Branch Instruction Effects

What this computer architecture question tests

This is an easy foundational question about how branch instructions interact with CPU state. It checks whether you understand the role of a specific register in controlling program flow and how the processor executes conditional and unconditional jumps.

To answer correctly, you need to know which register the CPU consults to fetch the next instruction, and how branch instructions modify it. This is a building block for understanding instruction pipelining, branch prediction, and why branches can become performance bottlenecks in modern systems.

• Program counter semantics and instruction sequencing
• How unconditional and conditional branches differ in their effects
• The relationship between branch execution and pipeline stalls