BSCS Computer Architecture and Organization 2

Question 1

What is the function of the memory address register (MAR)?

Accepted Answer

Holds the address of memory to be read or written

Answer

The MAR holds the address of the memory location currently being accessed during a read or write operation.

Question 2

Which bus carries data between the CPU, memory, and I/O devices?

Accepted Answer

Data bus

Answer

The data bus transfers the actual data between components; its width (8, 16, 32, 64 bits) determines how much data moves per transfer.

Question 3

What is RISC in computer architecture?

Accepted Answer

Reduced Instruction Set Computer

Answer

RISC architectures use a small, highly optimized set of instructions that execute in a single clock cycle.

Question 4

Which technique allows a CPU to begin executing instructions before a branch condition is resolved?

Accepted Answer

Speculative execution

Answer

Speculative execution allows the CPU to execute instructions along a predicted path before knowing if that path is correct.

Question 5

What does DMA stand for and what does it do?

Accepted Answer

Direct Memory Access — transfers data without CPU involvement

Answer

DMA (Direct Memory Access) allows peripherals to read/write memory directly, freeing the CPU for other tasks.

BSCS - Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Practice Test