Central Processing Unit (CPU): The CPU contains all the circuitry primarily responsible for ________ in a stored-program computer.

Introduction / Context:
The CPU is the computational heart of a computer. In the von Neumann model, it executes a cycle that repeatedly brings in instructions and performs the operations they specify. Knowing this role clarifies the CPU’s boundary relative to memory and peripherals.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• A stored-program architecture is assumed.
• Instructions and data reside in memory.
• The CPU implements the fetch–decode–execute cycle.

Concept / Approach:
The CPU orchestrates fetching instructions from memory, decoding their meaning (operation, operands, addressing modes), and executing them via arithmetic logic unit (ALU), registers, and control logic. While a CPU can temporarily hold data in registers and caches, bulk data storage is the role of memory and secondary storage, not the CPU.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Architecture textbooks emphasize instruction processing as the CPU’s defining job; timing and networking are handled by clocks and network stacks elsewhere.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
storing data: main memory and disks handle storage; CPU registers are transient.

keeping track of time: usually a real-time clock or system timer peripheral.

Internet operations: involve NICs, stacks, and OS, not the CPU alone.

Common Pitfalls:
Assuming caches make the CPU a storage device; caches are small, transient, and support instruction/data processing rather than long-term storage.

Final Answer:
fetching and interpreting instructions