present, into
one of these five categories.
