Define Four operations of the CPU comprise a machine cycle. (4 marks)

Fetch Operation: This is the first step in the machine cycle. The CPU fetches the instruction from the main memory. The address of the instruction to be fetched is held by the Program Counter (PC). Once the instruction is fetched, the PC is incremented to point to the next instruction. This operation is worth 1 mark.

Decode Operation: After fetching the instruction, the CPU decodes it to determine what action needs to be taken. This involves understanding the operation code (opcode) and the operand. The opcode tells the CPU what operation to perform, and the operand tells it where to find or store the data needed to perform the operation. This operation is worth 1 mark.

Execute Operation: In this step, the CPU performs the operation as per the instruction. This could involve arithmetic or logical operations, or it could involve moving data from one location to another. The result of the operation is stored in a register within the CPU. This operation is worth 1 mark.

Store Operation: The final step in the machine cycle is to store the result of the operation. If the operation was a calculation, the result is stored in a register. If the operation was a data movement instruction, the data is stored in the specified location in memory. This operation is worth 1 mark.