Exam 2: The System Unit: Processing and Memory

To convert analog sound to digital sound,several thousand samples-digital representations of the sound at a particular moment-are taken every second.

____ consists of nonvolatile memory chips that can be used for storage by the computer or the user.

The ____ tries to predict what data and instructions will be needed and retrieves them ahead of time,in order to help avoid delays in processing.

Like the CPU,RAM consists of circuits etched onto chips.These chips are arranged onto circuit boards called ____________________.

Cache memory today is usually external cache.

The process of representing data in digital form so it can be used by a digital computer is called decimal byte representation.

Explain what a register is and how it is used.

Unlike ASCII,Unicode is a universal coding standard designed to represent text-based data written in any language,including those with different alphabets.

A ____ is an electronic path over which data can travel.

____ are very small pieces of silicon or other semiconducting material onto which integrated circuits are embedded.

Eight bits grouped together are collectively referred to as a ____.

The buses used to connect peripheral (typically input and output)devices to the motherboard are usually referred to as expansion buses.

The numbering system we commonly use is called the decimal numbering system because it uses ____ symbols to represent all possible numbers.

The ____ is the section of the CPU that performs arithmetic involving integers and logical operations.

The binary numbering system uses only two symbols-the digits 0 and 1-to represent all possible numbers.

The ____________________ coordinates and controls the operations and activities taking place within the CPU,such as retrieving data and instructions and passing them on to the ALU or FPU for execution.

The ____ takes instructions from the prefetch unit and translates them into a form that the control unit can understand.

ASCII is the coding system traditionally used with personal computers.

Memory refers to the amount of long-term storage available to a PC.

One nanometer (nm)is ____ of a meter.