Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Quizzes: Master Computer Architecture

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a valid instruction format in an ISA?

Accepted Answer

Four address

Answer

Zero address

Answer

One address

Answer

Two address

Question 2

What is the primary purpose of addressing modes in an ISA?

Accepted Answer

To specify the memory location of the data being accessed

Answer

To define the type of data being operated on

Answer

To determine the number of operands in an instruction

Answer

To control the flow of execution

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a common type of instruction found in an ISA?

Accepted Answer

Database manipulation instructions

Answer

Arithmetic instructions

Answer

Logical instructions

Answer

Control flow instructions

Question 4

What is the main function of the program counter (PC) in a computer system?

Accepted Answer

To store the location in memory of the next instruction to be executed

Answer

To hold the result of the most recently executed instruction

Answer

To manage the flow of data between memory and the processor

Answer

To decode instructions and generate control signals

Question 5

What is a primary advantage of using a microprogrammed control unit?

Accepted Answer

Increased flexibility and ease of reprogramming

Answer

Reduced hardware complexity and cost

Answer

Improved performance and reliability

Answer

Lower power consumption

Question 6

What is a significant disadvantage of using a hardwired control unit?

Accepted Answer

Less flexibility and adaptability compared to microprogrammed control units

Answer

Higher cost and complexity in design and implementation

Answer

Increased susceptibility to errors and malfunctions

Answer

Higher power consumption

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of a load-store architecture?

Accepted Answer

Reduced flexibility in instruction set design

Answer

Simplified processor design

Answer

Improved performance by eliminating the need for register-memory instructions

Question 8

Which addressing mode specifies the effective address of an operand as the sum of the contents of two registers?

Accepted Answer

Register indirect addressing

Answer

Immediate addressing

Answer

Direct addressing

Question 9

Which of the following is the primary function of a processor's control unit?

Accepted Answer

Fetching and decoding instructions

Answer

Executing instructions

Answer

Storing data in memory

Question 10

Which type of instruction is used to move data between a register and memory?

Accepted Answer

Data transfer instruction

Answer

Arithmetic instruction

Answer

Logical instruction

Question 11

Which addressing mode specifies the effective address of an operand as a constant value?

Accepted Answer

Immediate addressing

Answer

Direct addressing

Answer

Indirect addressing

Question 12

Which of the following is the primary purpose of an instruction's opcode?

Accepted Answer

To specify the operation to be performed

Answer

To specify the operands involved in the operation

Answer

To specify the destination for the result of the operation

Question 13

Which addressing mode is employed when the operand is a fixed value directly embedded within the instruction?

Accepted Answer

Immediate

Answer

Direct

Answer

Register

Answer

Indirect

Question 14

Three-address instructions characteristically have how many operands?

Accepted Answer

Three

Answer

Zero

Answer

One

Answer

Two

Question 15

In a processor, what is the primary responsibility of the Instruction Register (IR)?

Accepted Answer

Holding the current instruction being executed

Answer

Storing the program counter

Answer

Decoding the instruction

Answer

Storing the result of the preceding instruction

Question 16

Which ISA feature is commonly used to efficiently handle floating-point operations?

Accepted Answer

Coprocessor

Answer

Memory management unit

Answer

Cache

Answer

Pipeline

Question 17

What is the primary benefit of utilizing a load-store architecture over a register-memory architecture?

Accepted Answer

Enhanced performance

Answer

Fewer instructions

Answer

Simplified instruction decoding

Answer

Increased memory bandwidth

Question 18

Which encoding scheme is characterized by instructions with varying numbers of bits?

Accepted Answer

Variable-length

Answer

Fixed-length

Answer

RISC

Answer

CISC

Question 19

Which ISA feature is employed to improve branch prediction accuracy?

Accepted Answer

Branch target buffer

Answer

Instruction cache

Answer

Register renaming

Answer

Out-of-order execution

Question 20

What is the key distinction between CISC and RISC architectures?

Accepted Answer

CISC emphasizes code density, while RISC focuses on performance

Answer

CISC has more instructions than RISC

Answer

RISC has a more complex instruction set than CISC

Answer

RISC utilizes more registers compared to CISC

Question 21

Analyze the differences between fixed-length and variable-length instruction encoding schemes. Discuss how their efficiency and flexibility vary.

Accepted Answer

Fixed-length schemes use fewer bits per instruction, enhancing execution efficiency.

Accepted Answer

Variable-length schemes allow for diverse instruction formats, increasing design flexibility.

Answer

Fixed-length and variable-length schemes have comparable efficiency and flexibility.

Question 22

What addressing mode allows accessing an operand using a constant value specified in the instruction?

Accepted Answer

Immediate addressing

Answer

Direct addressing

Answer

Register addressing

Answer

Indirect addressing

Question 23

A common design goal of RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architectures is to:

Accepted Answer

Simplify the instruction set

Answer

Maximize the number of instructions

Answer

Use complex addressing modes

Answer

Increase the use of microcode

Question 24

Which addressing mode utilizes a base register to calculate the effective address of an operand?

Accepted Answer

Base register addressing

Answer

Register indirect addressing

Answer

Indexed addressing

Answer

Displacement addressing

Question 25

Instructions responsible for moving data between registers and memory are classified as:

Accepted Answer

Data transfer

Answer

Arithmetic

Answer

Logical

Answer

Control flow

Question 26

What is a potential disadvantage of a large instruction set in a processor?

Accepted Answer

Increased complexity

Answer

Enhanced performance

Answer

Reduced power consumption

Answer

Improved extensibility

Question 27

Which addressing mode calculates the effective address by adding a constant value to the base address stored in a register?

Accepted Answer

Displacement addressing

Answer

Register indirect addressing

Answer

Base register addressing

Answer

Indexed addressing

Question 28

What type of instruction is primarily used for performing mathematical operations like addition and subtraction?

Accepted Answer

Arithmetic

Answer

Logical

Answer

Data transfer

Answer

Control flow

Question 29

Instructions that alter the flow of execution in a program are known as:

Accepted Answer

Control flow

Answer

Arithmetic

Answer

Logical

Answer

Data transfer

Question 30

For accessing a large array sequentially stored in memory, which addressing mode generally leads to the most efficient code?

Accepted Answer

Direct addressing

Answer

Register addressing

Answer

Immediate addressing

Answer

Indirect addressing

Question 31

What is the purpose of an addressing mode in an instruction?

Accepted Answer

To specify the location of the operand

Answer

To determine the operation to be performed

Answer

To control the flow of execution

Answer

To store the result of the instruction

Question 32

Which instruction format includes both the opcode and operands in a single word?

Accepted Answer

One-address

Answer

Two-address

Answer

Three-address

Answer

Zero-address

Question 33

What is the difference between a load instruction and a store instruction?

Accepted Answer

Load moves data from memory to a register, while store moves data from a register to memory

Answer

Store moves data from memory to a register, while load moves data from a register to memory

Answer

Both instructions perform the same operation

Answer

Only store instructions can access main memory

Question 34

Which of the following is a common addressing mode for accessing arrays?

Accepted Answer

Indexed addressing

Answer

Register indirect addressing

Answer

Displacement addressing

Answer

Direct addressing

Question 35

What is the purpose of a branch instruction?

Accepted Answer

To conditionally transfer execution to a specified address

Answer

To unconditionally transfer execution to a specified address

Answer

To store a value in a memory location

Answer

To perform a logical operation

Question 36

How do fixed-length and variable-length instruction encoding schemes impact processor design and performance?

Accepted Answer

Fixed-length schemes simplify processor design but may waste memory space.

Accepted Answer

Variable-length schemes enhance code density but require more complex processor design.

Answer

Fixed-length schemes improve branch prediction accuracy.

Answer

Variable-length schemes enhance code security through obfuscation.

Question 37

Which type of control unit, microprogrammed or hardwired, provides greater flexibility and ease of modification?

Accepted Answer

Microprogrammed control unit

Answer

Hardwired control unit

Answer

Both microprogrammed and hardwired control units provide similar flexibility and ease of modification

Question 38

Which of the following accurately defines the primary function of an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)?

Accepted Answer

It specifies the repertoire of instructions that a processor is capable of executing.

Answer

It allocates memory resources to various processes.

Answer

It handles the management of input/output devices.

Question 39

What is the primary role of an addressing mode in an ISA?

Accepted Answer

It determines the method by which operands are located in memory.

Answer

It specifies the size of the operand being accessed.

Answer

It controls the flow of program execution.

Answer

It defines the operation to be performed on the operand.

Question 40

In the context of ISA, what is the role of a microarchitecture?

Accepted Answer

It provides a specific implementation of an ISA.

Answer

It defines the instruction set that the processor can execute.

Answer

It optimizes the performance of the processor.

Answer

It determines the physical layout of the processor.

Question 41

When evaluating the effectiveness of an ISA, which of the following is a widely used performance metric?

Accepted Answer

Instructions Per Cycle (IPC).

Answer

Memory bandwidth

Answer

Clock speed

Answer

Cache hit rate

Question 42

What is the primary purpose of an opcode in an instruction?

Accepted Answer

It signifies the operation that is to be executed.

Answer

It indicates the addressing mode being used.

Answer

It specifies the size of the operand.

Question 43

What is the fundamental distinction between a load instruction and a store instruction in an ISA?

Accepted Answer

A load instruction retrieves data from memory into a register, while a store instruction writes data from a register to memory.

Answer

Load instructions utilize a different addressing mode than store instructions.

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental aspect of an Instruction Set Architecture (ISA)?

Accepted Answer

Compatibility with different Operating Systems

Answer

Addressing Modes

Answer

Instruction Set

Answer

Data Types Supported

Question 45

What is the primary purpose of an instruction format?

Accepted Answer

To define the organization and encoding of instructions within the processor.

Answer

To determine the clock speed of the processor.

Answer

To establish the number of registers available to the processor.

Question 46

Which addressing mode is designed for efficiently accessing consecutive memory locations?

Accepted Answer

Indexed Addressing

Answer

Direct Addressing

Answer

Register Indirect Addressing

Answer

Immediate Addressing

Question 47

A processor with a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) architecture generally features:

Accepted Answer

A large and complex set of instructions.

Answer

Lower memory consumption due to smaller instruction sizes.

Answer

Enhanced power efficiency.

Answer

Simpler and faster instruction decoding.

Question 48

What is the primary benefit of a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) architecture?

Accepted Answer

Faster processing resulting from simplified instruction decoding and execution.

Answer

Increased flexibility in handling complex data structures.

Answer

Lower memory usage due to smaller instruction sizes.

Question 49

Which of the following instructions is classified as a data transfer instruction?

Accepted Answer

MOV

Answer

ADD

Answer

CMP

Answer

JMP

Question 50

What is the primary function of the opcode field in an instruction?

Accepted Answer

To specify the operation to be performed by the processor.

Answer

To identify the address of the operand in memory.

Answer

To indicate the size of the data being processed.

Answer

To reflect the status of the processor flags.

Question 51

Which addressing mode directly utilizes the value contained in a register as the memory address?

Accepted Answer

Register Indirect Addressing

Answer

Indexed Addressing

Answer

Direct Addressing

Answer

Immediate Addressing

Question 52

Which component of a processor is primarily responsible for determining its instruction set architecture?

Accepted Answer

The design of the processor's control unit.

Answer

The operating system utilized by the processor.

Answer

The amount of cache memory available.

Question 53

How does an ISA influence the development of software for a particular processor?

Accepted Answer

It defines the instructions that can be used in programming the processor.

Answer

It dictates the specific programming language that must be employed.

Answer

It determines the amount of memory accessible to the software.