4.7 Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture

Question 1

What is the role of a processor

Answer 1

executes program instructions to run applications

Question 2

what is main memory

Answer 2

includes RAM and ROM to store program instructions and frequently used data, this is usually faster than secondary storage

Question 3

what is a bus

Answer 3

a series of parallel wires that connect internal components - allows signals to pass between the processor and them

Question 4

I/O controller

Answer 4

input / output controllers are hardware pieces that control communication of data between the processor and external hardware e.g keyboards

Question 5

what is the width of a bus

Answer 5

number of parallel wires

Question 6

what is the width of a bus related to

Answer 6

number of bits that can be transferred simultaneously

Question 7

What is the address bus

Answer 7

it is a unidirectional bus that transports memory addresses, it specifies where data is sent and received from

Question 8

what is the result of increasing the width of the address bus

Answer 8

increases the range of addresses that can be specified so it increases the computer’s amount of addressable memory - adding a wire doubles the number of addressable memory locations

Question 9

what is the data bus

Answer 9

it is a bidirectional bus that sends data and instructions to and from different components

Question 10

what is the result of increasing the width of the data bus

Answer 10

increasing width increases the volume of data that can be transferred at a time