Which parts of a computer’s central processing unit can be placed on a microprocessor chip?

A microprocessor is an integrated circuit that contains the essential circuitry required to perform the functions of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) on a single chip.123

The specific components of the CPU integrated onto a microprocessor include:

• Control Unit: This component regulates and integrates the computer's operations by selecting, retrieving, and interpreting instructions from memory to activate other functional elements.12
• Arithmetic-Logic Unit (ALU): This circuitry performs basic arithmetic functions—such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—as well as logic operations, including data comparison and the selection of problem-solving procedures.123

While early microcomputers sometimes integrated memory and interface circuits onto the same chip as the CPU, a modern microprocessor primarily functions as the CPU itself, with main memory and other peripheral interfaces typically handled by separate associated semiconductor chips.4