(SEM III) THEORY EXAMINATION 2024-25 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE

1. Overview of the Examination Framework

The BCS302 – Computer Organization and Architecture examination is a three-hour theory paper carrying seventy marks and designed for B.Tech Semester III students. The question paper is divided into three structured sections, each intended to assess different layers of the learner’s understanding—ranging from the fundamentals of digital systems to advanced concepts in processor organization, memory hierarchy, microprogramming, arithmetic circuits, buses, and peripheral interactions. The paper not only evaluates conceptual knowledge but also measures the ability to apply theoretical ideas to practical digital system scenarios.

2. Section A – Core Concepts and Foundational Understanding

Section A consists of seven short-answer questions, each carrying two marks. This section examines the student’s grasp of basic building blocks in computer organization. The questions address essential functional units of a digital system, the purpose of general-purpose registers, and the representation of floating-point numbers. Students are also asked to explain the role of the ALU, discuss micro-operations used in computer architecture, and describe the purpose of ROM within digital systems. The section concludes with a question on identifying common peripheral devices. By covering these fundamental elements, Section A ensures that students demonstrate clarity on basic terminology, hardware components, and architectural primitives that serve as foundations for advanced study.

3. Section B – Intermediate Reasoning and Architectural Application

Section B contains five descriptive questions from which students must attempt any three. Each question carries seven marks and requires detailed explanation, reasoning, and architectural interpretation. The topics include the process of data transfer between registers, buses, and memory units with emphasis on read and write operations, followed by a discussion on Booth’s algorithm and how it optimizes signed binary multiplication. Students may also explore the concepts of horizontal and vertical microprogramming in control unit design, elaborate on the characteristics of auxiliary storage devices such as magnetic disks, magnetic tapes, and optical disks, or explain the functions of I/O ports and their role in enabling smooth data exchange between the CPU and peripheral devices. This section measures intermediate-level analytical thinking, architectural interpretation, and understanding of how components interact within a digital system.

4. Section C – Advanced Concepts, System Design, and Technical Interpretation

Section C comprises five sets of questions, with each set offering two alternatives. Students must choose one question from every set, each worth seven marks. This section focuses on advanced architectural concepts, system-level design understanding, and practical functioning of hardware subsystems. Students may be required to provide an in-depth overview of processor organization—including instruction fetch, decode, execution cycles, as well as pipelining and parallel processing—or draw comparisons among address, data, and control buses. Other questions explore look-ahead carry adders versus ripple-carry adders, the process of signed operand multiplication, microprogram sequencing for complex instructions, and the architecture and operations of semiconductor RAM, such as DRAM and SRAM. Additional topics include explaining memory hierarchy design, interpreting the role of peripheral devices and their communication with the CPU through I/O ports and interfaces, and discussing the techniques behind Direct Memory Access (DMA). Section C is intended to evaluate the student’s deeper comprehension of computer architecture, ability to compare design methodologies, and competence in understanding how large-scale systems operate at the hardware level.

5. Overall Purpose and Learning Assessment

The entire structure of the BCS302 examination has been deliberately crafted to measure not only theoretical understanding but also architectural reasoning and system-level interpretation. Section A ensures a clear grasp of foundational components, Section B assesses the ability to analyze architectural processes and hardware interactions, and Section C evaluates a student’s command of advanced digital design, processor internals, memory hierarchy, bus systems, microprogramming, and peripheral communication. Together, these sections provide a comprehensive assessment of the student's ability to understand, explain, and evaluate the internal functioning and design of modern computer systems.