Lesson 4.7.2.1

4.7.2.1 The stored program concept Quiz: AQA Computer Science, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.7.2.1, The stored program concept: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Computer Science (7517), Unit 7: Fundamentals of computer organisation and architecture, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What does the stored program concept mean?

    • Machine code instructions are held in main memory and fetched and executed in turn by the processor
    • Programs are kept only in the processor's registers, so that they run faster
    • Each program is held on a separate processor that is dedicated to running it
    • Programs are kept on punched cards that are fed into the processor by hand each time

  2. What does it mean for a processor to execute instructions serially?

    • It executes instructions in a random order chosen by the operating system each time
    • It executes all instructions at once across multiple cores with no ordering between them
    • It executes instructions only when an interrupt is received from one of the devices
    • It handles one instruction after another in sequence, unless a branch changes the order

  3. Which operations does a processor carry out on the instructions it fetches from memory?

    • Only data transfers between main memory and secondary storage devices
    • Conversion of analogue signals from sensors into digital form
    • Arithmetic and logical operations on data
    • Printing and display output to a monitor or a printer

  4. Why is the stored program concept important for general-purpose computing?

    • It means programs cannot change their own data while they are running in memory
    • A different program can be run by loading different instructions into memory, without changing the hardware
    • It removes the need for a clock in the processor, because instructions carry their own timing
    • It means a processor must be replaced whenever a new program is to be run on the machine

  5. In the stored program concept, which storage holds the machine code instructions while the program runs?

    • A read-only chip on the processor's die that cannot be written to
    • Main memory
    • The status register inside the processor
    • The instruction set of the processor, which is fixed in its design

  6. A program is loaded so that its first instruction is at address 200, and it has 10 instructions in consecutive locations with no branches. What is the address of the last instruction?

    • 210
    • 209
    • 200
    • 208

  7. A loop body of 5 instructions runs 100 times, with no branch overhead counted. How many instructions are executed in total?

    • 500
    • 100
    • 505
    • 105

  8. Which of these is NOT a feature of the stored program concept?

    • Instructions are fetched from memory and executed in turn
    • The hardware must be rewired to change which program the computer runs
    • Arithmetic and logic are performed by the processor on the data
    • Instructions and data are held in the same memory

  9. Explain why a stored program computer can run a word processor and a game without changing its circuitry.

    • Each application has its own processor built into the motherboard, which is switched on for the duration of that application only
    • The same processor executes whatever machine code is loaded into main memory, so only the stored instructions differ
    • Games and word processors each use separate memories that are wired directly to the ALU, so the hardware changes with each program
    • The operating system physically reconfigures the logic gates inside the processor each time a new program is started running

  10. In the stored program model, where does a program's data reside?

    • In a separate memory that the control unit is unable to reach at all
    • In the instruction register one item at a time, with no separate storage at all
    • Only in the processor's general-purpose registers, which hold all data
    • In the same main memory as the instructions

  11. An instruction at address 500 is a branch to address 20. What does the processor do next?

    • It stops, because a branch instruction cannot be executed from main memory
    • It fetches the instruction at address 500 again, repeating the branch indefinitely
    • It fetches the instruction at address 20, changing the sequence instead of continuing at 501
    • It fetches the instruction at address 501, ignoring the branch completely

  12. Which device holds the program while it is not running?

    • Secondary storage such as a hard disk or SSD
    • The status register that records flags
    • The clock circuit that generates the timing pulses
    • The arithmetic logic unit inside the processor

  13. Which statement about the stored program concept and modern computers is most accurate?

    • It means the operating system is not needed at all, because each program runs directly from memory without any support
    • It was abandoned after the 1960s and is now used only in certain embedded devices with very small amounts of memory
    • It applies only to computers that use a Harvard architecture, with separate memories for instructions and for data
    • It underlies most general-purpose computers, where instructions and data are held in memory and fetched by a processor

  14. What happens to a program held only in main memory when the machine is switched off?

    • The program is lost, because main memory is volatile
    • The program is moved automatically into the processor's registers for safe keeping
    • The program is retained, because main memory is non-volatile
    • The program is converted into bytecode and saved permanently in main memory

  15. A program in memory is changed while it is running. Which consequence follows from the stored program concept?

    • The change affects only the data, never the instructions, because they are stored separately
    • The processor stops with an error, because programs held in memory are read-only
    • The processor may execute the changed instructions, because it fetches whatever is currently stored in memory
    • The processor ignores the change until the next time the machine is switched on

  16. Which description of machine code is most accurate in the context of the stored program concept?

    • A form of data that is stored in memory but never executed by the processor
    • The binary form of instructions that the processor can directly execute
    • The English-like text that a programmer types into an editor before translation
    • An intermediate form that must be interpreted by a virtual machine before any execution

  17. A stored program has 250 instructions, of which 40 are branches. How many instructions are not branches?

    • 40
    • 210
    • 250
    • 290

  18. A stored program is loaded at address 4096 and occupies 300 locations. What is the address of the last location it uses?

    • 4396
    • 4095
    • 4395
    • 4294

  19. Which statement describes the link between the stored program and the fetch-execute cycle?

    • The cycle copies the program to secondary storage after every single instruction
    • The cycle executes data directly without requiring any instructions to be fetched
    • The cycle runs only once, when the computer boots, and then the processor stops
    • The cycle repeatedly fetches the next instruction from memory, decodes it and executes it

  20. Why does serial execution of stored instructions limit performance, and how do designers respond?

    • One instruction is handled at a time per core, so designers add cores or pipelining to overlap work
    • Serial execution means instructions run only as fast as the hard disk, so designers add disks
    • Serial execution limits the word length, so designers widen the address bus to speed up programs
    • Serial execution removes the need for memory, so designers add more storage to the processor

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