Lesson 1.1.2

1.1.2 CPU performance Quiz: OCR Computer Science, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 1.1.2, CPU performance: 20 multiple choice questions for the OCR GCSE Computer Science (J277), Unit 1: Systems architecture, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does clock speed measure in a CPU?

    • Instructions per core
    • Cycles per second
    • Bits per clock
    • Bytes per second

  2. How many cycles per second does a 3.5 GHz CPU complete?

    • 3.5 billion
    • 3.5 trillion
    • 3.5 million
    • 3.5 thousand

  3. What describes the purpose of CPU cache?

    • Permanent ROM chip
    • Input peripheral device
    • Long-term storage
    • Fast temporary memory

  4. What defines the number of cores in a CPU?

    • Independent processing units
    • Clock speed multiplier
    • Total cache memory
    • Motherboard slots

  5. What is the usual effect of increasing CPU clock speed?

    • Fewer instructions run
    • Larger cache capacity
    • More processing cores
    • More cycles completed

  6. Which characteristic allows a CPU to work on several tasks at the same time?

    • Storage capacity
    • Cache size
    • Clock speed
    • Number of cores

  7. What benefit does a larger CPU cache provide?

    • Higher screen resolution
    • Faster network speed
    • Increased disk space
    • Quicker data access

  8. How does cache memory compare to RAM in access speed?

    • Both vary randomly
    • Speeds are identical
    • Cache is faster
    • RAM is faster

  9. Between a 2.0 GHz and 3.0 GHz CPU, which completes more cycles?

    • Both complete equal
    • The 3.0 GHz CPU
    • The 2.0 GHz CPU
    • Depends on RAM

  10. Which term describes the temporary storage area located directly on the processor?

    • ROM
    • Registers
    • Cache
    • Flash

  11. Which hardware upgrade best improves heavy multitasking performance?

    • Adding more cores
    • Optical drive
    • Larger monitor
    • New keyboard

  12. Why does a larger cache improve repeated data access?

    • Clock speed doubles
    • Power usage drops
    • RAM capacity increases
    • Data stays closer

  13. What trade-off typically accompanies a higher CPU clock speed?

    • More heat produced
    • Slower instruction rate
    • Lower power usage
    • Smaller cache size

  14. What is the main performance benefit of using more CPU cache instead of RAM?

    • Lower electrical cost
    • Faster access speed
    • Better screen resolution
    • Larger storage space

  15. Which CPU upgrade best improves heavy multitasking performance?

    • More cores
    • Larger screen
    • Higher clock speed
    • More ROM

  16. Why might a high clock speed CPU still have slow performance?

    • Too many cores
    • Slow RAM bottleneck
    • High bus width
    • Excessive cache

  17. Which component determines how many instructions a CPU processes per second?

    • Core count
    • RAM capacity
    • Clock speed
    • Cache size

  18. What limits the performance benefit of doubling cache size?

    • Zero latency
    • Diminishing returns
    • Instantaneous fetches
    • Infinite bandwidth

  19. Which factor most helps when running parallelized software across multiple tasks?

    • Larger ROM
    • Slower bus
    • Higher voltage
    • More cores

  20. What causes wasted cycles when a processor runs at high speed?

    • Dual channels
    • Memory latency
    • Extra cache
    • Solid storage

All OCR Computer Science quizzes