Number of machine cycles required for RET instruction in 8085 microprocessor is

The RET (Return) instruction in the 8085 microprocessor is used to return control from a subroutine to the main program. It requires exactly 3 machine cycles to complete its operation. The first cycle is the Opcode Fetch, where the processor reads the RET instruction itself from memory. Following this, two additional machine cycles are needed for Memory Read operations to pop the 16-bit return address from the stack. The processor retrieves the lower-order byte first, then the higher-order byte, restoring the Program Counter to its original value before the call. Therefore, 1 fetch cycle plus 2 read cycles equals a total of 3 machine cycles. Options suggesting 1 or 2 cycles are incorrect because they underestimate the time needed to retrieve the full return address from memory. Option D (5 cycles) is also incorrect as it overestimates the complexity of this specific instruction.