WGU C952 Computer Architecture Pre course Study Guide
Exam Questions and Verified for Accuracy Answers
2024/2025
Supercomputer - correct answer a particularly powerful mainframe computer.
Seymour cray - correct answer american inventor of the cray supercomputer.
Least significant bits - correct answer the two bits furthest to the right
Most significant bit - correct answer left most bit
Sign and magnitude representation - correct answer a signed number representation
where a single bit is used to represent the sign and the remaining bits represent the
magnitude
Sign extension - correct answer function of a copy signed load is to copy the sign
repeatedly to fill the rest of the register
Legv8 fields - correct answer 1. Opcode - 11 bits - basic operation of the instruction
2. Rm - 5 bits - the second register source operand
3. Shamt - 6 bits - shift amount
4. Rn - 5 bits - the first register source operand
5. Rd - 5 bits - the register destination operand
B.eq - correct answer equal
B.ne - correct answer not equal
B.lt - correct answer less than
,B.le - correct answer less than or equal to
B.gt - correct answer greater than
B.ge - correct answer greater than or equal to
Condition codes (flag) - correct answer 4 bits are used
In mips, two registers are compared and the result of the comparison is stored in a third
register. Then a conditional branching statement assess the value of the third register to
see if the condition is true or false.
Negative (n)
Zero (z)
Overflow (v)
Carry (c)
B.mi - correct answer branch on minus
N=1
B.pl - correct answer branch on plus
N=0
B.vs - correct answer branch on overflow set
V=1
B.vc - correct answer branch on overflow clear
V=0
, Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer an instruction that branches to an address
simultaneously saves the address of the following instruction in a register
(lr or x30 in legv8).
Return address - correct answer a link to the calling site that allows a procedure to
return to the proper address; in mips it is stored in register
Lr (x30)
Caller - correct answer the program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values.
Callee - correct answer a procedure that executes a series of stored instructions based
on parameters provided by the caller and then returns control to the caller.
Program counter (pc) - correct answer the register that contains the address of the
next instruction to be executed
Overflow (floating point) - correct answer a situation in which a positive exponent
becomes too large to fit in the exponent field.
Underflow (floating point) - correct answer a situation in which a negative exponent
becomes too large to fit in the exponent field.
Double precision - correct answer a floating-point value represented in 64-bit words.
Single precision - correct answer a floating-point value represented in a single 32-bit
word.
Exam Questions and Verified for Accuracy Answers
2024/2025
Supercomputer - correct answer a particularly powerful mainframe computer.
Seymour cray - correct answer american inventor of the cray supercomputer.
Least significant bits - correct answer the two bits furthest to the right
Most significant bit - correct answer left most bit
Sign and magnitude representation - correct answer a signed number representation
where a single bit is used to represent the sign and the remaining bits represent the
magnitude
Sign extension - correct answer function of a copy signed load is to copy the sign
repeatedly to fill the rest of the register
Legv8 fields - correct answer 1. Opcode - 11 bits - basic operation of the instruction
2. Rm - 5 bits - the second register source operand
3. Shamt - 6 bits - shift amount
4. Rn - 5 bits - the first register source operand
5. Rd - 5 bits - the register destination operand
B.eq - correct answer equal
B.ne - correct answer not equal
B.lt - correct answer less than
,B.le - correct answer less than or equal to
B.gt - correct answer greater than
B.ge - correct answer greater than or equal to
Condition codes (flag) - correct answer 4 bits are used
In mips, two registers are compared and the result of the comparison is stored in a third
register. Then a conditional branching statement assess the value of the third register to
see if the condition is true or false.
Negative (n)
Zero (z)
Overflow (v)
Carry (c)
B.mi - correct answer branch on minus
N=1
B.pl - correct answer branch on plus
N=0
B.vs - correct answer branch on overflow set
V=1
B.vc - correct answer branch on overflow clear
V=0
, Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer an instruction that branches to an address
simultaneously saves the address of the following instruction in a register
(lr or x30 in legv8).
Return address - correct answer a link to the calling site that allows a procedure to
return to the proper address; in mips it is stored in register
Lr (x30)
Caller - correct answer the program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values.
Callee - correct answer a procedure that executes a series of stored instructions based
on parameters provided by the caller and then returns control to the caller.
Program counter (pc) - correct answer the register that contains the address of the
next instruction to be executed
Overflow (floating point) - correct answer a situation in which a positive exponent
becomes too large to fit in the exponent field.
Underflow (floating point) - correct answer a situation in which a negative exponent
becomes too large to fit in the exponent field.
Double precision - correct answer a floating-point value represented in 64-bit words.
Single precision - correct answer a floating-point value represented in a single 32-bit
word.
