UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS: 2020/2021
EXAMINATION FOR THE DEGREES OF BACHELOR OF INFORMATION
SECURITY AND FORENSICS/ BACHELOR OF SCIENCE SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
BISF 1101/ BSD 1102: COMPUTER ORGANIZATION & ARCHITECTURE
FULLTIME/ PARTTIME
DATE: DECEMBER, 2021 TIME: 2 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS: QUESTION ONE IS COMPULSORY, CHOOSE TWO OTHER
QUESTIONS
QUESTION ONE (20 Marks) Compulsory
a) Differentiate Synchronous from Asynchronous data transmission (2 Marks)
b) Define the following terms as used in computer architecture and organization
i. Data (2 Marks)
ii. Data Representation (2 Marks)
iii. Digitization (2 Marks)
c) Justify the reason why your PC becomes slow and propose three ways on how will you
solve the problem (6 Marks)
d) Calculate the following
i. (-36)10 = (?)2 (2 Marks)
ii. (2AD) 16 = (?)2 (2 Marks)
iii. (11101000) 2 – (00101000) 2 = (?)2 (2 Marks)
QUESTION TW0 (15 Marks)
a) Discuss any five functions of the operating system (5 Marks)
b) Solve:
i. (110) 2 – (1010) 2 = (?)2 (3 Marks)
ii. (110) 2 * (1010) 2 = (?)2 (2 Marks)
c) Explain any five differences between a RAM and ROM (5 Marks)
QUESTION THREE (15 Marks)
a) Explain the purpose of the three types of system buses (6 Marks)
b) Outline any two differences between computer architecture and computer organization
(4 Marks)
c) Discuss the evolution of computer circuitry in the five computer generations (5 Marks)
QUESTION FOUR (15 Marks)
a) Convert the following numbers
ii. (2057)8 = (?)16 (4 Marks)
b) Define data compression, and elaborate in detail the difference between Lossy and
Lossless data compression schemes (4 Marks)
c) What is a cache memory; discuss the purpose of the L1 and L2 cache memory (5 Marks)
