WGU D081 EXAM STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS
AND SOLUTIONS 100 PERCENT CORRECT
VERIFIED ANSWERS
●● machine language
Answer: The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used
directly by the computer
●● system software
Answer: The set of programs that enables a computer's hardware devices
and application software to work together; it includes the operating
system and utility programs.
●● operating system
Answer: (computer science) software that controls the execution of
computer programs and may provide various services
●● Assembly Language
Answer: Programming language that has the same structure and set of
commands as machine languages but allows programmers to use
symbolic representations of numeric machine code.
●● IBM 360/91
,Answer: Introduced many new concepts, including dynamic detection of
memory hazards, generalized forwarding, and reservation stations.
Tomasulo's algorithm
The internal organization of the 360/91 shares many features with the
Pentium III and Pentium 4, as well as with several other
microprocessors. One major difference was that there was no branch
prediction in the 360/91 and hence no speculation. Another major
difference was that there was no commit unit, so once the instructions
finished execution, they updated the registers.
●● Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
Answer: Memory built as an integrated circuit; it provides random
access to any location. Access times are 50 nanoseconds and cost per
gigabyte in 2012 was $5 to $10.
Multiple DRAMs are used together to contain the instructions and data
of a program. In contrast to sequential access memories, such as
magnetic tapes, the RAM portion of the term DRAM means that
memory accesses take basically the same amount of time no matter what
portion of the memory is read.
Modern DRAMS consist of rows in each bank
●● frame buffering
,Answer: A portion of RAM containing a bitmap that drives a video
display. It is a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data.
The image to be represented onscreen is stored in the frame buffer, and
the bit pattern per pixel is read out to the graphics display at the refresh
rate. The animation below shows a frame buffer with a simplified design
of just 4 bits per pixel.
●● Datapath
Answer: The component of the processor that performs arithmetic
operations
●● Control
Answer: The component of the processor that commands the datapath,
memory, and I/O devices according to the instructions of the program.
●● Integrated circuit
Answer: Also called a chip. A device combining dozens to millions of
transistors.
●● Central processor unit (CPU)
Answer: Also called processor. The active part of the computer, which
contains the datapath and control and which adds numbers, tests
numbers, signals I/O devices to activate, and so on.
, ●● Static random access memory (SRAM)
Answer: Also memory built as an integrated circuit, but faster and less
dense than DRAM.
●● Instruction set architecture
Answer: Also called architecture. An abstract interface between the
hardware and the lowest-level software that encompasses all the
information necessary to write a machine language program that will run
correctly, including instructions, registers, memory access, I/O, and so
on.
●● Application binary interface (ABI)
Answer: The user portion of the instruction set plus the operating system
interfaces used by application programmers. It defines a standard for
binary portability across computers.
●● Volatile memory
Answer: Storage, such as DRAM, that retains data only if it is receiving
power.
●● Nonvolatile Memory
Answer: A form of memory that retains data even in the absence of a
power source and that is used to store programs between runs. A DVD
disk is nonvolatile.
AND SOLUTIONS 100 PERCENT CORRECT
VERIFIED ANSWERS
●● machine language
Answer: The language made up of binary-coded instructions that is used
directly by the computer
●● system software
Answer: The set of programs that enables a computer's hardware devices
and application software to work together; it includes the operating
system and utility programs.
●● operating system
Answer: (computer science) software that controls the execution of
computer programs and may provide various services
●● Assembly Language
Answer: Programming language that has the same structure and set of
commands as machine languages but allows programmers to use
symbolic representations of numeric machine code.
●● IBM 360/91
,Answer: Introduced many new concepts, including dynamic detection of
memory hazards, generalized forwarding, and reservation stations.
Tomasulo's algorithm
The internal organization of the 360/91 shares many features with the
Pentium III and Pentium 4, as well as with several other
microprocessors. One major difference was that there was no branch
prediction in the 360/91 and hence no speculation. Another major
difference was that there was no commit unit, so once the instructions
finished execution, they updated the registers.
●● Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)
Answer: Memory built as an integrated circuit; it provides random
access to any location. Access times are 50 nanoseconds and cost per
gigabyte in 2012 was $5 to $10.
Multiple DRAMs are used together to contain the instructions and data
of a program. In contrast to sequential access memories, such as
magnetic tapes, the RAM portion of the term DRAM means that
memory accesses take basically the same amount of time no matter what
portion of the memory is read.
Modern DRAMS consist of rows in each bank
●● frame buffering
,Answer: A portion of RAM containing a bitmap that drives a video
display. It is a memory buffer containing a complete frame of data.
The image to be represented onscreen is stored in the frame buffer, and
the bit pattern per pixel is read out to the graphics display at the refresh
rate. The animation below shows a frame buffer with a simplified design
of just 4 bits per pixel.
●● Datapath
Answer: The component of the processor that performs arithmetic
operations
●● Control
Answer: The component of the processor that commands the datapath,
memory, and I/O devices according to the instructions of the program.
●● Integrated circuit
Answer: Also called a chip. A device combining dozens to millions of
transistors.
●● Central processor unit (CPU)
Answer: Also called processor. The active part of the computer, which
contains the datapath and control and which adds numbers, tests
numbers, signals I/O devices to activate, and so on.
, ●● Static random access memory (SRAM)
Answer: Also memory built as an integrated circuit, but faster and less
dense than DRAM.
●● Instruction set architecture
Answer: Also called architecture. An abstract interface between the
hardware and the lowest-level software that encompasses all the
information necessary to write a machine language program that will run
correctly, including instructions, registers, memory access, I/O, and so
on.
●● Application binary interface (ABI)
Answer: The user portion of the instruction set plus the operating system
interfaces used by application programmers. It defines a standard for
binary portability across computers.
●● Volatile memory
Answer: Storage, such as DRAM, that retains data only if it is receiving
power.
●● Nonvolatile Memory
Answer: A form of memory that retains data even in the absence of a
power source and that is used to store programs between runs. A DVD
disk is nonvolatile.
