What is an ALU?

The ALU, or Arithmetic Logic Unit, is a section of the CPU (Central Processing Unit) dedicated to working with Arithmetic and Logic...

It can process a variety of mini-tasks (operations) and is used in conjunction with other parts of the CPU, such as the Control Unit, within cycles of the CPU (clock-cycles). During the execute part of the Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle, it takes in data / operations (usually stored in registers) and spits a result out (back into a register). In essense, it is the brain of the CPU.

TA

Related Computing A Level answers

All answers ▸

Describe the process of a binary search.


Why would you use Assembly Language instead of a normal programming language?


Calculate -3 + 3 using Two's Complement and the Sign and Magnitude Method. Which works correctly?


What is the decimal equivalent of the following sequence of bits, which represents an unsigned binary integer: 1101001. What is the decimal equivalent if the sequence in bits encodes a two’s complement binary integer.