TExES Technology Education 6-12 Practice Test 2025 - Free Technology Education Practice Questions and Study Guide

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is responsible for executing instructions and making decisions about the next steps in a process based on the instructions it receives. It functions as the brain of the computer, processing data and controlling the flow of information throughout the system.

The CPU accesses instructions stored in memory and carries them out in the correct sequence. It uses its control unit to manage the execution of these instructions, determining what operation should be performed next based on the current state of the program. This involves interpreting the instructions and utilizing the Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU) for calculations and logical operations.

In contrast, the other options do not play the same role in processing instructions. Random Access Memory (RAM) temporarily holds data and instructions for quick access by the CPU but does not control which instructions are executed. The binary system is the foundational numerical system used by computers, consisting of ones and zeros, but it does not determine the processing steps. Input/Output devices serve as interfaces for user interaction and do not affect instruction processing within the CPU itself. Thus, the CPU is correctly identified as the component that determines the next step in a process by working with sets of instructions.