Observation

The expected answers were:
(a)       A register is a small holding area on the processor chip that works much like random access memory. The register holds program counters, data, instructions, and addresses that the arithmetic logic unit is currently processing.      
OR

A processor register (CPU register) is one of small set of data holding places that are part of the computer processor.
OR

A register may hold an instruction, a storage address, or any kind of data (such as a bit sequence or individual characters)
OR
Register is a special high speed storage area within the CPU. All data must be represented in the register before it can be processed

(c)       Functions of registers

• Holds the address of memory where CPU wants to read or write data.
• Holds the contents of data/instruction read from or written in memory.
• Used to specify the address of a particular I/O device.
• Used for exchanging data between the I/O module and the processor.
• Used to store the address of the next instruction to fetch for execution
• It stores current instruction being executed or coded
• It allows the bits of its content to be moved to left or right (shift register)
• It holds the memory addresses of data and instruction during execution phase
• It is used to store the result produced by the system
• It acts as a hardware element which holds a number that can be added/subtracted to/from address potion of computer instruction
• It is used to temporarily store data being transmitted to/ from peripheral devices 

(d)       Differences between Register and Main Memory

   The question tested candidates’ knowledge of registers and main memory.
It was reported that candidates failed to differentiate between registers and main memory. A good number of the candidates were confused between computer registers and attendance register.