3.3. Data storage
A subsection of Computer Science, 0478, through 3. Hardware
Listing 10 of 50 questions
A section of computer memory is shown below: Address Contents 1000 0000 0110 1110 1000 0001 0101 0001 1000 0010 1000 1101 1000 0011 1000 1100 1000 1100 1000 1101 1000 1110 1000 1111 The contents of memory location 1000 0001 are to be read. Show the contents of the Memory Address Register (MAR) and the Memory Data Register (MDR) during this read operation: MAR MDR The value 0111 1001 is to be written into memory location 1000 1110. Show the contents of the MAR and MDR during this write operation: MAR MDR Show any changes to the computer memory following the read and write operations in part and part . Address Contents 1000 0000 0110 1110 1000 0001 0101 0001 1000 0010 1000 1101 1000 0011 1000 1100 1000 1100 1000 1101 1000 1110 1000 1111 Name three other registers used in computers. The control unit is part of a computer system. What is the function of the control unit?
0478_w15_qp_13
THEORY
2015
Paper 1, Variant 3
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A computer has a central processing unit (CPU). The CPU includes the registers: • Program counter (PC) • Memory address register (MAR) • Memory data register (MDR) • Accumulator (ACC) • Current instruction register (CIR). The table contains five statements about the role of registers in the fetch–decode–execute cycle of a CPU. Letter Statement A PC stores the address of the next instruction to be accessed B MAR stores the instructions of the program that is running C MDR stores the data passed to it from the PC D ACC stores the result of each calculation E CIR stores the instruction currently being executed Two of the statements are not correct. Identify the letter of each incorrect statement. Suggest a corrected statement for each. Incorrect statement 1 Corrected statement Incorrect statement 2 Corrected statement The computer has a single core 3.5 GHz processor and an 8 kB cache. State what is meant by a 3.5 GHz processor. The CPU is changed to a dual-core 3.5 GHz processor. Explain how the number of cores affects the performance of a CPU. The amount of cache is increased to 64 kB. Explain how the amount of cache affects the performance of a computer. The computer has both primary and secondary storage. Random access memory (RAM) is one example of primary storage. Describe what is meant by RAM. Read only memory (ROM) is another example of primary storage. ROM often stores the start-up instructions for a computer. Identify one other item of data that is commonly stored in ROM. Some computers make use of virtual memory. State the purpose of virtual memory.
0478_m24_qp_12
THEORY
2024
Paper 1, Variant 2
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A student uses a mobile phone to take photographs for a school project. The student needs to transmit the photographs to their computer. They could use serial data transmission or parallel data transmission to transmit the photographs. Describe how the photographs would be transmitted using serial data transmission. Give two benefits of transmitting the photographs using serial data transmission. State one benefit of the student using parallel data transmission instead of serial data transmission. The photographs are also transmitted across a network to cloud storage. A device on the network forwards the data towards its correct destination. State the name of this device. Describe what is meant by cloud storage. Give one disadvantage of storing the photographs in cloud storage instead of storing them locally.
0478_s23_qp_12
THEORY
2023
Paper 1, Variant 2
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Questions Discovered
50