12.2.2. Instruction Fetch

Try these first

1. 1.

   What is the role of the program counter in a single bus architecture?

   Hint

   Think about where the CPU looks for its next instruction.

2. 2.

   What does the memory address register (MAR) do?

   Hint

   Consider what happens before data is fetched from memory.

3. 3.

   What does the program counter do?

   • Holds the current instruction
   • Tracks the next instruction to fetch
   • Stores the fetched data

   Hint

   Think about how instructions are processed sequentially in a program.

4. 4.

   True or False: The control signals are responsible for directing the ALU on what operations to perform.

   • True
   • False

   Hint

   Recall how signals guide the operations in a CPU.

5. 5.

   Discuss how control signals would differ between a simple load instruction versus a complex arithmetic instruction.

   Hint

   Consider the number of steps involved in executing more complex operations compared to simple memory retrieval.

6. 6.

   Evaluate the impact of single bus architecture on modern multi-core processors and how they manage instruction execution.

   Hint

   Think about how processors have evolved to address limitations of traditional architectures.