In Execute section of FDE, what happens?

• A. The instruction is performed which could be loading data from memory, writing data to memory, doing a calculation or logic operation, changing Program Counter value or halting an operation.
• B. The PC is incremented and no operation is performed.
• C. The instruction is performed, including memory access, computation, or PC change.
• D. The decoder reinterprets the instruction.

Answer: (C)

In the Execute stage, the processor actually carries out the instruction. After decoding, the control signals drive the appropriate units (like the ALU or memory paths) to perform the required action. This can be a computation, a memory access (load or store), or updating the Program Counter for control-flow instructions. Decoding happens earlier, and a no-op PC increment isn’t what execution does. Halting isn’t inherently the job of this stage in the simplified view, whereas performing the instruction—including memory access, computation, or PC change—fits the execution role precisely.