What are program counters?

• A. Stores the data to be executed next
• B. Points to the top of the stack
• C. Holds the address of the next instruction for each cycle
• D. Holds the address of the current instruction

Answer: (C)

Program counters are registers that hold the address of the next instruction the CPU will fetch and execute. In each cycle, the processor uses this address to pull the next instruction from memory. After fetching, the PC usually increments to point to the following instruction, keeping execution moving forward. If a branch or jump occurs, control logic can write a new address into the PC to change the execution path, which is why the PC is central to instruction sequencing.

This is different from where data is stored or from the stack pointer. The data to be operated on lives in other registers or memory, and the stack pointer tracks where the stack is located. The idea of the PC holding the current instruction’s address is a subtle mismatch: by the time you’re executing, the PC is typically pointing to the next instruction to fetch, not the one currently being executed.