Deck 9: Principles of Computer Operations

Question 1

Running a program with the exact same data produces exactly the same results every time .

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Memory has a finite capacity .

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Every memory location in the computer is numbered, starting with 0 .

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In modern computer memory, each location is normally composed of one byte .

Question 5

A megabyte is exactly one million bits .

Question 6

The ADD instruction adds the address numbers of the memory locations associated with the two values to be added .

Question 7

The ability to store different values in its memory location makes the computer a flexible tool .

Question 8

If you have a printer attached to your computer and then add a new pair of speakers, you will not need a new device driver since you already have a device driver for the printer . .

Question 9

Blocks of four bytes are called words .

Question 10

The Fetch/Execute Cycle consists of four steps .

Question 11

Logic gates, part of a circuit in the ALU, are used to implement operations like AND and OR .

Question 12

A branch or jump instruction can cause the processor to execute instructions out of memory address order .

Question 13

The processor's electronic clock is what shows you the current time on your computer's desktop .

Question 14

Assembly language allows humans to write the binary code that computers understand but using words instead of binary 0s and 1s .

Question 15

The process of converting code written in a high-level language to something a computer can understand is known as compiling .

Question 16

How many instructions do computers know?

A) only one
B) a lot
C) a few
D) more than humans can count

Question 17

In the Fetch/Execute Cycle, the action of retrieving the instruction's operands from memory occurs during the

A) Instruction Execute (EX) step
B) Instruction Fetch (IF) step
C) Data Fetch (DF) step
D) Instruction Decode (ID) step

Question 18

The hardware implementation of the Fetch/Execute Cycle is the

A) control unit
B) input/output (I/O) ports
C) RAM
D) peripheral

Question 19

The peripheral used for both input and output is the

A) mouse
B) hard disk
C) printer
D) keyboard

Question 20

Computer instructions are

A) four bytes long
B) two bytes long
C) eight bits long
D) one byte long

Question 21

The program counter keeps track of the

A) number of programs the computer is running
B) number of memory addresses used
C) current instruction in the Fetch/Execute step
D) next instruction to be executed

Question 22

In the Fetch/Execute Cycle, the action of retrieving a machine instruction from the memory address given by the program counter occurs during the

A) Data Fetch (DF) step
B) Instruction Fetch (IF) step
C) Instruction Execute (EX) step
D) Instruction Decode (ID) step

Question 23

In the Fetch/Execute Cycle, the action of determining which operation is to be performed and computing the addresses of the operands occurs during the

A) Data Fetch (DF) step
B) Instruction Fetch (IF) step
C) Instruction Execute (EX) step
D) Instruction Decode (ID) step

Question 24

In the Fetch/Execute Cycle, the action of performing a machine instruction occurs during the

A) Data Fetch (DF) step
B) Instruction Fetch (IF) step
C) Instruction Execute (EX) step
D) Instruction Decode (ID) step

Question 25

On the computer, one billion clock ticks per second is called a

A) nanohertz
B) gigahertz
C) megahertz
D) terahertz

Question 26

A form of a program that is directly executable by a computer is a(n)

A) device driver file
B) high-level language file
C) assembly file
D) binary object file

Question 27

A computer's software stack

A) makes a programmer's job more complex
B) is comprised of layers that do not interact
C) is analogous to house construction when replicating the software
D) features layers of software of increasing generality and sophistication

Question 28

The lowest level programming language that humans use is

A) C#
B) binary
C) assembly
D) Java

Question 29

The speed of a computer is dependent on the number of cycles of the

A) operating system
B) Fetch/Execute Cycle
C) input system
D) All of these

Question 30

Which of the following might be a single machine instruction?

A) send a file to the printer
B) add two numbers together
C) request a new web page from a browser
D) convert a decimal number to binary

Question 31

In Random Access Memory (RAM), what does the word "random"refer to?

A) the fact that the amount of time required for the memory unit to respond is unknown ahead of time
B) the fact that the computer can refer to memory locations in any order
C) the fact that memory units are unreliable and may return any value
D) the fact that a request to memory might return the contents of any location

Question 32

The processor clock

A) makes the machine cycle go to the next step
B) measures the response time of user actions such as typing or clicking
C) keeps the current time of day
D) measures how long a program has been running

Question 33

Select all that apply . Which of the following can be considered typical processor instructions?

A) Test if a bit is 0 and jump to a specific set of instructions, based on the outcome .
B) Compute the logical AND of two values .
C) Shift the bits of a word to the right, putting 0s on the left and discarding bits on the right .
D) Search through a list of names to find the first entry equal to a particular value .

Question 34

Select all that apply . Which of the following are properties of computer memory?

A) Every memory location has an address .
B) Memory locations have limited size .
C) It is a series of discrete locations .
D) Memory locations store or record values .

Question 35

A(n) ________ is an "instruction execution engine"that cycles through a series of operations, performing an instruction on each round .

Question 36

The people who write the instructions for computers are ________ .

Question 37

Integrated circuits are made with a process called ________ .

Question 38

The ________ is the part of the computer that gets instructions from memory and carries them out .

Question 39

Computers have instructions for both transforming and ________ information .

Question 40

The Data Fetch step gets the values, called ________, from memory .

Question 41

Programs and their data must reside in the computer's ________ when the programs run .

Question 42

Peripherals communicate with the computer through a ________ .

Question 43

The ability to control when ________ do and don't conduct electricity is the main process used in computer construction .

Question 44

The rate of the Fetch/Execute Cycle is determined by the computer's ________ .

Question 45

The process of executing a program is also called instruction ________ .

Question 46

Programs written in a high-level language are translated into assembly language and then assembled into binary . In other words, programs are ________ .

Question 47

An alternative form of machine language that is expressed using letters and normal numbers to make it easier for humans to understand it is known as ________ language .

Question 48

IC is short for ________ .

Question 49

The common name for an integrated circuit is a computer ________ .

Question 50

The ________ Cycle consists of getting the instruction, figuring out what to do, gathering the data needed to do it, doing it, saving the result, and repeating .

Question 51

The ________ allows the processor to complete instructions faster by fetching a new instruction before finishing up the previous one .

Question 52

________ connect to the processors' input and output ports .

Question 53

Memory locations are identified by numbers called ________ .