Title: The Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Course: Quiz Statistics Report Test Course

Q: Match the titles and descriptions:
- This is the hardware part of a computer that executes programs and manages the rest of the hardware. | central processing unit (CPU)
- It is made up of the main memory, the processor and ... | cache memory
- The program instructions and data move between the main memory and the processor using internal connections called ... | system buses
Also offered: peripheral hardware; virtual memory; the internet; server; network interface device; a modem

Q: Complete the missing blanks from the following sentences.
- When a program runs on a computer it has to be loaded into the _______ first. From here it can be accessed by the processor to run each instruction in turn. | main memory
- When the program is loaded the ________ is given the start address of where the program is in memory. | processor
- To run the program the processor will fetch an instruction, _____ it and then execute it. | decode
- This is called the fetch-______ cycle. | execute
- The speed at which a processor operates is quoted as the ____ speed | clock
Also offered: fetch; cache; run; user

Q: One way of improving the speed of a processor at minimal cost is to use a small amount of much faster memory where frequently used instructions or data can be stored for a short while.

What is this special sort of high-speed memory called?
- cache memory
- main memory
- virtual memory
- extended memory
- secondary storage
- pseudo memory
- dual inline memory modules (DIMMS)
- read only memory
A: cache memory

Q: Your friend offers to sell you her laptop at what seems like a really good price.

She is able to tell you the specifications of the computer, but can't remember which is correct.

Which of the following looks more likely as the specification for a laptop?
- 2 cores, 2 GHz processor, 256MB cache, 4 GB RAM, 200 GB hard drive
- 2 cores, 256 GHz processor, 2 MB cache, 8 GB RAM, 200 GB hard drive
- 200 cores, 2 GHz processor, 256 MB cache, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB hard drive
- 2 cores, 2 GHz processor, 4 MB cache, 200 GB RAM, 256 GB hard drive
- 4 cores, 2 GHz processor, 256 GB cache, 256 MB RAM, 200 GB hard drive
- 2 cores, 2 MB processor, 256 GHz cache, 256 GB RAM, 200 GB hard drive
- 2 cores, 2 MB processor, 256 GHz cache, 4 GB RAM, 200 MB hard drive
A: 2 cores, 2 GHz processor, 256MB cache, 4 GB RAM, 200 GB hard drive

Q: Some of the purposes of a CPU are listed below

Select only those that are incorrect or wrong.
- fetch instructions from main memory
- fetch data from main memory
- decode the information
- execute the data
- performs calculations
- manages the movement of instructions and data to and from peripheral devices
A: decode the information; execute the data

Q: A computer with a 400 MHz processor will always operate twice as fast as one with a 200MHz processor.
- True
- False
A: False

Q: The CPU in a computer is made up of the main memory, the processor, the cache memory and all of the hardware that is connected, eg. keyboard, mouse, display etc.
- True
- False
A: False

Q: Today’s modern CPUs can include more than one processor, or core. In theory having four processors should mean that the computer can operate four times as fast but this isn’t always the case.

Unless the computer is designed to use multiple cores it isn’t necessarily four times faster. Generally, a PC with a multiple-core processor running lots of programs at the same time will operate more quickly than a PC with a single core processor.
- True
- False
A: True

Q: The speed at which a processor operates is quoted as the number of cores, in Hertz. Hertz is the name for the number of cores in a processor. Everything the processor does happens in all of the cores at the same time making it even faster. This means that more instructions are fetched, decoded and executed at the same time. A processor with 100 MHz (Megahertz) would operate much faster than a processor with only 1 GHz (Gigahertz).
- True
- False
A: False