DTM(313305)

Unit - III 16-Bit Microprocessor 8086

QUESTION BANK

1. What is Microprocessor? List any 4 features of

8086 microprocessor.(4 M)
Ans. A Microprocessor is an important part of a
computer architecture without which you will not be
able to perform anything on your computer. It is a
programmable device that takes in input performs
some arithmetic and logical operations over it and
produces the desired output. In simple words, a
Microprocessor is a digital device on a chip that can
fetch instructions from memory, decode and execute
them, and give results.

Features: 1) The Features of 8086 Microprocessor can

generate 16-bit I/O address, hence it can access 216 =
65536 I/O ports.
2) The 8086 provides fourteen 16-bit registers.
3) The 8086 has multiplexed address and data bus
which reduces the number of pins needed, but
does slow down the transfer of data (drawback).
4) The 8086 requires one phase clock with a 33% duty
cycle to provide optimized internal timing.
2. Draw the flag register format of 8086
microprocessor and explain status flags. (6 M)

In 8086 there are 6 different flags which are set or reset after 8-bit or 16-bit
operations.

1. Sign flag: After any operation if the MSB is 1, then it indicates that the
number is negative. And this flag is set to 1
2. Zero flag: If the total register is zero, then only the Z flag is set
3. Auxillary carry falg: When some arithmetic operations generates carry
after the lower half and sends it to upper half, the AC will be 1
4. Parity Flag: This is even parity flag. When result has even number of 1,
it will be set to 1, otherwise 0 for odd number of 1s
5. Carry flag: This is carry bit. If some operations are generating carry
after the operation this flag is set to 1
6. Overflow flag: The overflow flag is set to 1 when the result of a signed
operation is too large to fit.
3. Draw the flag register format of 8086
microprocessor and explain control flags. (4 M)

In 8086 there are 3 different flags which are used to enable or disable
some basic operations of the microprocessor.

1. Direction flag: This is directional flag. This is used in string related

operations. D = 1, then the string will be accessed from higher memory
address to lower memory address, and if D = 0, it will do the reverse.
2. Interrupt flag: This is interrupt flag. If I = 1, then MPU will recognize the
interrupts from peripherals. For I = 0, the interrupts will be ignored
3. Trap flag: This trap flag is used for on-chip debugging. When T = 1, it
will work in a single step mode. After each instruction, one internal
interrupt is generated. It helps to execute some program instruction by
instruction.
4. Draw and explain the minimum mode
configuration of 8086 microprocessor.(4 M)

The Minimum Mode of the 8086 microprocessor is

designed for systems wherein the processor shares
the gadget bus with different devices and does not act
as the bus controller. This mode is commonly utilized
in single-processor systems or while the device calls
for fewer assets and a much less complex
configuration.
5. Draw and explain the maximum mode
configuration of 8086 microprocessor.(6 M)

The Maximum Mode of the 8086 microprocessor is

supposed for use in structures where the processor is
the significant element and has full control over the
device bus. In this mode, the microprocessor acts
because of the bus controller and interacts without
delay with other gadgets together with memory, I/O
ports, and co-processors. The Maximum Mode
configuration calls for extra help chips, including the
8288 bus controller, to manipulate bus arbitration and
generate control alerts.
6. Differentiate between minimum and maximum
mode operations of 8086 ( 4 M)
7. Explain pipelining in 8086 microprocessor. How is
queuing useful in speeding up the operation of
8086 microprocessor

Ans. Pipelining is a technique used in the 8086

microprocessor to improve its performance by
executing multiple instructions simultaneously. The
8086 microprocessor has a five-stage instruction
pipeline that allows it to overlap the execution of
multiple instructions, thereby increasing its
throughput.

The instruction queue speeds up the processing of

microprocessors by attempting to have the next
opcode bytes available to the execution unit before it
actually needs them. This works because, statistically,
there is time spent by the execution unit in executing a
particular instruction; time that the bus interface unit
can use to go ahead and prefetch the next opcode
bytes. Sometimes, this results in a loss of time,
because the execution unit may branch to some other
location. Modern processors attempt to sidestep that
by using branch prediction algorithms.
8. Describe memory segmentation in 8086 ( 4 M)
Ans. Memory Segmentation is the process in which the
main memory of the computer is logically divided into
different segments and each segment has its own base
address. It is basically used to enhance the speed of
execution of the computer system, so that the
processor is able to fetch and execute the data from
the memory easily and fast.

9. Draw read cycle timing diagram of minimum

mode configuration of 8086 microprocessor.(4 M)
10. State the function of following pins of 8086 :(any 6)
(6 M)
i)TEST ii) READY iii) BHE
iv)ALE v)DT/R vi)RD
vii)DEN viii)INTA ix)NMI
x) AD0-AD15 xi) BUSY xii) HOLD

Ans. 1. TEST: This signal is like wait state. When this

signal is high, then the processor has to wait for IDLE
state, else the execution continues.

2. READY: It is used to restart the execution. It causes

the processor to immediately terminate its present
activity. This signal is active high for the first 4 clock
cycles to RESET the microprocessor.

3. BHE: BHE stands for Bus High Enable. It is used to

indicate the transfer of data using data bus D8-D15.
This signal is low during the first clock cycle,
thereafter it is active.

4. ALE: It stands for address enable latch. A positive

pulse is generated each time the processor begins
any operation. This signal indicates the availability of
a valid address on the address/data lines.

5. DT/R: It stands for Data Transmit/Receive signal . It

decides the direction of data flow through the
transreceiver. When it is high, data is transmitted out
and vice-a-versa.

6. RD: It is used to read signal for Read operation.

7. DEN: It stands for Data Enable. It is used to enable

Transreceiver 8286. The transreceiver is a device used
to separate data from the address/data bus.

8. INTA: It is an interrupt acknowledgement signal.

When the microprocessor receives this signal, it
acknowledges the interrupt.

9. NMI: It stands for non-maskable interrupt. It is an

edge triggered input, which causes an interrupt
request to the microprocessor.

10. AD0-AD15: These are 16 address/data bus. AD0-

AD7 carries low order byte data and AD8AD15 carries
higher order byte data. During the first clock cycle, it
carries 16-bit address and after that it carries 16-bit
data.

11. BUSY:

12. HOLD: This signal indicates to the processor that

external devices are requesting to access the
address/data buses.