Intel 8085 microprocessor is of ____ generation.

Microprocessor generations are classified primarily by data-bus width (word length) and the semiconductor fabrication technology used, not by calendar year alone: 4-bit chips built with PMOS technology form the first generation, 8-bit chips built with NMOS technology form the second generation, 16-bit chips built with HMOS technology form the third generation, 32-bit chips form the fourth generation, and 64-bit chips form the fifth generation.

Applying this to the Intel 8085:

1. Intel released the 8085 in 1976 as an 8-bit microprocessor.

2. It is fabricated using NMOS technology, the same technology family used by other 8-bit chips of that era such as the Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800.

3. An 8-bit word length combined with NMOS fabrication places the 8085 in the second generation of microprocessors.

Checking against the other generations offered rules out every alternative:

• first — reserved for 4-bit, PMOS-based chips like the Intel 4004; the 8085 has a wider data path, so this does not fit.

• third — reserved for 16-bit, HMOS-based chips like the Intel 8086/80286, which arrived later; the 8085 has a narrower data path and predates them, so this does not fit.

• more than one of the above — the 8085's word length and fabrication technology match exactly one of the listed generations, not several.

• none of the above — one of the listed generations does correctly describe the 8085, so this option cannot hold.

Hence, by word length (8-bit) and fabrication technology (NMOS), the Intel 8085 belongs to the second generation of microprocessors.