Final answer:
A 32-bit CPU can address up to 4 GB of memory, while a 64-bit CPU can address practically unlimited memory. A 32-bit CPU can address up to 4GB of memory, while a 64-bit CPU can address a significantly larger amount, often considered to be practically unlimited for current needs. The correct answer is A.
Step-by-step explanation:
A 32-bit CPU can address a maximum of 2^32 (or 4,294,967,296) different memory locations. Since each memory location is a byte, the largest memory that can be addressed by a 32-bit CPU is 4,294,967,296 bytes. Converting this to kilobytes, we get approximately 4 gigabytes (GB).
On the other hand, a 64-bit CPU can address a maximum of 2^64 (or 18,446,744,073,709,551,616) different memory locations. Again, since each memory location is a byte, the largest memory that can be addressed by a 64-bit CPU is 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 bytes. Converting this to gigabytes, we can consider it practically unlimited.
A 32-bit CPU can address up to 4GB of memory, while a 64-bit CPU can address a significantly larger amount, often considered to be practically unlimited for current needs.
The student's question pertains to understanding how much memory can be addressed by both 32-bit and 64-bit CPU architectures. In a 32-bit system, each memory address is 32 bits long, which means the largest memory it can address is 4 gigabytes (GB). This is because 2^32 (the number of unique addresses in a 32-bit system) is 4,294,967,296, which is exactly 4GB. On the other hand, in a 64-bit system, the addressable memory is 2^64, which is such an astronomically high number that it is often considered to be practically unlimited for current computing requirements. However, it's important to note that the actual addressable memory can be limited by the operating system and the CPU's design.