Cache Memory MCQs

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1. : What is the primary purpose of cache memory in a computer system?
(A) To speed up data access by storing frequently used data closer to the CPU
(B) To increase the size of the main memory
(C) To manage disk storage
(D) To handle network communication

2. : Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of cache memory?
(A) It is faster than main memory
(B) It is larger than main memory
(C) It stores a subset of the data from main memory
(D) It is located close to the CPU

3. : What are the typical levels of cache memory in a computer system?
(A) L1, L2, and L3
(B) L1 and L4
(C) L2 and L5
(D) L0 and L3

4. : Which cache level is closest to the CPU core?
(A) L1 Cache
(B) L2 Cache
(C) L3 Cache
(D) Main Memory

5. : What is the main function of L2 cache?
(A) To act as a secondary cache to support the L1 cache by storing additional data
(B) To replace the L1 cache
(C) To manage disk storage
(D) To handle network communications

6. : What does L3 cache typically serve in a multi-core processor system?
(A) It acts as a shared cache among multiple CPU cores
(B) It replaces the L1 and L2 caches
(C) It manages external memory
(D) It handles I/O operations

7. : How does cache memory improve system performance?
(A) By reducing the average time to access data from main memory
(B) By increasing the size of the main memory
(C) By managing disk storage more efficiently
(D) By handling network traffic

8. : What is a “cache hit”?
(A) When the data requested by the CPU is found in the cache memory
(B) When the data requested is not found in the cache
(C) When the cache memory is full
(D) When the data is written to the main memory

9. : What is a “cache miss”?
(A) When the data requested is not found in the cache, requiring a fetch from main memory
(B) When the data requested is found in the cache
(C) When the cache memory is full
(D) When the cache is being refreshed

10. : Which of the following strategies is used to manage cache misses?
(A) Cache replacement policies such as LRU (Least Recently Used)
(B) Expanding the size of the cache
(C) Increasing the size of the main memory
(D) Optimizing disk storage

11. : What does the “cache line” refer to?
(A) The smallest unit of data transferred between the cache and main memory
(B) The size of the entire cache
(C) The address of the cache
(D) The speed of the cache

12. : What is the purpose of “cache coherence” in a multi-core system?
(A) To ensure that all cores have a consistent view of data in the cache
(B) To manage disk storage
(C) To increase the size of the L1 cache
(D) To handle network communications

13. : Which cache replacement policy removes the least recently used data first?
(A) Least Recently Used (LRU)
(B) First In, First Out (FIFO)
(C) Random Replacement
(D) Most Recently Used (MRU)

14. : What is the function of a “write-through” cache policy?
(A) Data is written to both the cache and main memory simultaneously
(B) Data is only written to the cache and not to main memory
(C) Data is written to the disk first
(D) Data is read from the cache and not written

15. : What is the purpose of a “write-back” cache policy?
(A) Data is written to the cache and only written to main memory when the cache line is evicted
(B) Data is written to both the cache and main memory simultaneously
(C) Data is written to the disk first
(D) Data is read from the cache and not written

16. : How does the “cache associativity” affect cache performance?
(A) Higher associativity reduces the likelihood of cache misses by allowing more flexible data placement
(B) Lower associativity improves cache speed
(C) Associativity has no impact on performance
(D) Higher associativity increases the size of the cache

17. : What is the common size range of cache lines?
(A) 32 to 64 bytes
(B) 128 to 256 bytes
(C) 1 to 2 kilobytes
(D) 4 to 8 bytes

18. : Which type of cache is typically the fastest?
(A) L1 Cache
(B) L2 Cache
(C) L3 Cache
(D) Main Memory

19. : What is the primary benefit of increasing the cache size?
(A) It can reduce the frequency of cache misses by storing more data
(B) It decreases cache speed
(C) It increases the size of the main memory
(D) It simplifies cache coherence

20. : Which of the following cache types is usually the largest?
(A) L3 Cache
(B) L1 Cache
(C) L2 Cache
(D) Main Memory

21. : What is “cache thrashing”?
(A) A situation where frequent cache line replacements occur, leading to performance degradation
(B) A situation where the cache size is too large
(C) A situation where cache lines are never replaced
(D) A situation where cache memory is expanded

22. : How does the “cache hit ratio” affect system performance?
(A) A higher cache hit ratio improves performance by reducing the need to access main memory
(B) A lower cache hit ratio improves performance
(C) The cache hit ratio has no impact on performance
(D) The cache hit ratio is unrelated to performance

23. : What does the “cache miss penalty” refer to?
(A) The additional time required to fetch data from main memory when a cache miss occurs
(B) The time saved by a cache hit
(C) The cost of increasing the cache size
(D) The time required to perform a cache flush

24. : What is a “direct-mapped cache”?
(A) A cache where each block of main memory maps to exactly one cache line
(B) A cache where each block of main memory can map to multiple cache lines
(C) A cache that is fully associative
(D) A cache that handles I/O operations

25. : How does “set-associative mapping” differ from “direct-mapped cache”?
(A) Set-associative mapping allows each block to map to any cache line within a set, providing more flexibility
(B) Direct-mapped cache allows multiple blocks to map to a single cache line
(C) Set-associative mapping is slower than direct-mapped cache
(D) Direct-mapped cache is fully associative

26. : What is the main advantage of using a “fully associative cache”?
(A) It allows any block of main memory to be stored in any cache line, reducing conflicts
(B) It has fewer cache lines
(C) It is slower than set-associative cache
(D) It is easier to manage

27. : What is a “cache coherence protocol”?
(A) A set of rules to maintain consistency of cache data in a multi-core system
(B) A method for increasing cache size
(C) A technique for reducing cache misses
(D) A policy for managing disk storage

28. : Which of the following is a common cache coherence protocol?
(A) MESI (Modified, Exclusive, Shared, Invalid)
(B) FIFO (First In, First Out)
(C) LRU (Least Recently Used)
(D) MRU (Most Recently Used)

29. : What does “cache replacement policy” determine?
(A) Which cache lines to evict when new data needs to be loaded into the cache
(B) How to increase the cache size
(C) How to manage main memory
(D) How to handle network communication

30. : How does “cache pollution” occur?
(A) When irrelevant data is loaded into the cache, displacing useful data
(B) When the cache is too small
(C) When the cache is too large
(D) When cache lines are never replaced

31. : What is the main role of the “cache controller”?
(A) To manage cache operations, including data access and cache coherence
(B) To manage disk storage
(C) To handle network communication
(D) To manage main memory

32. : What is “cache burstiness”?
(A) A pattern where cache access requests come in bursts, affecting cache performance
(B) A method for increasing cache size
(C) A technique for reducing cache misses
(D) A protocol for managing cache coherence

33. : How does “cache aliasing” affect cache performance?
(A) It occurs when different memory addresses map to the same cache location, leading to conflicts
(B) It improves cache performance by increasing hit rates
(C) It is unrelated to cache performance
(D) It decreases the size of the cache

34. : What is the primary benefit of a “write-allocate” cache policy?
(A) It allows data to be loaded into the cache on a write miss, potentially reducing future misses
(B) It avoids loading data into the cache on a write miss
(C) It reduces the size of the cache
(D) It simplifies cache coherence

35. : What does the “cache memory bandwidth” refer to?
(A) The rate at which data can be read from or written to the cache
(B) The size of the cache
(C) The speed of the CPU
(D) The amount of main memory

36. : Which of the following can increase the efficiency of cache memory?
(A) Using a higher associativity in cache design
(B) Increasing the size of the main memory
(C) Decreasing the speed of the CPU
(D) Using a smaller cache size

37. : What is “cache alignment”?
(A) The process of ensuring that data is aligned in cache to optimize access speed
(B) The process of increasing the cache size
(C) The process of managing disk storage
(D) The process of handling network communication

38. : How does “cache write-back” differ from “write-through”?
(A) Write-back writes data to the main memory only when the cache line is evicted, while write-through writes data immediately to both cache and main memory
(B) Write-back writes data immediately to both cache and main memory, while write-through writes only to the cache
(C) Write-back is faster than write-through
(D) Write-back is used for managing disk storage

39. : What is “cache associativity”?
(A) The degree to which a cache can place data in different locations in the cache
(B) The size of the cache
(C) The speed of the cache
(D) The process of managing disk storage

40. : Which cache level typically has the largest capacity?
(A) L3 Cache
(B) L2 Cache
(C) L1 Cache
(D) Main Memory

41. : What does “cache warming” refer to?
(A) The process of preloading data into the cache to improve performance
(B) The process of cooling down the cache
(C) The process of expanding the cache size
(D) The process of handling network communication

42. : How does “cache prefetching” improve performance?
(A) By loading data into the cache before it is requested, reducing the likelihood of cache misses
(B) By increasing the cache size
(C) By reducing the cache hit ratio
(D) By managing disk storage

43. : What is the function of the “cache memory address bus”?
(A) To carry addresses between the CPU and cache memory
(B) To increase the size of the cache
(C) To manage disk storage
(D) To handle network communication

44. : Which of the following is true about “cache memory hierarchy”?
(A) It organizes caches in multiple levels (L1, L2, L3) to balance speed and size
(B) It uses a single level of cache to manage all memory access
(C) It only involves the L1 cache
(D) It simplifies disk storage management

45. : What does “cache block size” affect?
(A) The amount of data that can be transferred between cache and main memory in one operation
(B) The overall size of the cache
(C) The speed of the CPU
(D) The capacity of main memory

46. : What is the primary function of “cache memory replacement algorithms”?
(A) To decide which cache lines to evict when new data needs to be loaded into the cache
(B) To manage main memory
(C) To increase cache size
(D) To handle network communication

47. : Which cache policy updates data in the main memory only when it is evicted from the cache?
(A) Write-back
(B) Write-through
(C) Write-allocate
(D) No-write allocate

48. : What is the impact of “cache size” on performance?
(A) Larger cache size can reduce the frequency of cache misses by storing more data
(B) Larger cache size decreases performance
(C) Cache size has no effect on performance
(D) Larger cache size reduces the size of main memory

49. : Which type of cache is typically used to store frequently accessed data for faster retrieval?
(A) L1 Cache
(B) L2 Cache
(C) L3 Cache
(D) Disk Cache

50. : What is the “cache line replacement” strategy used for?
(A) To manage which data is removed from the cache when new data is added
(B) To increase cache size
(C) To manage disk storage
(D) To handle network communication

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