WGU C952 Computer Architecture || 2025
Verified Q&A Study Guide | Detailed
Explanations + Real Exam Practice |
Guaranteed Success!
❖ RegisterfFilef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afstatefelementfthatfconsistsfoffafsetfoffregistersfthatfcanfbefreadfandfwrittenfbyfsu
pplyingfafregisterfnumberftofbefaccessed.
❖ providesf1024fscalarf32-bitfregistersfforfupftof64fthreads.
❖ machineflanguagef-fCORRECTfANSWER-Theflanguagefmadefupfoffbinary-
codedfinstructionsfthatfisfusedfdirectlyfbyfthefcomputer
❖ systemfsoftwaref-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefsetfoffprogramsfthatfenablesfafcomputer'sfhardwarefdevicesfandfapplicationf
softwareftofworkftogether;fitfincludesfthefoperatingfsystemfandfutilityfprograms.
❖ operatingfsystemf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
(computerfscience)fsoftwarefthatfcontrolsfthefexecutionfoffcomputerfprogramsfa
ndfmayfprovidefvariousfservices
❖ AssemblyfLanguagef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Programmingflanguagefthatfhasfthefsamefstructurefandfsetfoffcommandsfasfmach
ineflanguagesfbutfallowsfprogrammersftofusefsymbolicfrepresentationsfoffnumer
icfmachinefcode.
❖ IBMf360/91f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Introducedfmanyfnewfconcepts,fincludingfdynamicfdetectionfoffmemoryfhazard
s,fgeneralizedfforwarding,fandfreservationfstations.fTomasulo'sfalgorithm
❖ Thefinternalforganizationfoffthef360/91fsharesfmanyffeaturesfwithfthefPentiumfI
IIfandfPentiumf4,fasfwellfasfwithfseveralfotherfmicroprocessors.fOnefmajorfdiffer
encefwasfthatftherefwasfnofbranchfpredictionfinfthef360/91fandfhencefnofspecula
, tion.fAnotherfmajorfdifferencefwasfthatftherefwasfnofcommitfunit,fsofoncefthefin
structionsffinishedfexecution,ftheyfupdatedfthefregisters.
❖ DynamicfRandomfAccessfMemoryf(DRAM)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Memoryfbuiltfasfanfintegratedfcircuit;fitfprovidesfrandomfaccessftofanyflocation.f
Accessftimesfaref50fnanosecondsfandfcostfperfgigabytefinf2012fwasf$5ftof$10.
❖ MultiplefDRAMsfarefusedftogetherftofcontainfthefinstructionsfandfdatafoffafprog
ram.fInfcontrastftofsequentialfaccessfmemories,fsuchfasfmagneticftapes,fthefRA
MfportionfofftheftermfDRAMfmeansfthatfmemoryfaccessesftakefbasicallyfthefsa
mefamountfofftimefnofmatterfwhatfportionfoffthefmemoryfisfread.
❖ ModernfDRAMSfconsistfoffrowsfinfeachfbank
❖ framefbufferingf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
AfportionfoffRAMfcontainingfafbitmapfthatfdrivesfafvideofdisplay.fItfisfafmemoryf
bufferfcontainingfafcompletefframefoffdata.
❖ Thefimageftofbefrepresentedfonscreenfisfstoredfinfthefframefbuffer,fandfthefbitfp
atternfperfpixelfisfreadfoutftofthefgraphicsfdisplayfatfthefrefreshfrate.fThefanimati
onfbelowfshowsfafframefbufferfwithfafsimplifiedfdesignfoffjustf4fbitsfperfpixel.
❖ Datapathf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefcomponentfoffthefprocessorfthatfperformsfarithmeticfoperations
❖ Controlf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefcomponentfoffthefprocessorfthatfcommandsfthefdatapath,fmemory,fandfI/
Ofdevicesfaccordingftofthefinstructionsfoffthefprogram.
❖ Integratedfcircuitf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfafchip.fAfdevicefcombiningfdozensftofmillionsfofftransistors.
❖ Centralfprocessorfunitf(CPU)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfprocessor.fThefactivefpartfoffthefcomputer,fwhichfcontainsfthefdatap
athfandfcontrolfandfwhichfaddsfnumbers,ftestsfnumbers,fsignalsfI/Ofdevicesftofac
tivate,fandfsofon.
❖ Staticfrandomfaccessfmemoryf(SRAM)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofmemoryfbuiltfasfanfintegratedfcircuit,fbutffasterfandflessfdensefthanfDRAM.
, ❖ Instructionfsetfarchitecturef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfarchitecture.fAnfabstractfinterfacefbetweenfthefhardwarefandftheflow
est-
levelfsoftwarefthatfencompassesfallfthefinformationfnecessaryftofwritefafmachinef
languagefprogramfthatfwillfrunfcorrectly,fincludingfinstructions,fregisters,fmemor
yfaccess,fI/O,fandfsofon.
❖ Applicationfbinaryfinterfacef(ABI)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefuserfportionfoffthefinstructionfsetfplusfthefoperatingfsystemfinterfacesfusedf
byfapplicationfprogrammers.fItfdefinesfafstandardfforfbinaryfportabilityfacrossfco
mputers.
❖ Volatilefmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Storage,fsuchfasfDRAM,fthatfretainsfdatafonlyfiffitfisfreceivingfpower.
❖ NonvolatilefMemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afformfoffmemoryfthatfretainsfdatafevenfinfthefabsencefoffafpowerfsourcefandfth
atfisfusedftofstorefprogramsfbetweenfruns.fAfDVDfdiskfisfnonvolatile.
❖ Magneticfdiskf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfhardfdisk.fAfformfoffnonvolatilefsecondaryfmemoryfcomposedfoffrot
atingfplattersfcoatedfwithfafmagneticfrecordingfmaterial.fBecauseftheyfarefrotatin
gfmechanicalfdevices,faccessftimesfarefaboutf5ftof20fmillisecondsfandfcostfperfgig
abytefinf2012fwasf$0.05ftof$0.10
❖ Mainfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfprimaryfmemory.fMemoryfusedftofholdfprogramsfwhileftheyfarefrun
ning;ftypicallyfconsistsfoffDRAMfinftoday'sfcomputers.
❖ Secondaryfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Nonvolatilefmemoryfusedftofstorefprogramsfandfdatafbetweenfruns;ftypicallyfco
nsistsfoffflashfmemoryfinfPMDsfandfmagneticfdisksfinfservers.
❖ Flashfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afnonvolatilefsemiconductorfmemory.fItfisfcheaperfandfslowerfthanfDRAMfbutf
morefexpensivefperfbitfandffasterfthanfmagneticfdisks.fAccessftimesfarefaboutf5ft
of50fmicrosecondsfandfcostfperfgigabytefinf2012fwasf$0.75ftof$1.00.
❖ SinglefInstructionfSinglefDataf(SISD)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-Afuniprocessor
Verified Q&A Study Guide | Detailed
Explanations + Real Exam Practice |
Guaranteed Success!
❖ RegisterfFilef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afstatefelementfthatfconsistsfoffafsetfoffregistersfthatfcanfbefreadfandfwrittenfbyfsu
pplyingfafregisterfnumberftofbefaccessed.
❖ providesf1024fscalarf32-bitfregistersfforfupftof64fthreads.
❖ machineflanguagef-fCORRECTfANSWER-Theflanguagefmadefupfoffbinary-
codedfinstructionsfthatfisfusedfdirectlyfbyfthefcomputer
❖ systemfsoftwaref-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefsetfoffprogramsfthatfenablesfafcomputer'sfhardwarefdevicesfandfapplicationf
softwareftofworkftogether;fitfincludesfthefoperatingfsystemfandfutilityfprograms.
❖ operatingfsystemf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
(computerfscience)fsoftwarefthatfcontrolsfthefexecutionfoffcomputerfprogramsfa
ndfmayfprovidefvariousfservices
❖ AssemblyfLanguagef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Programmingflanguagefthatfhasfthefsamefstructurefandfsetfoffcommandsfasfmach
ineflanguagesfbutfallowsfprogrammersftofusefsymbolicfrepresentationsfoffnumer
icfmachinefcode.
❖ IBMf360/91f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Introducedfmanyfnewfconcepts,fincludingfdynamicfdetectionfoffmemoryfhazard
s,fgeneralizedfforwarding,fandfreservationfstations.fTomasulo'sfalgorithm
❖ Thefinternalforganizationfoffthef360/91fsharesfmanyffeaturesfwithfthefPentiumfI
IIfandfPentiumf4,fasfwellfasfwithfseveralfotherfmicroprocessors.fOnefmajorfdiffer
encefwasfthatftherefwasfnofbranchfpredictionfinfthef360/91fandfhencefnofspecula
, tion.fAnotherfmajorfdifferencefwasfthatftherefwasfnofcommitfunit,fsofoncefthefin
structionsffinishedfexecution,ftheyfupdatedfthefregisters.
❖ DynamicfRandomfAccessfMemoryf(DRAM)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Memoryfbuiltfasfanfintegratedfcircuit;fitfprovidesfrandomfaccessftofanyflocation.f
Accessftimesfaref50fnanosecondsfandfcostfperfgigabytefinf2012fwasf$5ftof$10.
❖ MultiplefDRAMsfarefusedftogetherftofcontainfthefinstructionsfandfdatafoffafprog
ram.fInfcontrastftofsequentialfaccessfmemories,fsuchfasfmagneticftapes,fthefRA
MfportionfofftheftermfDRAMfmeansfthatfmemoryfaccessesftakefbasicallyfthefsa
mefamountfofftimefnofmatterfwhatfportionfoffthefmemoryfisfread.
❖ ModernfDRAMSfconsistfoffrowsfinfeachfbank
❖ framefbufferingf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
AfportionfoffRAMfcontainingfafbitmapfthatfdrivesfafvideofdisplay.fItfisfafmemoryf
bufferfcontainingfafcompletefframefoffdata.
❖ Thefimageftofbefrepresentedfonscreenfisfstoredfinfthefframefbuffer,fandfthefbitfp
atternfperfpixelfisfreadfoutftofthefgraphicsfdisplayfatfthefrefreshfrate.fThefanimati
onfbelowfshowsfafframefbufferfwithfafsimplifiedfdesignfoffjustf4fbitsfperfpixel.
❖ Datapathf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefcomponentfoffthefprocessorfthatfperformsfarithmeticfoperations
❖ Controlf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefcomponentfoffthefprocessorfthatfcommandsfthefdatapath,fmemory,fandfI/
Ofdevicesfaccordingftofthefinstructionsfoffthefprogram.
❖ Integratedfcircuitf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfafchip.fAfdevicefcombiningfdozensftofmillionsfofftransistors.
❖ Centralfprocessorfunitf(CPU)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfprocessor.fThefactivefpartfoffthefcomputer,fwhichfcontainsfthefdatap
athfandfcontrolfandfwhichfaddsfnumbers,ftestsfnumbers,fsignalsfI/Ofdevicesftofac
tivate,fandfsofon.
❖ Staticfrandomfaccessfmemoryf(SRAM)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofmemoryfbuiltfasfanfintegratedfcircuit,fbutffasterfandflessfdensefthanfDRAM.
, ❖ Instructionfsetfarchitecturef-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfarchitecture.fAnfabstractfinterfacefbetweenfthefhardwarefandftheflow
est-
levelfsoftwarefthatfencompassesfallfthefinformationfnecessaryftofwritefafmachinef
languagefprogramfthatfwillfrunfcorrectly,fincludingfinstructions,fregisters,fmemor
yfaccess,fI/O,fandfsofon.
❖ Applicationfbinaryfinterfacef(ABI)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Thefuserfportionfoffthefinstructionfsetfplusfthefoperatingfsystemfinterfacesfusedf
byfapplicationfprogrammers.fItfdefinesfafstandardfforfbinaryfportabilityfacrossfco
mputers.
❖ Volatilefmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Storage,fsuchfasfDRAM,fthatfretainsfdatafonlyfiffitfisfreceivingfpower.
❖ NonvolatilefMemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afformfoffmemoryfthatfretainsfdatafevenfinfthefabsencefoffafpowerfsourcefandfth
atfisfusedftofstorefprogramsfbetweenfruns.fAfDVDfdiskfisfnonvolatile.
❖ Magneticfdiskf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfhardfdisk.fAfformfoffnonvolatilefsecondaryfmemoryfcomposedfoffrot
atingfplattersfcoatedfwithfafmagneticfrecordingfmaterial.fBecauseftheyfarefrotatin
gfmechanicalfdevices,faccessftimesfarefaboutf5ftof20fmillisecondsfandfcostfperfgig
abytefinf2012fwasf$0.05ftof$0.10
❖ Mainfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Alsofcalledfprimaryfmemory.fMemoryfusedftofholdfprogramsfwhileftheyfarefrun
ning;ftypicallyfconsistsfoffDRAMfinftoday'sfcomputers.
❖ Secondaryfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Nonvolatilefmemoryfusedftofstorefprogramsfandfdatafbetweenfruns;ftypicallyfco
nsistsfoffflashfmemoryfinfPMDsfandfmagneticfdisksfinfservers.
❖ Flashfmemoryf-fCORRECTfANSWER-
Afnonvolatilefsemiconductorfmemory.fItfisfcheaperfandfslowerfthanfDRAMfbutf
morefexpensivefperfbitfandffasterfthanfmagneticfdisks.fAccessftimesfarefaboutf5ft
of50fmicrosecondsfandfcostfperfgigabytefinf2012fwasf$0.75ftof$1.00.
❖ SinglefInstructionfSinglefDataf(SISD)f-fCORRECTfANSWER-Afuniprocessor
