Question

Explain the characteristics of a microprocessor.

Answer 1

1. Clock speed – Each microprocessor has an internal clock that regulates the speed at which it executes instructions. The speed at which the microprocessor executes instructions is called clock speed. It is measured in MHz or in GHz.
2. Instructions set – The set of machine-level instructions that a microprocessor is designed to execute is called an instruction set. This carries 4 types of operations. They are

1. 1. Data transfer
   2. Arithmetic operations
   3. Logical Operations
   4. Control flow
   5. Input/output

1. Word size – The number of bits that can be processed by a processor in a single instruction is called its word size. It determines the amount of RAM that can be accessed at one time and the total number of pins on the microprocessor. A total number of input and output pins in turn determines the architecture of the microprocessor.