IPA IP 2022 Question 81

A question IPA Japan published in 令和4年度 ITパスポート試験公開問題問81, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.

Same question on ITPEC: Apr 2025 Q13

Which of the following is the appropriate description concerning the performance of a CPU?

a)Between a 32-bit CPU and a 64-bit CPU, the length of data that a 64-bit CPU can process at once can be greater.b)The smaller the amount of cache memory in a CPU, the higher the processing speed of the CPU.c)In CPUs with the same structure, when the clock frequency is decreased, the processing speed increases.d)Between a dual core CPU and a quad core CPU, a dual core CPU can execute a greater number of processes simultaneously.

Explanation

A 64-bit CPU can process longer data at once than a 32-bit CPU — the bit count is the width of data the CPU handles in one operation.

The "32-bit" or "64-bit" of a CPU is the size of its registers and of the data it processes in one instruction. A 64-bit CPU adds or moves 64-bit values in one step, where a 32-bit CPU would need two steps or cannot hold the value at all, and it can address far more memory.

Answer (a)

Why not others:

•(b) — the reverse: a larger cache holds more of the data in use, so the CPU waits less often for slow main memory and runs faster
•(c) — the reverse: with the same structure, each clock cycle does the same work, so a lower clock frequency means fewer cycles per second and slower processing
•(d) — the reverse: a quad-core CPU has four cores and can run four processes at the same moment, a dual-core only two

Key rule: CPU performance rises with data width (bits), clock frequency, cache size and number of cores, each other factor being equal.

Computer Component · AI-written, may contain errors

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This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.