Computer Science - Advanced Computer systems

Question 1

Solid State

Answer 1

no moving parts

Question 2

CPU

Answer 2

Central processing unit

Question 3

What does the CPU do?

Answer 3

1. Carries out processing by executing instruction
2. Processes mathematical and logical data
3. Retrieves data and instructions from main memory
4. Stores Data into main memory once executed

Question 4

What 4 main components do you find in the CPU

Answer 4

1. Registers
2. Control unit (CU)
3. Arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
4. Cache memory

Question 5

What are registers?

Answer 5

Very fast memory within the CPU

Question 6

Name 4 registers

Answer 6

1. Program counter (PC)
2. Memory Address Register (MAR)
3. Memory Data Register (MDR)
4. Accumulator (ACC)

Question 7

What does the Program counter do?

Answer 7

keeps track of the memory address of the next instruction to be executed in a program

Question 8

What does the MAR do?

Answer 8

holds the address of the current instruction that is to be fetched from memory

Question 9

What does the MDR do?

Answer 9

holds the contents found at the RAM address (held in the MAR)

Question 10

What does the ACC do?

Answer 10

store the results of arithmetic and logical operations done in instructions, or values from RAM

Question 11

What are buses

Answer 11

Electrical connectors along which the data is passed to different parts of the computer system (CPU, RAM)

Question 12

Name 3 buses

Answer 12

Data bus, Address bus, control bus

Question 13

What does the data bus do?

Answer 13

transfers data between a memory and CPU, and within the CPU (like ACC, ALU, and MDR)

Question 14

What does the address bus do?

Answer 14

carries memory addresses from the MAR to the RAM

Question 15

What does the control bus do?

Answer 15

transmits control signals from the control unit to coordinate and manage the operations of the CPU and other components (such as RAM

Question 16

What is the clock in a CPU?

Answer 16

A vibrating crystal that sends out signals at a certain frequency, the speed that it does this is called clock speed

Question 17

1MHz = ??

Answer 17

1000KHz

Question 18

Where is the CPU located in a computer system?

Answer 18

the motherboard

Question 19

What is cache memory?

Answer 19

a form of random access memory that stores recently accessed data in the CPU for quick retrieval

Question 20

What is the FDE cycle?

Answer 20

Fetch, decode, execute

Question 21

What does the control unit do?

Answer 21

receives and decodes instructions from the MDR, and sends out commands

Question 22

clock speed

Answer 22

how fast the clock vibrates - determines the speed of the CPU

Question 23

Define non-volatile

Answer 23

retains data when power is shut off

Question 24

Define volatile

Answer 24

stores data temporarily, when computer is powered off, it looses it

Question 25

Name memory/storage types that are non-volatile

Answer 25

ROM and any secondary storage, like HDs or SSD

Question 26

How do optical storage devices read and write data?

Answer 26

WRITE: A laser 'burns' the pits into disk READ: A light is shone on the disk, and the direction that light reflects states whether it is a pit (0) or a land (1)

Question 27

How do magnetic storage devices read and write data?

Answer 27

WRITE: A 'head' controls whether parts of the surface of a disk are magnetised (1) or demagnetised (0) READ: A magnetic head senses whether the surface is magnetised or demagnetised

Question 28

How do solid state devices read and write data?

Answer 28

made up of lots of different digital circuits

Question 29

Properties of optical storage devices

Answer 29

Small capacity Easy to damage Good portability

Question 30

Properties of magnetic storage devices

Answer 30

Large capacity Cheap Can be noisy Can overheat

Question 31

Properties of SS storage devices

Answer 31

Medium capacity Expensive Very fast Very Reliable Non-mechanical Silent