Section 5.12
Review Questions
Memory cycles
  1. How many memory operations can take place during one memory cycle?
answer...
just 1
  1. What does the following notation mean?
answer...
it means that there are many wires that have valid data values on them during the time interval when the line is "fat." Since there are 2 or more wires, the actual values could be a mix of 0s and 1s.
  1. Why does the following line, showing a transition of the MA wire from logic 0 to logic 1, have a slant in it? What does this mean?
answer...
because it is physically impossible for the voltage to go from one level to another instantaneously
  1. Is the following memory operation a read or a write?
answer...
write (the WR wire is high)
  1. Show an example of a line being strobed.
answer...
  1. In the following diagram of the read operation, circle the time point (a, b, c, d or e) when the data is safely stored in the MBR.
answer...
  1. When computer architects design a memory, what governs their decision of how long to make a memory cycle?
answer...
the longest delays in the main part of the computer, such as the adder