72.1k views
4 votes
The memory unit of a computer has 256k words of 32 bits each. The computer has an instruction format with four fields: an opcode field; a mode field to specify one of seven addressing modes; a register address field to specify one of 60 registers; and a memory address field. Assume an instruction is 32 bits long. Answer the following:

1 Answer

2 votes

Final answer:

The question involves the field of Computers and Technology at the College level, focusing on computer memory and instruction formats in computing. One million bytes are equivalent to a megabyte (MB). The memory described is organized into 256k words, each 32 bits long, which translates to 256 megabytes (MB).

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is about computer memory and the organization of a computer's instruction format. Specifically, the question deals with the size and structure of a computer's memory unit, which can hold 256k words of 32 bits each, and the composition of an instruction with different fields, including opcode, mode, register address, and memory address fields. Notably, the instruction length matches the word size of 32 bits.

Memory Units and Prefixes

In computer memory terminology, multiplicative prefixes indicate the size of memory. A kilobyte (KB) consists of approximately 1,024 bytes. However, the unit for one million bytes is a megabyte (MB). This is a commonly used measure when assessing the storage capacity of a memory device or the size of files and is part of the binary system used for computer data.

Translating the given memory size to more familiar terms, the memory unit described as 256k (kilo) words of 32 bits each can also be considered. There are 8 bits in a byte, so a 32-bit word is equivalent to 4 bytes, and hence 256k words are equivalent to 1024 kilobytes (KB) multiplied by 256, which in turn makes up 256 megabytes (MB).

User Shweta Singh
by
8.3k points