FC0-U71 Tech Concepts and Terminology Practice Question
A technician is reviewing how a computer processes a single machine instruction. The instruction cycle begins when the CPU fetches an instruction from memory whose address is held in a specific register. The technician must identify the register that stores the memory address of the next instruction to be executed. Which of the following is that register?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is conflating the register that holds the address of the next instruction with the register that holds the instruction currently being executed or the address being accessed right now.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
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Program counter
The program counter stores the address of the next instruction to be fetched, making it the register that drives sequential execution. Each cycle, its value is used to access memory, then advanced or redirected by branches. Other registers such as the accumulator, memory address register, and instruction register serve different roles in processing data or the current instruction.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Program counter
Why this is correct
This is correct because the program counter holds the memory address of the next instruction to fetch. After each fetch, it increments or is updated by a jump so the CPU knows where to continue. It is central to the fetch-decode-execute cycle, directly matching the scenario's requirement to identify the register that tracks the next instruction's location.
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Memory address register
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because the memory address register holds the address currently being read from or written to memory during a specific access, not necessarily the next instruction. Its contents change with each memory operation. While related to addressing, it does not persistently track sequential instruction flow the way the scenario requires.
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Instruction register
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because the instruction register holds the actual opcode and operands of the instruction currently being decoded and executed, not the address of the next one. It is loaded after a fetch completes. The scenario asks for the register that stores the next instruction's address, which is a different role than holding the current instruction itself.
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Accumulator
Why it's wrong here
This is incorrect because the accumulator is a general-purpose register that stores intermediate arithmetic and logic results, not instruction addresses. It participates in calculations during the execute stage but does not track program flow. Confusing it with the program counter misidentifies the register responsible for pointing to the next instruction in memory.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official CompTIA exam blueprint
This FC0-U71 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the FC0-U71 exam.