7.2.1. Instruction Cycle and Micro Operations

Try these first

1. 1.

   List the four phases of the instruction cycle.

   Hint

   Think about the steps the CPU follows to process an instruction.

2. 2.

   What do we call the simple instructions that make up macro instructions?

   Hint

   Consider what happens at a granular level when an instruction is executed.

3. 3.

   Which phase of the instruction cycle retrieves the instruction from memory?

   • Fetch
   • Decode
   • Execute

   Hint

   Think about what happens first in the instruction cycle.

4. 4.

   True or False: Micro instructions can execute multiple clock cycles.

   • True
   • False

   Hint

   Consider the definition of micro instructions.

5. 5.

   Design a simple CPU simulator that illustrates the fetch, decode, execute, and store phases. Show how it handles a set of instructions.

   Hint

   Think about what each part of the instruction cycle does and how to visually represent it.

6. 6.

   Using clock grouping, explain how you would optimize a sequence of instructions that includes both load and arithmetic operations.

   Hint

   Analyze the dependency between operations to determine which can run in parallel.