Question 1

There are ____ bytes in a gigabyte.

Accepted Answer

A gigabyte is equal to 2^30 bytes, which is approximately 1.07 billion bytes. This means that there are 1,073,741,824 bytes in a gigabyte, which is closest to option C, 230.

Question 2

____ machines are designed to directly provide a wide range of powerful features so that finished programs for these processors are shorter.

Accepted Answer

CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) machines are designed to directly provide a wide range of powerful features so that finished programs for these processors are shorter.

Question 3

The acronym ____ is frequently used to refer to the memory unit of a computer.

Accepted Answer

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the memory unit of a computer where data and instructions are temporarily stored during processing. It is frequently referred to by this acronym in the computer industry. ROM (Read-Only Memory) is another type of memory unit that contains permanent instructions and cannot be modified. CDs (Compact Discs) are a type of external storage device that can store data and instructions, but are not part of the computer's memory unit. MDR is not a commonly used acronym in the computer industry.

Question 4

It is the task of the ____ to fetch and execute instructions.

Accepted Answer

The control unit is responsible for fetching and executing instructions in a computer's central processing unit (CPU).

Question 5

The ____ of a disk is the time needed to position the read/write head over the correct track.

Accepted Answer

Seek time refers to the time required for the read/write head to move to the correct track on the disk. Latency refers to the time it takes for the disk to spin to the correct sector, transfer speed refers to the rate at which data can be transferred to and from the disk, and frequency is not directly related to disk operations.

Question 6

To solve the difficulty of scaling memory organization, memories are physically organized into a ____-dimensional organization.

Accepted Answer

The answer of To solve the difficulty of scaling memory...

Question 7

The ____ operation in Von Neumann machines uses a special set of bits known as condition codes.

Accepted Answer

The compare operation is used to compare two values and set the condition codes based on the result of the comparison. These condition codes are then used by other operations, such as branching and looping instructions, to determine the next instruction to be executed. Therefore, the use of special bits known as condition codes is specific to the compare operation in Von Neumann machines.

Question 8

The ____ are the devices that allow a computer system to communicate and interact with the outside world as well as store information.

Accepted Answer

Input/Output (I/O) units allow a computer system to communicate and interact with the outside world through various input and output devices such as keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, scanner, etc. I/O units also provide the capability to store and retrieve information from various storage devices like hard disk, CD/DVD, USB drives, and memory cards. Registers, arithmetic/logic units, and control units are internal components of a computer system that are responsible for performing data processing and control operations but do not directly interact with the outside world or store data.

Question 9

The ____ machine language instructions alter the normal sequential flow of control.

Accepted Answer

Branch instructions allow the program to change the normal sequential flow of control by jumping to a different part of the program based on certain conditions. Data transfer and arithmetic instructions manipulate data, while compare instructions compare data without changing the flow of control.

Question 10

If a computer has a maximum of 2N memory cells, then each address field in a machine language instruction must be ____ bits wide to enable us to address every cell.

Accepted Answer

The answer of If a computer has a maximum of...

Question 11

A cache is typically ____ times faster than RAM but much smaller.

Accepted Answer

Caches are designed to store frequently accessed data and instructions closer to the processor for faster access. They are typically 5 to 10 times faster than RAM, but they are also much smaller in size. This allows the processor to quickly access frequently used data without having to go to RAM or even slower storage devices like hard drives.

Question 12

In a ____, the original contents of the memory cell are unchanged.

Accepted Answer

In a nondestructive fetch, the original contents of the memory cell are read without being erased or changed.

Question 13

A(n) ____ is a storage cell that holds the operands of an arithmetic operation and that, when the operation is complete, holds its result.

Accepted Answer

A register is specifically designed to hold data temporarily for arithmetic operations. It stores the operands and the result of an operation. Decoders are used to convert signals from one format to another, I/O controllers are used to manage communication between a computer and external devices, and caches are used to temporarily store frequently accessed data. None of these options are specifically designed for arithmetic operations.

Question 14

During the ____ phase, the control unit circuitry generates the necessary sequence of control signals and data transfer signals to the other units of the computer to carry out the instruction.

Accepted Answer

During the execution phase, the control unit generates control signals and data transfer signals to carry out the instruction. The fetch phase retrieves the instruction from memory, the decode phase determines the opcode and operands, and the store phase writes the result back to memory if necessary.

Question 15

The ____ of a disk is the time for the beginning of the desired sector to rotate under the read/write head.

Accepted Answer

Latency is the time it takes for the beginning of the desired sector to rotate under the read/write head. Transfer time is the time it takes for the data to be transferred after the head is positioned. Frequency is not a relevant factor in this context. Seek time is the time it takes for the head to move to the desired track, not the time for the sector to rotate under the head.

Question 16

A(n) ____ handles the details of input/output and compensates for any speed differences between I/O devices and other parts of the computer.

Accepted Answer

An I/O controller is responsible for handling the details of input/output and compensating for any speed differences between I/O devices and other parts of the computer. Caches are used to temporarily store frequently accessed data to speed up processing, but they do not handle I/O. I/O registers are used to hold data temporarily during input/output operations, but they do not handle the details of I/O. Decoder circuits are used to convert coded signals into a format that can be understood by other parts of the computer, but they do not handle I/O.

Question 17

MIMD parallel processing is also called ____.

Accepted Answer

MIMD (Multiple Instruction Multiple Data) is a type of parallel processing where multiple processors work independently on different sets of data. This is often done in cluster computing, where groups of computers work together to solve a larger problem. While multichip processing also involves multiple processors, it typically refers to a single computer with multiple chips or processors. SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) is a different type of parallel processing where multiple processors all work on the same instruction, but different pieces of data. Mainframe processing may or may not involve parallel processing, and is typically associated with large centralized systems rather than distributed clusters.

Question 18

To alert the computer that an input/output operation is done, a(n) ____ is transmitted to the processor.

Accepted Answer

An interrupt signal is sent to the processor to alert it of an input/output operation being completed. This allows the processor to immediately attend to the task, improving efficiency and reducing the need for the processor to constantly check for completed operations.

Question 19

To understand how computers process information, we must study computers as collections of ____ that perform tasks such as information processing, information storage, computation, and data transfer functional units.

Accepted Answer

Functional units are the specific components within a computer that perform the tasks of information processing, storage, computation, and data transfer. While data types, hardware, and memory units are important components of a computer, they do not encompass all of the functional units required for the computer to process information.

Question 20

The ____ holds the address of the next instruction to be executed.

Accepted Answer

The program counter holds the address of the next instruction to be executed. The status register holds the current status of the processor, the condition register defines the current CPU state, and the instruction register holds the current instruction being executed.

Quiz 5: Computer Systems Organization