Lesson 4.7.3.1

4.7.3.1 The processor and its components Quiz: AQA Computer Science, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.7.3.1, The processor and its components: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Computer Science (7517), Unit 7: Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which processor component performs all arithmetic and logical operations?

    • Control unit
    • Arithmetic logic unit
    • Memory buffer register
    • Clock

  2. Which processor component coordinates operations by sending control signals to other components?

    • System clock
    • Control unit
    • Arithmetic logic unit
    • Status register

  3. A processor's clock runs at 3 GHz. How many clock cycles occur each second?

    • 3 x 10^6
    • 3 x 10^9
    • 300
    • 3 x 10^12

  4. Which register holds the address of the next instruction to be fetched?

    • The status register
    • The current instruction register
    • The program counter
    • The memory address register

  5. Which register holds the instruction that is currently being decoded and executed?

    • The memory buffer register
    • The program counter
    • The current instruction register
    • The general-purpose register R0

  6. Which register holds the address of the memory location to be accessed?

    • The memory address register
    • The status register
    • The program counter
    • The memory buffer register

  7. Which register holds data just read from or about to be written to memory?

    • Memory buffer register
    • Memory address register
    • Current instruction register
    • Status register

  8. What does the status register hold to record conditions such as arithmetic overflow?

    • Condition flags
    • Instruction opcodes
    • Memory addresses
    • Control signals

  9. What is the primary purpose of general-purpose registers in a CPU?

    • Address translation
    • Clock synchronization
    • Instruction decoding
    • Temporary data storage

  10. A processor's program counter holds 0x0200. The instruction at that address is 2 bytes long, with byte addressing, and there is no branch. What does the PC hold after the fetch?

    • 0x0200
    • 0x0201
    • 0x0202
    • 0x0400

  11. A clock runs at 2.5 GHz and a task needs 5 x 10^9 clock cycles. How long does the task take?

    • 2 seconds
    • 5 seconds
    • 0.5 seconds
    • 20 seconds

  12. Which pair of dedicated registers is used together during any memory access?

    • MAR and MBR
    • PC and MAR
    • ALU and Status
    • PC and CIR

  13. Which register temporarily stores the results of arithmetic and logical operations performed by the ALU?

    • Memory Address Register
    • Current Instruction Register
    • Accumulator
    • Program Counter

  14. Which component decodes the instruction held inside the current instruction register?

    • Arithmetic logic unit
    • Control unit
    • Status register
    • Memory buffer register

  15. Which component directly performs arithmetic operations such as addition on register values?

    • ALU
    • Status register
    • Control unit
    • Clock

  16. What does the carry flag in the status register indicate?

    • Negative result
    • Zero result
    • Interrupt requested
    • Arithmetic overflow

  17. Which component generates pulses to synchronise the internal operations of the processor?

    • Status register
    • Control unit
    • ALU
    • Clock

  18. A processor runs at 1 GHz and each instruction takes 4 clock cycles. How many instructions can it execute per second?

    • 4 x 10^9
    • 2.5 x 10^8
    • 2.5 x 10^9
    • 1 x 10^9

  19. During an instruction fetch, where is the PC content copied first?

    • Memory buffer register
    • Accumulator
    • Memory address register
    • Current instruction register

  20. Which component is located inside the processor rather than in main memory?

    • RAM modules
    • Data bus
    • General-purpose registers
    • Address bus

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