CPU Architecture and Memory Management Quiz

What is a defining characteristic of Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) architecture?

• Complex instructions that perform multiple operations

• A small set of simple instructions

• Variable-length instructions

• Microcoded control unit

Which of the following best describes Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) architecture?

• A large set of complex instructions

• Simple instructions executed in a single clock cycle

• Limited addressing modes

• Emphasis on software

Which architecture is more likely to use a hardwired control unit?

• RISC

• CISC

• Both RISC and CISC

• Neither RISC nor CISC

Which architecture is characterized by variable-length instructions?

• RISC

• CISC

• Both RISC and CISC

• Neither RISC nor CISC

Which of the following is an advantage of RISC architecture?

• Fewer general-purpose registers

• More complex instructions

• Pipelining is straightforward to apply

• Emphasis on hardware

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

• To hold data being transferred to or from memory

• To store the address of the memory location to be accessed

• To store the instruction being executed

• To hold the results of an ALU operation

Which register holds the data being transferred to or from memory?

• Program counter (PC)

• Memory data register (MDR)

• Current instruction register (CIR)

• Accumulator (ACC)

Which register is used to hold the address of the next instruction to be executed?

• Program counter (PC)

• Memory data register (MDR)

• Memory address register (MAR)

• Accumulator (ACC)

What is an addressing mode?

• A method for storing data in a register

• A technique for managing data on a hard disk

• A way of specifying how to calculate the memory address of an operand

• A technique for optimizing CPU performance

What is the main purpose of paging in memory management?

• To allocate large contiguous blocks of memory

• To divide memory into fixed-size blocks

• To manage user accounts

• To store the OS