JAWAHARLAL NEHRU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD B.Tech II DIGITAL LOGIC DESIGN AND COMPUTER ORGANIZATION Previous Question Paper (April/May - 2023 - R13)

The functional units of a computer are the Input Unit, which accepts data and instructions; the Memory Unit, which stores information; the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) and Control Unit, which together form the Central Processing Unit (CPU) to perform operations and coordinate activities; and the Output Unit, which provides the processed results to the user.

Fixed point and floating point representations differ primarily in the placement of the radix point and the range of values they can represent:

• Fixed point representation: The radix point is assumed to be at a fixed position within the number (e.g., always after the sign bit or at the end). It is simple to implement in hardware and provides faster arithmetic operations, but it has a limited dynamic range, making it unsuitable for very large or very small numbers.
• Floating point representation: The radix point is variable and is represented by a mantissa (fraction) and an exponent. This allows for a much wider dynamic range and higher precision, as the number is effectively normalized. However, it requires more complex hardware for alignment and normalization during arithmetic operations, resulting in slower execution compared to fixed point.