16-bit Memory Address Register

The given question is related to the addressing capacity of a 16-bit memory address register. Let's understand the concept step-by-step.

1. Memory Address Register (MAR)
A Memory Address Register (MAR) is a hardware component in a computer system that stores the memory address from which data is to be fetched or to which data is to be stored. The size of the MAR determines the maximum number of memory locations that can be addressed.

2. Bit Representation
A bit is the basic unit of information in computing and can represent either a 0 or a 1. In this case, we have a 16-bit memory address register. This means that the register can store 16 binary digits (bits).

3. Addressing Capacity Calculation
To determine the addressing capacity of a 16-bit memory address register, we need to calculate the maximum number of memory locations that can be addressed.

Each binary bit can represent 2 possible values (0 or 1). Therefore, a 16-bit register can represent 2^16 (2 raised to the power of 16) different combinations of 0s and 1s.

2^16 = 65,536

4. Memory Size Calculation
Now, let's convert the addressing capacity into memory size units. The memory size is typically represented in bytes or kilobytes (KB).

1 kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes

To convert the addressing capacity into kilobytes (KB), we divide the total number of memory locations by 1024.

65,536 / 1024 = 64 KB

Therefore, a 16-bit memory address register can address a maximum memory size of 64 kilobytes (KB).

5. Answer
The correct answer is option 'C' - 64 KB.

This means that the memory address register can address memory locations up to 64 kilobytes in size.