Computers and Microprocessors Quiz – Set 8
Attempt each question, then click “Show answer” to reveal the correct option and a brief explanation.
1. Which type of error in digital circuits occurs when different signal paths have different propagation delays, causing temporary incorrect outputs?
Correct answer: B. Hazard or glitch — Unequal delays can cause spurious temporary changes in output.
2. Which number system is most convenient for representing machine-level instructions for human understanding (rather than binary)?
Correct answer: B. Hexadecimal — It maps neatly to binary in groups of 4 bits and is compact.
3. In microprocessor systems, which memory typically stores the bootloader and low-level hardware initialization code?
Correct answer: C. ROM/Flash — Non-volatile memory retains firmware even when power is off.
4. In a typical instruction, which part specifies where the result should be stored?
Correct answer: B. Destination operand field — It identifies the register or memory location for the result.
5. Which of the following storage technologies is purely optical?
Correct answer: C. CD/DVD/Blu-ray — They use lasers to read/write pits on a disc surface.
6. Which of the following is the main function of an “I/O controller” on a motherboard or expansion card?
Correct answer: B. Manage communication — I/O controllers handle device-level protocols and buffering.
7. In networking, which address is used to uniquely identify a device at the Data Link layer?
Correct answer: B. MAC address — It is burned into the network interface card (NIC) at Layer 2.
8. Which protocol is commonly used to translate human-readable domain names into IP addresses?
Correct answer: C. DNS — Domain Name System maps names to numeric IP addresses.
9. Which of the following is NOT typically part of a CPU’s status/flags register?
Correct answer: D. IP address flag — Flags relate to arithmetic/logic results and control flow, not network addresses.
10. Which one of the following best describes “interrupt latency”?
Correct answer: B. Time from interrupt to ISR start — Lower latency improves responsiveness.
11. In an associative (content-addressable) cache, data is located by:
Correct answer: C. Comparing tags in parallel — Fully associative caches are flexible but more complex.
12. Which of the following is a primary advantage of using “paging” in memory management?
Correct answer: B. Avoids external fragmentation — Pages/frames are fixed size, simplifying allocation.
13. Which type of memory is commonly used for implementing a CPU cache?
Correct answer: B. SRAM — Static RAM is faster, making it suitable for cache levels.
14. In digital logic, De Morgan’s first law states that:
Correct answer: B. (A + B)’ = A’ · B’ — Similarly, (A · B)’ = A’ + B’.
15. Which of the following is a typical responsibility of the “file system” in an operating system?
Correct answer: B. Managing files/directories — The file system organizes data on storage devices.
16. Which networking device regenerates and amplifies signals to extend the distance of a network segment but does not filter traffic?
Correct answer: A. Repeater — It boosts signals at the physical layer without any traffic intelligence.
17. “Thrashing” in a virtual memory system refers to:
Correct answer: B. Excessive paging activity — Thrashing occurs when working sets do not fit in physical memory.
18. Which of the following RAID levels provides disk mirroring for redundancy but no striping?
Correct answer: B. RAID 1 — It mirrors data on two or more disks for fault tolerance.
19. In CPU architecture, “speculative execution” refers to:
Correct answer: B. Executing predicted-path instructions — If predictions are wrong, results are discarded.
20. “Parity bit” in data transmission is mainly used for:
Correct answer: B. Detecting single-bit errors — Parity allows simple error detection but not full correction.
