Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) MCQs

1. : What does ISA stand for in computer architecture?

(A) Instruction Set Architecture

(B) Integrated System Architecture

(C) Instruction System Array

(D) Internal Structure Architecture

2. : Which of the following is NOT a component of the ISA?

(A) Addressing modes

(B) Instruction formats

(C) Registers

(D) File system

3. : Which of the following types of ISAs is commonly used in RISC architectures?

(A) Stack-based

(B) Accumulator-based

(C) Register-based

(D) Memory-based

4. : In a stack-based ISA, where are operands typically stored?

(A) Registers

(B) Memory

(C) A stack

(D) Cache

5. : The MIPS architecture is an example of which type of ISA?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) SIMD

6. : Which architecture uses complex instructions and allows multiple operations in a single instruction?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) EPIC

(D) VLIW

7. : Which of the following is a characteristic of a RISC architecture?

(A) Few registers

(B) Complex addressing modes

(C) Single-cycle execution

(D) Multiple clock cycles per instruction

8. : What is the main advantage of a RISC architecture?

(A) Larger instruction set

(B) Simpler hardware design

(C) Complex instruction execution

(D) Longer instruction decode times

9. : Which of the following is NOT a typical feature of a CISC architecture?

(A) Complex instruction formats

(B) Multiple addressing modes

(C) Pipeline-friendly design

(D) Variable instruction lengths

10. : In an accumulator-based ISA, the primary operand is stored in:

(A) Memory

(B) Cache

(C) The accumulator register

(D) A stack

11. : Which of the following ISAs uses a large number of general-purpose registers?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) SIMD

12. : In VLIW (Very Long Instruction Word) architecture, how are instructions typically executed?

(A) Sequentially

(B) In parallel

(C) Using pipelining

(D) Using a single execution unit

13. : Which of the following architectures is designed to minimize the complexity of hardware?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

14. : What is the primary purpose of addressing modes in an ISA?

(A) To control data flow

(B) To specify operands

(C) To manage memory access

(D) To allocate cache

15. : Which type of instruction in an ISA moves data from one location to another?

(A) Arithmetic instruction

(B) Data transfer instruction

(C) Logical instruction

(D) Control instruction

16. : What type of addressing mode uses the actual memory address of the operand?

(A) Immediate addressing

(B) Register addressing

(C) Direct addressing

(D) Indirect addressing

17. : Which addressing mode uses a constant value as an operand?

(A) Immediate addressing

(B) Direct addressing

(C) Indexed addressing

(D) Register addressing

18. : In which addressing mode is the effective address of the operand stored in a register?

(A) Register addressing

(B) Indexed addressing

(C) Indirect addressing

(D) Immediate addressing

19. : What does the term “instruction format” refer to in an ISA?

(A) The set of instructions available in the architecture

(B) The number of addressing modes

(C) The structure and layout of an instruction

(D) The sequence of instruction execution

20. : In a RISC architecture, how many clock cycles are typically required for a load/store operation?

(A) 1

(B) 2

(C) 3

(D) 4

21. : Which of the following instructions is typically NOT found in a RISC ISA?

(A) Load/store

(B) Multiply/divide

(C) Complex memory-to-memory operations

(D) Simple arithmetic

22. : In a load/store architecture, which of the following is true?

(A) All operations are performed directly on memory

(B) Only load and store instructions access memory

(C) Data can be directly modified in memory without loading

(D) Memory-to-memory instructions are frequently used

23. : Which ISA uses variable-length instructions?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

24. : In x86 architecture, which addressing mode is used when an operand’s memory location is specified by a base register and an offset?

(A) Indexed addressing

(B) Immediate addressing

(C) Direct addressing

(D) Indirect addressing

25. : Which type of ISA architecture typically supports instructions that can combine arithmetic and memory operations?

(A) RISC

(B) CISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

26. : In RISC architecture, which of the following is a common feature of instruction execution?

(A) Variable-length instructions

(B) Microcode interpretation

(C) Single-cycle instruction execution

(D) Complex addressing modes

27. : What is the main function of the control unit in an ISA?

(A) Manage data transfer

(B) Execute instructions

(C) Decode and execute instructions

(D) Perform arithmetic operations

28. : In an ISA, which component interprets machine instructions?

(A) Control unit

(B) Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)

(C) Memory

(D) Registers

29. : Which ISA type is more likely to use pipelining for improving performance?

(A) RISC

(B) CISC

(C) Stack-based

(D) VLIW

30. : What type of instructions does a RISC architecture typically emphasize?

(A) Complex operations

(B) Fixed-length instructions

(C) Variable-length instructions

(D) Memory-to-memory operations

31. : The main advantage of a VLIW architecture is:

(A) Efficient branch handling

(B) Increased parallelism

(C) Variable instruction size

(D) Fewer general-purpose registers

32. : Which of the following is true for CISC architecture?

(A) Many instructions are executed in a single clock cycle

(B) Few addressing modes are available

(C) Instructions are complex and variable in length

(D) A small number of general-purpose registers are used

33. : Which of the following instructions controls the flow of a program in an ISA?

(A) Data transfer instruction

(B) Control instruction

(C) Arithmetic instruction

(D) Logical instruction

34. : Which type of ISA architecture typically uses simpler hardware design and instructions?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

35. : Which type of instruction in an ISA performs logical AND, OR, and NOT operations?

(A) Arithmetic instruction

(B) Logical instruction

(C) Control instruction

(D) Data transfer instruction

36. : What is the main difference between CISC and RISC architectures?

(A) CISC uses more complex instructions

(B) RISC uses variable-length instructions

(C) RISC uses microcode to control execution

(D) CISC executes instructions in a single clock cycle

37. : In which type of instruction set are load and store operations typically separated from arithmetic operations?

(A) CISC

(B) VLIW

(C) RISC

(D) EPIC

38. : The main advantage of using fewer instructions in a RISC architecture is:

(A) Higher complexity

(B) Faster execution

(C) Larger instruction size

(D) More addressing modes

39. : What is a common characteristic of EPIC architecture?

(A) Reduced instruction set

(B) Fixed instruction length

(C) Instruction-level parallelism

(D) Single-cycle execution

40. : Which of the following architectures is designed for highly parallel instruction execution?

(A) RISC

(B) VLIW

(C) CISC

(D) Stack-based

41. : The ARM architecture is an example of which type of ISA?

(A) CISC

(B) VLIW

(C) RISC

(D) EPIC

42. : In a CISC architecture, which of the following is typically true?

(A) Simple instructions dominate

(B) Multiple clock cycles are needed for instruction execution

(C) Large number of general-purpose registers

(D) Fixed instruction length

43. : Which of the following addressing modes uses the sum of a register value and an immediate value as the effective address?

(A) Indexed addressing

(B) Register addressing

(C) Direct addressing

(D) Base plus offset addressing

44. : The MIPS ISA primarily focuses on:

(A) Complex instructions

(B) Instruction pipelining

(C) Microcode-based execution

(D) Variable-length instructions

45. : Which type of instruction in an ISA typically performs conditional branching?

(A) Data transfer instruction

(B) Arithmetic instruction

(C) Control instruction

(D) Logical instruction

46. : The PowerPC architecture is based on which type of ISA?

(A) CISC

(B) RISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

47. : In a RISC ISA, which of the following typically happens?

(A) Complex instructions are executed

(B) Instructions have variable lengths

(C) Pipelining is often used for performance

(D) Multiple operations are packed in one instruction

48. : Which instruction set is commonly associated with Intel x86 processors?

(A) RISC

(B) CISC

(C) VLIW

(D) EPIC

49. : Which type of ISA requires explicit load and store instructions to move data between memory and registers?

(A) Stack-based

(B) RISC

(C) CISC

(D) VLIW

50. : Which addressing mode uses a register as a pointer to the location of the operand?

(A) Immediate addressing

(B) Register addressing

(C) Indirect addressing

(D) Direct addressing