WGU 319 AWS Cloud Architecture Practice test exam
Questions with complete solutions verified by experts
2025/2026
Instruction set - correct answer The vocabulary of commands understood by a given
architecture
Stored-program concept - correct answer The idea that instructions and data of many
types can be stored in memory as numbers and thus be easy to change, leading to the
stored-program computer
word - correct answer A natural unit of access in a computer usually a group of 32 bits
Doubleword - correct answer Another natural unit of access in a computer, usually a
group of 64 bits; corresponds to the size of a register in the LEGv8 architecture
Data transfer instruction - correct answer A command that moves data between
memory and registers
Address - correct answer A value used to delineate the location of a specific data
element within a memory array
Alignment restriction - correct answer A requirement that data be aligned in memory on
natural boundaries
Binary digit - correct answer Also called binary bit. One of the two numbers in base 2,
0 or 1, that are the components of information
Least significant bit - correct answer The rightmost bit in an LEGv8 doubleword
Most significant bit - correct answer The leftmost bit in an LEGv8 doubleword
,Two's complement - correct answer A signed number representation where a leading 0
indicates a positive number and a leading 1 indicates a negative number. The
complement of a value is obtained by complementing each bit (0 >1 or 1>0), and then
adding one to the result (explained further below)
One's complement - correct answer A notation that represents the most negative value
by 10 ... 000 base two and the most positive value by 01 ... 11 base two, leaving an
equal number of negative and positives but ending up with two zeros, one positive
(00 ... 00 base two) and one negative (11 ... 11 base two) the term is also used to mean
the inversion of every bit in a pattern: 0 to 1 and 1 to 0
Biased notation - correct answer A notation that represents the most negative value by
00 ... 000 base two and the most positive value by 11 ... 111 base two, with 0 typically
having the value 10 ... 00 base two, thereby biasing the number such that the number
plus the bias has a non-negative representation
instruction format - correct answer A form of representation of an instruction composed
of fields of binary numbers
Machine Language - correct answer Binary representation used for communication
within a computer system
Hexadecimal - correct answer Numbers in base 16
Opcode - correct answer The field that denotes the operation and format of an
instruction
AND - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a
1 only if there is a 1 in both operands
OR - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
if there is a 1 in either operand
,NOT - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with one operand that inverts the
bits; that is, it replaces every 1 with a 0, and every 0 with a 1
EOR - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates
the exclusive or of the two operands. That is, it calculates a 1 only if the values are
different in the two operands
Conditional branch - correct answer An instruction that tests a value and that allows for
a subsequent transfer of control to a new address in the program based on the outcome
of the test
Basic block - correct answer A sequence of instructions without branches (except
possible at the end) and without branch targets or branch labels (except possibly at the
beginning)
Branch address table - correct answer Also called branch table. A table of addresses of
alternative instruction sequences
procedure - correct answer A stored subroutine that performs a specific task based on
the parameters with which it is provided
Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer An instruction that branches to an address
and 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 LEGv8 it is stored in register LR (X30)
Caller - correct answer The program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values
, Calle - 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
Stack - correct answer A data structure for spilling registers organized as a last-in-first-
out queue
Stack pointer - correct answer A value denoting the most recently allocated address in
a stack that shows where registers should be spilled or where old register values can be
found. In LEGv8, it is register SP
Push - correct answer Add element to stack
pop - correct answer Remove element from stack
Global pointer - correct answer The register that is reserved to point to the static area
Procedure frame - correct answer Also called activation record. The segment of the
stack containing a procedure's saved registers and local vatriables
Frame pointer - correct answer A value denoting the location of the saved registers
and local variables for a given procedure
Text segment - correct answer The segment of a UNIX object file that contains the
machine language code for routines in the source file
Pc-relative addressing - correct answer An addressing regime in which the address is
the sum of the program counter (pc) and a constant in the instruction
Addressing mode - correct answer One of the several addressing regimes delimited by
their varied use of operands and/or addresses
Questions with complete solutions verified by experts
2025/2026
Instruction set - correct answer The vocabulary of commands understood by a given
architecture
Stored-program concept - correct answer The idea that instructions and data of many
types can be stored in memory as numbers and thus be easy to change, leading to the
stored-program computer
word - correct answer A natural unit of access in a computer usually a group of 32 bits
Doubleword - correct answer Another natural unit of access in a computer, usually a
group of 64 bits; corresponds to the size of a register in the LEGv8 architecture
Data transfer instruction - correct answer A command that moves data between
memory and registers
Address - correct answer A value used to delineate the location of a specific data
element within a memory array
Alignment restriction - correct answer A requirement that data be aligned in memory on
natural boundaries
Binary digit - correct answer Also called binary bit. One of the two numbers in base 2,
0 or 1, that are the components of information
Least significant bit - correct answer The rightmost bit in an LEGv8 doubleword
Most significant bit - correct answer The leftmost bit in an LEGv8 doubleword
,Two's complement - correct answer A signed number representation where a leading 0
indicates a positive number and a leading 1 indicates a negative number. The
complement of a value is obtained by complementing each bit (0 >1 or 1>0), and then
adding one to the result (explained further below)
One's complement - correct answer A notation that represents the most negative value
by 10 ... 000 base two and the most positive value by 01 ... 11 base two, leaving an
equal number of negative and positives but ending up with two zeros, one positive
(00 ... 00 base two) and one negative (11 ... 11 base two) the term is also used to mean
the inversion of every bit in a pattern: 0 to 1 and 1 to 0
Biased notation - correct answer A notation that represents the most negative value by
00 ... 000 base two and the most positive value by 11 ... 111 base two, with 0 typically
having the value 10 ... 00 base two, thereby biasing the number such that the number
plus the bias has a non-negative representation
instruction format - correct answer A form of representation of an instruction composed
of fields of binary numbers
Machine Language - correct answer Binary representation used for communication
within a computer system
Hexadecimal - correct answer Numbers in base 16
Opcode - correct answer The field that denotes the operation and format of an
instruction
AND - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a
1 only if there is a 1 in both operands
OR - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates a 1
if there is a 1 in either operand
,NOT - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with one operand that inverts the
bits; that is, it replaces every 1 with a 0, and every 0 with a 1
EOR - correct answer A logical bit-by-bit operation with two operands that calculates
the exclusive or of the two operands. That is, it calculates a 1 only if the values are
different in the two operands
Conditional branch - correct answer An instruction that tests a value and that allows for
a subsequent transfer of control to a new address in the program based on the outcome
of the test
Basic block - correct answer A sequence of instructions without branches (except
possible at the end) and without branch targets or branch labels (except possibly at the
beginning)
Branch address table - correct answer Also called branch table. A table of addresses of
alternative instruction sequences
procedure - correct answer A stored subroutine that performs a specific task based on
the parameters with which it is provided
Branch-and-link instruction - correct answer An instruction that branches to an address
and 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 LEGv8 it is stored in register LR (X30)
Caller - correct answer The program that instigates a procedure and provides the
necessary parameter values
, Calle - 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
Stack - correct answer A data structure for spilling registers organized as a last-in-first-
out queue
Stack pointer - correct answer A value denoting the most recently allocated address in
a stack that shows where registers should be spilled or where old register values can be
found. In LEGv8, it is register SP
Push - correct answer Add element to stack
pop - correct answer Remove element from stack
Global pointer - correct answer The register that is reserved to point to the static area
Procedure frame - correct answer Also called activation record. The segment of the
stack containing a procedure's saved registers and local vatriables
Frame pointer - correct answer A value denoting the location of the saved registers
and local variables for a given procedure
Text segment - correct answer The segment of a UNIX object file that contains the
machine language code for routines in the source file
Pc-relative addressing - correct answer An addressing regime in which the address is
the sum of the program counter (pc) and a constant in the instruction
Addressing mode - correct answer One of the several addressing regimes delimited by
their varied use of operands and/or addresses
