Exam 5: Computer Systems Organization

The ____ of a disk is the time needed to position the read/write head over the correct track.

The principle of locality states that when the computer uses something, it will probably use it again very soon.

The ____ machine language instructions alter the normal sequential flow of control.

In a direct access storage device, every unit of information has a unique ____________________.

It is the task of the ____ to fetch and execute instructions.

A(n) ____ is a storage cell that holds the operands of an arithmetic operation and that, when the operation is complete, holds its result.

The sectors of a disk are placed in concentric circles called cells. _________________________

During the ____ phase, the control unit circuitry generates the necessary sequence of control signals and data transfer signals to the other units of the computer to carry out the instruction.

A(n) ____ handles the details of input/output and compensates for any speed differences between I/O devices and other parts of the computer.

There are ____ bytes in a gigabyte.

To alert the computer that an input/output operation is done, a(n) ____ is transmitted to the processor.

Machines that use the simplified approach to designing instruction sets are known as ____________________ machines.

The branch of computer science that studies computers in terms of their major functional units and how they work is known as computer organization.

Describe at length what quantum computing is.

Examples of volatile storage are mass storage devices such as disks and tapes. _________________________

The set of all operations that can be executed by a processor is called its I/O set.

Explain what a register is and how it differs from random access memory cells.

In a two-level memory hierarchy, when the computer needs a piece of information, it looks in RAM first, then cache memory.

If a computer has a maximum of 2ᴺ memory cells, then each address field in a machine language instruction must be ____ bits wide to enable us to address every cell.

Computer manufacturers use a standard cell size of eight ____________________.