Computer Organisation (IB)

What does CPU stand for?

Central Processing Unit

What is the main function of the CPU?

To fetch, decode, and execute program instructions.

What does the Control Unit (CU) do?

Loads and decodes commands, and directs data flow and ALU operation.

What does the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) perform?

Arithmetic operations (e.g., addition and subtraction) and logical operations (e.g., AND, OR).

What is the function of the Memory Address Register (MAR)?

It contains the RAM address of the next instruction the CPU wants.

What does the Memory Data Register (MDR) hold?

Data to be written to or read from RAM.

What is the role of the Data Bus?

It links RAM to the CPU via the MDR.

What does the Control Bus connect?

It links RAM to the CPU via the MDR.

What is the function of the Address Bus?

It links RAM to the CPU via the MAR.

What does RAM stand for?

Random Access Memory

What type of memory is RAM?

Volatile memory.

What does ROM stand for?

Read Only Memory

What is a key characteristic of ROM?

It is non-volatile and data cannot be changed.

What is cache memory used for?

To hold frequently used data for faster processing.

What are the steps in the Fetch – Decode – Execute cycle?

Fetch, Decode, Execute, Repeat.

What does the Program Counter (PC) do?

Holds the address of the next instruction to be executed.

What is the function of the Instruction Register (IR)?

It holds the instruction fetched from memory.

What is the purpose of the NOT Boolean operator?

To output true when the input is false.

What does the XOR Boolean operator output?

True when either A or B is true, but not both.

Name a historical storage medium and its capacity.

Hard Disk Drive (1956) with a capacity of approximately 5 MB.