Name:

,
(first name)

(last name)
Student Number:
Registered Section (if not this section):
Instructor: Peter Cribb

York University
Faculty of Pure and Applied Science
Department of Computer Science

COSC1520.03 Introduction to Computer Use I

Section B Test 2
Friday November 21st, 1997

Instructions:
1. This is an in class examination, therefore examination rules are in effect
2. Fill in the box at the top of this page, and print your name at the top of all other pages.
3. Answer ALL questions, in the space provided.
4. Time allowed is 45 minutes.
5. Use of calculators is NOT allowed.
6. There are 7 pages with 5 parts (A to E). Please count the pages and questions.
Question

Value

A.

B.

12

C.

D.

12

E.

11

Mark

Total:

Part A
Circle the letter of the most correct answer.
1. Which of the following would contain data that is being manipulated by the CPU?
a. a cell in RAM
b. a hard disk sector or track
c. a cell in cache memory
d. a general purpose register
e. the program counter register
2.

Pipelining increases processor speed by

a. very little
b. a factor of 2 to 3
c. exactly a factor of 3
d. more than a factor of 3
e. a factor of 3 if it is a RISC architecture or 6 if it is CISC

3.

Use of a microprogram in a CISC architecture

a. increases the complexity of circuits on the chip
b. decreases the complexity of circuits on the chip
c. creates an elaborate instruction set using a simpler set
d. allows a computer program to be simpler by having parts of it pre-written
e. b. and c.

4.

Which of the following contains the address of the next instruction to be executed?
a. a cell in RAM
b. a hard disk sector or track
c. a cell in cache memory
d. a general purpose register
e. the program counter register

5.

A process switch is carried out by which part of the operating system?

a. shell or user interface
b. file manager
c. memory manager
d. scheduler
e. dispatcher

6.

Spooling output to disk rather than sending it directly to a printer eliminates which
of the conditions for deadlock?
a. competition for resources
b. resources requested on a partial basis
c. once allocated a resource cannot be forcefully retrieved

7.

Timesharing increases throughput only

a. if the CPU can execute instructions from more than one program in
parallel (i.e. at the same time)
b. if the programs running are using the same data
c. if each program can be completed in sequence one after the other
d. if the CPU is idle at times while waiting for peripheral devices to
complete tasks
e. it doesn't increase throughput, it increases CPU speed

8.

Which of the following characteristics is permitted in a program that can execute in

interactive processing mode, but is not permitted in batch mode:
a. may obtain input data from mass storage
b. may consist only of arithmetic/logic and control types of machine
instructions.
c. all data must be in main memory.
d. may obtain data directly from the user
e. b. and c.

9.

The interrupt signal is generated by which part of the operating system?

a. shell or user interface
b. file manager
c. memory manager
d. scheduler
e. dispatcher

Question B
Given the following assembly language program, answer the 3 questions below:
READ
STORE 01
yy READ
BRANCHZ zz
STORE 02
SUB 01
BRANCHP xx
BRANCH yy
xx LOAD 02
STORE 01
BRANCH yy
zz LOAD 01
PRINT
STOP
1. [3] What would be the values of the operands xx, yy, and zz if the program was
loaded in consecutive memory cells starting at cell 40
xx:

yy:

zz:

2.[2] Explain why if this program was stored in memory starting at cell 40 it could not
use the instruction STORE 51

3.[2] If the program was stored in memory starting at cell 40 and the program counter
contains 47, write down the instruction that is fetched next.
Answer:
4. [3] The three steps of the machine cycle are:
a.

b.

c.

5. [2] A load instruction and a branch (or jump) instruction both require the address of a
memory cell as an operand. Explain how the contents of the memory is different
in the two cases.

Question C
1. [2] Which layer of the operating system do you interact with when you double click
on an application icon to launch it ?

2. [2] A technique that allows the user access to the machine during program execution
is called (?)

3. [2] Describe the relationship between a field, a file and a record.

Question D
1. [4] Given the following figure write down the formulas that would calculate the
Cumulative Sunshine column. If a formula is replicated indicate how it changes.

2. The worksheet on the right shows the rating of a month according to the precipitation
in that month. It is very dry if there is less than 60% of the normal precipitation, dry if
there is between 60-90%, normal if between 90-110%, wet if between 110-140% and
very wet if 140% or greater.

A.[4] In the worksheet on the left write in data values that could be used as a lookup
table in calculating the data in the right hand worksheet.
B.[4] Write down the formula that would calculate the Rating column in the right hand
worksheet. Note the names of the worksheets shown in the figures and use named
data ranges based on the column titles in your formulas.
Answer:

Question E
1.[3] In the worksheet shown here write the formula that will calculate the value in cell
D5. (Use cell references rather than names in your formula.)
Answer:

2. [3] In the worksheet shown in the figure below write the formula that will calculate
the column called Fate? An animal is sent to pasture if it is less than 1 year and
its weight is less than 300, otherwise it is sent for processing. Use named data
ranges based on the column titles in your formulas.
Answer:

3. [3] Given the formula shown below predict the values that will be obtained when the
formula is replicated across the row. Explain your answer.

4.[2] Here is a small section of quite a large worksheet that records the votes from
polling stations in ridings across Toronto for two candidates for public office.
There are two methods in Excel by which you might compute the total votes for
each of the two candidates - name them:
Method 1:

Method 2: