Computer Systems

Question 1

What is a translator?

Answer 1

It translates from one language to another.

Question 2

What are the three types of translators?

Answer 2

Compiler, Interpreter, Assembler

Question 3

What is the purpose of the CPU?

Answer 3

Processes instructions that drive the computer.

Question 4

What is Von Neumann architecture?

Answer 4

The program and data are both stored in the same memory. This allows instructions to be fetched and executed sequentially.

Question 5

What are the main components of the CPU?

Answer 5

ALU (arithmetic logic unit)
Clock
Control Unit
Bus
Registers

Question 6

What is the purpose of the ALU?

Answer 6

Performs arithmetic and logic operations, and shifts bits in a computer word.

Question 7

What is the purpose of the clock?

Answer 7

The clock controls the timings of the processor, and switches between 0 and 1 several million times a second.
This is measured in hertz Hz.

Question 8

What are registers?

Answer 8

Registers are very high speed memory locations in the CPU. An 8-bit CPU will have registers that are each 8-bit.

Question 9

What is hardware?

Answer 9

The physical components that make up a computer.

Question 10

What is software?

Answer 10

The non-physical programs that are stored by and run on a computer.

Question 11

What is system software?

Answer 11

Software that provides a platform for other software to run.

Question 12

What is machine code?

Answer 12

Code written in binary to execute an instruction.

Question 13

What is assembly code?

Answer 13

Assembly code allows a programmer to write programs more easily.

LDA 51
ADD #FF

Question 14

Can a machine or assembly code written on a Mac be run on a Windows computer?

Answer 14

No - the low level languages are processor specific.

Question 15

What is assembly language used for?

Answer 15

Embedded systems
Controls precisely any instruction on the processor
Controls specific hardware components.

Question 16

What type of language are assembly and machine code?

Answer 16

Low-level language.

Question 17

What are the advantages of high-level languages?

Answer 17

Easier to debug and read
Easier to learn as they look a lot more like English
Can be run on different types of processors
Programs are written faster.

Question 18

What are the advantages of low-level languages?

Answer 18

More control over hardware
Run much quicker
Require less RAM

Question 19

What is an assembler?

Answer 19

Translates assembly code into machine code.

Question 20

What is a compiler?

Answer 20

Translates a whole high-level language program into machine code at once and produces an object code.

Question 21

What languages are high-level languages?

Answer 21

Python, Java, C#, Visual Basic, C++, Javascript

Question 22

What is an interpreter?

Answer 22

Interpreter translates each line of a high-level program separately and stops if there is an error to display an error message.

Question 23

What languages use compilers?

Answer 23

C, C++

Question 24

What is the purpose of the Control Unit?

Answer 24

Co-ordinates and controls the instructions taking place in the CPU.

Decodes and executes instructions.
Receives instructions from clock.

Question 25

Define the term 'bus'.

Answer 25

A set of parallel wires that carry instructions and data from one component in the CPU to another.

Question 26

What is the purpose of the address bus?

Answer 26

Sends the memory location, or address, of the memory location that the CPU wants to access.

Question 27

What is the purpose of the data bus?

Answer 27

Sends the data that is being worked on in a specific address to the CPU.

Question 28

What is the purpose of the control bus?

Answer 28

Sends the control signals.

Question 29

What is the cycle called that the CPU is constantly working on?

Answer 29

Fetch-Decode-Execute Cycle.

Question 30

What is cache?

Answer 30

A small amount of very fast, expensive memory that is stored near the CPU. It is slightly slower than registers but faster than main memory (RAM).

Question 31

What is stored in cache?

Answer 31

Data or instructions that are used frequently are temporarily stored in cache in case they are used again.

Question 32

Define the term 'volatile'.

Answer 32

If a data store is volatile, it means that if the computer's power is switched off then all of the data in that data store is lost.

Question 33

What type of data stores are volatile and non-volatile?

Answer 33

RAM is volatile ROM is non-volatile Secondary storage is non-volatile.

Question 34

What does RAM stand for?

Answer 34

Random Access Memory

Question 35

What does ROM stand for?

Answer 35

Read only memory

Question 36

What does memory speed refer to?

Answer 36

The speed that the memory location can be accessed.

Question 37

What is stored in RAM?

Answer 37

The operating system The software in use The data the software is using

Question 38

Why is RAM named as it is?

Answer 38

The ability of the CPU to access any part of the memory in the same amount of time.

Question 39

What is stored in ROM?

Answer 39

Instructions and data that are necessary for the computer to run are stored in ROM, as it is Read-Only, so the instructions can not be changed, and it is non-volatile so they are stored permanently. BIOS Bootstrap

Question 40

How do the number of cores in a CPU affect the performance of a computer?

Answer 40

The more cores there are, generally more instructions can be processed per second. Example: 4 x 2.4 GHz cores is better than 2 x 2.4 GHz because twice as many instructions can THEORETICALLY be processed per second.

Question 41

What is BIOS and what does it stand for?

Answer 41

BIOS is Basic Input/Output System and runs whenever the computer is run and it checks if all the hardware is running properly.

Question 42

What is a bootstrap loader?

Answer 42

A bootstrap loader is software that is stored in the ROM, that loads the operating system.