Chapter – 5 [Computer Architecture]-Short Questions And Answers

“Explore the fundamentals of Computer Architecture with a focus on CPU, Main Memory, I/O devices, and Secondary Storage Devices. Learn about the key components of computer systems such as Registers, Bus Interconnection, RAM, ROM, and Cache Memory. Discover the essential roles of CU and ALU and how they work together in processing data. Get familiar with I/O units, SRAM, and DRAM, and their importance in computer architecture.

Q. What is Computer Architecture?

Ans.  The organization and interconnection of computer components called computer architecture. I/O devices, CPU, Primary or Main Memory, Secondary Memory or Storage devices, I/O unit, Registers, and Bus Interconnection are the components of computer architecture.

Q. What are I/O devices?

Ans. It stands for input and output devices. Input devices: The user can communicate with the computer through input devices e.g. Keyboard, Mouse, joystick, track-ball, Microphone, camera, scanner, barcode reader, etc. Output devices are used to communicate with the user e.g. Monitors, Speakers, Printers, Projectors, etc.

Q. What is a CPU?

Ans. It stands for “central processing unit”. chip mounted on the circuit board (motherboard). CPU is the brain of the computer in terms of computing power and controls all the computer system’s functions. CPU also performs data processing. There are two parts to a CPU. CU (Control Unit) and ALU (Arithmetic and logical unit)

Q. What is CU?

Ans.   The CU reads the instruction from memory and decodes and executes these instructions.

Q. What is ALU?

Ans.  It stands for “Arithmetic and Logical Unit”. It performs two types of operations on data. Arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) Logical operations (the operations produce true or false results e.g. less than, greater than, equal to not equal to, etc.)

Q. What is the function of Main Memory?

Ans. All the program instructions and data are stored in memory before the execution. This unit temporarily stores the data and instructions. It is also called the working area of the computer. There are two types of memory: RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory)

Q. What are Secondary Storage Devices?

Ans.  Store data permanently in the computer for later use.

These are CDs, Hard disks, Floppy disks, etc.

Q. What is an I/O unit?

Ans.    It handles the processor’s communication with its peripheral devices. These are disk drives, monitors, printers, etc.

Q. What are Registers?

Ans. These are the high-speed memory locations built into the microprocessor. The CPU uses these locations to store data and instructions temporarily to accomplish certain operations. Data is processed and transferred from one component to another with the help of registers.

Q. What is Bus Interconnection?

Ans.  It is used to connect different parts of the computer.

Q. What is Main Memory?

Ans. It is a chip of semiconductor material. Memory consists of identical cells. These cells are logically organized into a group of 8 bits (I-Byte). Each cell has a unique address to read or write data in the memory. Data and instructions are stored in these cells in the form of bits. It is a directly accessible device therefore; it is faster than other storage devices. There are two types of memory. RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory)

Q. What is RAM?

Ans. ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The contents of ROM are not lost when the power is turned off.

Q. Define SRAM.

Ans. It stands for static random access memory. SRAM does not require electrical status updates. These chips are faster than DRAM. SRAM uses less power than DRAM. Its design is more complex than DRAM. SRAM is more expensive than DRAM.

Q. What is DRAM?

Ans.    It stands for dynamic random access memory. It must have an electric current to maintain its electric state.

Q. What is a ROM?

Ans. ROM stands for Read Only Memory. The contents of ROM are not lost when the power is turned off.