What does the address bus send?

The address bus is a crucial component in a computer's architecture responsible for carrying the addresses of where data is stored in memory. Its primary function is to specify the location of the data that the processor needs to access, whether it is for reading or writing operations.

When the CPU wants to interact with memory, it places the specific address of the required data on the address bus. This signaling allows the memory components of the system to understand where to find the data requested by the CPU. This process is fundamental to how a computer retrieves and manipulates data.

In contrast, the other options describe different aspects of computer architecture. The data itself would typically be transmitted over the data bus, while control information is sent through the control bus to manage how data is transferred and coordinated among components. Instruction sets, which are the instructions for the CPU to perform specific tasks, are also not sent over the address bus; instead, they are fetched from memory as needed based on the instructions' addresses provided.