Final exam rules and question distribution

Final Exam Rules and Question Distribution

Exam Time

Exam Rules
By using the following exam rules, it could greatly simplify and flex the exam taking (e.g., more time could be given if needed), and make you feel more comfortable while taking the exam. Therefore, please be honest because we want to avoid using a much stricter method like ProctorU.

The whole exam will be monitored from Zoom. Finish setting up and signing in to the Zoom (at https://und.zoom.us/j/2489867333) 30 minutes before the exam.

Have to use your real name, not nickname, for Zoom, so the instructor can identify the students correctly.

Turn on the webcam and speaker, mute the microphone, and keep them active during the exam. Take one of the following approaches:

If you have a printer and a wired/wireless webcam (or two computers), point the webcam to show you, (exam) paper, desk, computer (if for Zoom), and scanner or phone (if for photoing the answers), like the figure above.

If you have a wired/wireless webcam, point the webcam to show you, (exam) paper, desk, computer (for exam questions), and scanner or phone (if for photoing the answers).

If you have a phone installed with Zoom, point the phone to show you, (exam) paper, desk, computer (for exam questions), and scanner or phone (if for photoing the answers).

If you have a computer webcam, point the webcam to show you, (exam) paper, desk, and scanner or phone (if for reading the exam questions or photoing the answers).

If you do not have anything, 🤐

The .pdf exam will be emailed to your UND email account a few minutes before the exam time.

Start the exam as soon as you receive it. You can either
1. Print the exam and write the answers on the exam, or
2. Read the exam questions from the computer or phone and write the answers on papers.

It is an exam of closed books and notes. During the exam, you are NOT allowed to use the computers, keyboards, mice, and cell phones, other than reading the exam questions or communicating with the instructor. All communications are through Zoom chat. In addition, you can only leave your seat after asking.

At the end of the exam, you can either
1. Scan the exam or papers, or
2. Take pictures of the exam or papers.
Make sure the result files are correct and clear!

Submit the files via either one of the following two methods immediately:
- Upload them to the Blackboard or
- Email them back to the instructor at wenchen@cs.und.edu .
Do not leave until you receive a confirmation from the instructor.

The exam will be highly suspected if fail to follow the above rules.

Question Style

Closed books and closed notes

Calculators are allowed and you are allowed to give solutions without the results calculated.

MANY questions are modified from the examples and questions in class slides, homeworks, and textbook.

Since only few simple formulas are included in this exam, formulas may NOT be given in the exam. Even if they are given, they will not be explained. For example, you have to figure out what the variables m and n are in the formula below by yourself:
```
     Total number of bits in a direct-mapped cache
   = 2ⁿ×(2^m×32+31-n-m)
```
Though this exam will not cover Exams I & II materials, you may need all the knowledge such as assembly instructions learned from this course to answer the questions.

Questions will be based on slides, instead of textbook. For example, a simple datapath with the control units of the Slide 12.13 will be given if the questions ask for control signal values.

If homework questions are given in the exam, the answers must follow the solutions provided by the instructor.

You are encouraged to give procedures of solution finding.

Question types may include: (i) true-or-false, (ii) multiple choices, (iii) matching, (iv) blank filling, (v) question-and-answer, and (vi) calculation.

Major Question Distribution

The following materials are covered:
- Class Slides 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, & 17 (and everything in the slides may be covered),
- Homework 4 (solutions) & Homework 5 (solutions will be posted on or before Sunday, 05/04/2024),
- Sections 4.4, 4.6–4.9, and 5.1–5.8 of textbook, and
- NO reference links (under the label ☂ References), NO video clips, jokes, idioms, and quotes (they are for refreshing your memory while studying).

The Processor (Week 12 (Sections 4.4) and Homework 4): 20% – 30%
- A processor implementation scheme
- Datapath design such as control flows
- Control design such as control signal values

Pipelined Datapath (Weeks 13 & 14 (Sections 4.6–4.9) and Homework 5): 25% – 40%
- Pipeline concepts
- Pipelined datapath and control
- Data hazards including forwarding, hazard detection, and stall unit
- Control hazards including branch prediction and delayed branches

Caches & Memory (Weeks 15, 16, and 17 (Sections 5.1–5.8)): 35% – 50%
- Memory concepts
- Architecture of three kinds of caches:
  - Direct mapped caches,
  - Set-associative caches, and
  - Fully associative caches.
- Cache performance
- Virtual memory

Recommendations
To prepare the exam:

Study the slides of Weeks 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 very carefully and one by one.
Practice the Homeworks 4 & 5 and check the Solutions 4 & 5 afterwards.