CS Midterm Study Set

Convert the following binary representation to 32-bit single precision IEEE 754 format: (+/-)1.F x 2(E - 127) 00111100100110100101000000000000

+1.001101001010000000000002 x 2^-6

What is a SoC?

A SoC is a system on a chip. It contains all the components of a normal computer such as a CPU and GPU on a single chip.

What is the relationship between a bit and a byte?

A bit is a unit of information and a byte is an eight-bit group.

What is a kernel and what is it responsible for?

A kernel is software that manages control of a computer's hardware, memory access, CPU, storage, and file systems. It is responsible for the interface that applications use to use the computer's hardware.

Does a larger die size increase or decrease the overall wafer yield (given a fixed number of defects/area)? Explain.

A larger die size decreases the overall yields because it lowers the number of die, which gives higher defects per area on the integrated circuit.

What is a nibble?

A nibble is half a byte or 4 bits.

What functions do a wireless router perform?

A wireless router broadcasts its presence to other stations, provides security for the network, sends frames from one station to another, can act as a network bridge and can provides a central control for media access.

Define what a 'word' is (in the context of computer organization).

A word is a unit of data used by a processor design that is fixed-sized and handled as a unit by the instruction set or hardware.

What is computer architecture?

Computer architecture is the idea of using the parts of the computer to create functionality and performance within it.

What is computer organization?

Computer organization is the actual parts that build a computer.

What nanometer manufacturing process technology do the current Intel Kaby Lake processors use?

Current Intel Kaby Lake processors use 10 nanometer process though they are attempting to develop a 7 nanometer process.

Please summarize Moore's Law

Moore's Law stated that up until 2025 the number of transistors on an integrated circuit would double every two years. This held true until 2015.

Can you represent the (binary equivalent) unsigned binary summation of 16210 + 15810 in 8 bits? Explain.

No you can't represent it because the summation is great than 28 -1.

What Linux distribution is Raspbian based on?

Raspbian is based on Debian Linux distribution.

What does a switch do?

Switches allow multiple hardware devices such as PCS, printers, and phones to connect with one another, and send and receive information among them.

How does the CPU locate the correct place in memory for reading and writing?

The CPU locates the correct place in memory for reading and writing using the address bus to send a specific value to the memory

How does the CPU locate the correct place in memory for reading and writing?

The CPU locates the correct place in memory for reading and writing using the address bus to send a specific value to the memory.

What is the IEEE 754 floating-point standard?

The IEEE 754 floating point standard is the standard used on most computer systems to represent real numbers.

What part of the operating system is responsible for allocating memory res ources?

The Kernal is the part of the operating system responsible for allocating memory resources.

What is the Linux command to give a user elevated authority to execute a task? Do all users have the ability to use this command? Explain.

The Linux command that gives the user elevated authority to execute a task is sudo. Only users listed in the sudoers file have sudo authority.

What are the Linux commands to create and delete a new user?

The Linux command to create a new user is sudo adduser. The command to remove a user is sudo userdel -r.

What is the Linux command to find out what the IP address of UVM's website is?

The Linux command to find out what the IP address of UVM's website is nslookup www.uvm.edu.

What is the Linux command to show the current directory you are in?

The Linux command to show the current directory you are in is pwd.

Does the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ have a hard disk drive? Explain.

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ does not have a hard disk drive but one can be connected externally.

Provide the technical specifications of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ (processor, RAM, etc.)

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ has a 1.46 GHz 64-bit processor, with a memory of 1 GB SRAM and a speed of 300 Mbps.

How many cores are present in the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ processor?

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ has four cores in the processor.

How many volts does the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ require through the microUSB cable?

The Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ requires about 5.1 V from the microUSB cable though the exact amount depends on what is connected to it.

What are the four basic types of instructions the CPU accepts and executes?

The four basic types of instructions the CPU accepts and executes are arithmetic, logic, input/output, and control.

Describe the function of a DNS server

The function of a DNS server is to translate between the hostname of a website and its IP address.

What is the function of a cable modem?

The function of a cable modem is to connect a computer to the Internet through a landline connection.

What is the function of the Program Counter?

The function of the Program Counter is to hold the address of the next instruction when it is being brought from the memory for execution.

What is the function of the Status register?

The function of the status register is to allow comparisons by the CPU. When the CPU compares values in different registers, the status register sends either a 1 or 0, which allows the CPU to track which way the comparison went.

What is meant by the term overflow in binary arithmetic?

The term overflow refers to when the result of binary arithmetic is too big to fit into the resulting bit-group.

Convert 3210 to unsigned binary notation.

100000

Convert 6510 to unsigned binary notation.

1000001

Subtract 00101111 from 10111010

10001011

Subtract 00101001 from 10110110

10001101

Add 10000010 and 00110001

10110011

Convert 1100110 to decimal.

102

Convert the unsigned binary 01100110 to decimal.

102

Convert 1101110 to decimal.

110

Add 10011010 and 00110011

11001101

Give the 8-bit two's complement binary representation of -24

11101000

Convert 12410 to unsigned binary notation.

1111100

Give the 8-bit two's complement binary representation of -8

1111100

Convert 11101 to decimal.

29

What is an IP address?

An IP address is an addressing scheme within the Internet protocol that contains the address of a network and the address of the particular node present on that network.

What is an interrupt and how does it allow multitasking?

An interrupt is a block of code known as a handler that allows multitasking because they have their own processor mode and registers which allows the CPU to change the processor mode whenever an interrupt occurs

What is an operating system and what are some examples of the functions it performs?

An operating system is the main program in a computer controls how a computer works and allows other programs to function on it. Some of the functions it performs are controlling the hardware and software of the computer , updates itself, gives access to functions outside of applications and enables user interaction through applications.

Convert BF2D16 to binary.

Binary equivalent = 1011111100101101

Convert 101 to unsigned binary notation.

Binary notation = 1100101

How are binary states (0's and 1's) represented at the lowest level of the CPU and memory?

Binary states are represented as voltages at the lowest level of CPU and memory. There are two levels, no voltage representing 0 and then for 1, any other higher voltage level.

What are general-purpose registers and where are they physically located?

General-purpose registers are storage units contained in the CPU. They are physically located on the silicon of the CPU.

Convert 101010111100000100100011 to hexadecimal.

Hexadecimal equivalent = ABC123

Provide the details of the Raspberry Pi booting process.

The Raspberry Pi booting process begins with the microSD card being read and the bootcode.bin loading into the L2 cache. It is then executed and turns on the SDRAM, which loads and starts a third stage program loader.bin. Loader.bin reads start.elf, which reads config.txt, cmdline.txt, and kernel.img, and starts the OS.

What is the System Bus and what are the three things it carries?

The System Bus is the pathway between the CPU and memory of the computer. It carries three things: the memory address, data values, an control signals to coordinate values travelling along the system bus.

Is the following binary equivalent of a 32-bit single precision IEEE 754 representation positive or negative? 00111100010110100101000000000000

The binary equivalent of this 32-bit single precision IEEE 754 representation is positive, as its sign bit is 0.

Describe the sequence of status LED's during the Raspberry Pi boot-up process.

The boot-up process begins with the PWR LEDs lights turning red to show the power is on. Next, the ACT LED lights flash green a few times to show a SD card is there and can be read. Lastly, if a network is present, the light to the right of the Ethernet jack will turn green. If the network is slow, then the light to the left of the jack flashes green.

When should the microSD card not be inserted or removed from the Raspberry Pi?

The card should not be removed or inserted when the Raspberry Pi is connected to power.

What is the command to launch the Python 3 interactive shell?

The command to launch the Python 3 interactive shell is python3.

What is the difference between a LAN, MAN, and WAN?

The difference between a LAN, MAN, and a WAN is the network size. A LAN (local area network) is a group of computers usually connected within the same building, a MAN (metropolitan area network) is larger and can connected several buildings in the same geographic area , and lastly a WAN (wide area network) connects several LANS and is only limited by the organization that controls it.

What is the difference between the 'Harvard' and 'Von Neumann' architectures?

The difference between the "Harvard" and "Von Neumann" architectures is where the data and instructions are stored. In the Harvard architecture, they were stored separately while in the Von Neumann architecture they were stored in the same place as logically they were the same.

List the distinct symbols available in hexadecimal notation.

The distinct symbols available in hexadecimal notation are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Describe the five generations of computers

The first generation of computers was vacuum tubes. Vacuum tubes could only use machine language and were used for digital logic elements. The second generation was transistors. They were smaller and cheaper than vacuum tubes and could use assembly language as well as had more complex arithmetic and logic units and had the ability to load programs. The third generation of computers was integrated circuit, which was a single, self-contained transistor. Each was manufactured separately meaning the process was expensive but they provided gates and memory cells. The fourth generation was microprocessors, which contain thousand of integrated circuit on a single silicon chip. This allowed for network and Internet as well as GUIs and mouse use. The fifth generation of computer is artificial intelligence, which is when a computer can understand natural language as well as respond to its surroundings and replicate human reasoning.

Describe the general Linux booting process

The general Linux booting process begins with the basic input/output system system (BOIS), which performs some integrity checks and executes the master boot loader record (MBR). Once the MBR has control, it has the primary boot loader info, partition table info and MBR validation check. It also executes GRUB. GRUB displays the splash screen and then loads Kernel. Next, Kernal mounts a root file system and then executes an initialization program (Init). The Init program identifies a default Linux run level and loads that appropriate level programs. Lastly, these run level programs prepare the OS for the user as well as various other services.

What is the maximum decimal value that can be represented in 32-bit unsigned binary integer notation?

The maximum decimal value that can be represented in a 32-bit unsigned binary integer notation is 4,294,967,295.

What determines the number of bits that can be transferred at a time on the system bus?

The number of electrical conductors known as lines determines the number of bits that can be transferred at a time on the system bus. The number of lines depends on the type of computer and the chips the computer uses.

Determine the one's complement of 01100110

The one's complement of 01100110 is 10011001

What are the primary components of the Von Neumann Architecture?

The primary components of the Von Neumann Architecture are the main memory which is where the data and instructions are stored, the arithmetic and logical unit which operate binary data, the control unit which executes instructions in the memory, and lastly the input/ output equipment.

What type of processor does the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ have, and who manufactures it?

The process of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ is a Boradcam BCM2837B0, quad-core A53 (ARMv8) 64-bit SoC @1.4GHz. The manufacture of it is Broadcom.

What is the purpose of the ALU?

The purpose of ALU is to perform logical operations and simple integer operations.

What is the purpose of computer memory?

The purpose of computer memory is to hold the instructions and data that the CPU needs to access in order to complete tasks.

What is the purpose of two's complement signed integer notation?

The purpose of the two 's complement signed integer notation is to allow for arithmetic of signed binary numbers.

What is the range for an n-bit unsigned binary integer?

The range for a n-bit unsigned binary integer is 0 and 2n-1

Outline the typical integrated circuit fabrication process

The typical integrated circuit fabrication process begins with incoming inspection which is checking the original substrate for any flaws. Next is using a laser to make holes in the substrate, which is followed by sputtering meaning adding layers of thin metal films to the substrate. The next step is the physical vapor deposition process and that is followed by adding a layer of photoresist to the substrate. After that is the photolithography step where the photoresist is exposed to UV light. Next, the substrate is developed by submerging it for a specific time in TMAH. Afterwards, the substrate it etched and then diced and dismounts. Finally, the integrated circuit is inspected to check for any defects and then packaged.

How many bits are in 8 kilobytes?

There are 64000 bits in 8 kilobytes.

Describe the steps (and commands) you would need to take in order to create a new directory, navigate to it, and display any containing files on the command line interface.

To create a new directory, use the command mkdir followed by what you want to name the directory. This creates a file in the current directory you are in. To change directories, use the command cd followed by where you want to navigate. For instance, cd Desktop/ brings you to the Desktop folder where you can then use mkdir to create a new directory there. Lastly, to display any containing files using the command ls and it will displays all the files and folders in that directory.

What are the steps to install Raspbian on a microSD card?

To install Raspbian on a microSD card, first the card must be formatted with a FAT32 file system. Next, the Rasbain image must be unzipped using an application before it can be downloaded. Then, the Raspbain image can then be flashed onto the microSD card using an application such as Etcher.

Describe the process of updating Raspbian. State the commands and provide an explanation of the steps in the process

To update Raspbain, first use the command terminal and type sudo apt-get update, or to upgrade the whole distribution, type sudo apt-get dist-upgrade. This will update the Raspbain operating system to the latest available system.

Name any two operating systems that can be used on the Raspberry Pi (other than Raspbian)?

Two operating systems that can be used on the Raspberry Pi are RISC OS Pi and Moebius.

Name two ways of achieving network connectivity with the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B?

Two ways of achieving network connectivity are an Ethernet cable or with the USB receptacles.

How many bytes do typical memory locations store?

Typical memory locations store 8-bit bytes.

What does typing: cd .. on the command line do?

Typing cd.. on the command line goes back up a folder

On the command line, what action does using the tab key after typing a character (or characters) do?

Using the tab key after typing characters activates autocompletion so that the rest of the command line will fill in.

What is VIM and provide a URL to an online reference describing how to use it

VIM is an text editor. An online reference describing how to use it can be found at https://www.linux.com/learn/vim-101-beginners-guide-vim.

What is virtual memory?

Virtual memory is a technology that allows external devices such as hard drives to extend system memory allowing for large memory systems for devices

Does the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ have Bluetooth?

Yes, it has a 4.2 Bluetooth.

How could we replace the operating system in the Raspberry Pi?

You can replace the operating system in the Raspberry Pi by simply inserting a new SD card.