W1-2-60-1-6

JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

OF
AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY
UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS 2015/2016

YEAR I SEMESTER I EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF

SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
ICS 2101: COMPUTER ORGANIZATION
DATE: AUGUST 2016 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: ANSWER QUESTION ONE AND ANY OTHER TWO
QUESTIONS

QUESTION ONE
(a) Give the Boolean expression and the truth for the following logic gates with W as an
output;
(i) 2 input OR
(ii) 2 input NAND
(iii) 2 input AND [6 marks]
(b) Computer bus lines are grouped depending on the functions. State and explain the three
bus signal groups based on the functions. [9 marks]

(c) Explain with justification (within a computer system) the common areas of application for
each of the following types of memory;
(i) ROM
(ii) DRAM
(iii) SRAM
(iv) EEPROM [8 marks]

(d) Differentiate between the term computer organization and computer architecture.
[4 marks]

(e) Explain what you understand by binary circuit giving one example.
[3 marks]

QUESTION TWO
(a) Explain using a diagram why hierarchical memory organization is important. Discuss the
memory characteristics in the context of hierarchical organization.
[12 marks]
(b) Identify and explain the classes of interrupts.
[8 marks]
QUESTION THREE
(a) Identify and describe the major components of the programmable machine. Use a
diagram to illustrate. [12 marks]

(b) Explain the impact of the following in computer systems performance;

(i) Clock rate
(ii) Cache size
(iii) Instruction set complexity
(iv) Bus width. [8 marks]

QUESTION FOUR
(a) Distinguish between Read Only Memory (ROM) and Read-Write Memory (RAM) types,
explaining their application in typical computer system.
[6 marks]
(b) Explain the procedure of developing a binary logic circuit such as a multiplex or show, or
illustrate tis implementation using a logic diagram with the relevant gates; AND, OR and
NOT [14 marks]

QUESTION FIVE
(a) Explain what you understand by the term register and outline any FIVE registers found in
the central processing unit. [12 marks]

(b) De Morgan’s theorem states that the inverse of a product (AND) is equal to the sum of its
compliments.
´ = Á + B́
AB

´ = Á + B́
Use a truth table to prove that AB
[8 marks]