== Hybrid 16/32‑Bit Design ==
The design implements a 32-bit instruction set, with 32-bit registers and a 16-bit internal data bus. The address bus is 24 bits and does not use memory segmentation, which made it easier to program for. Internally, it uses a 16-bit data arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and two more 16-bit ALUs used mostly for addresses, and has a 16-bit external data bus. For this reason, Motorola termed it a 16/32-bit processor.
At one time, one 32-bit address and one 16-bit data calculation can take place within the MC68000. This speeds instruction execution time considerably by processing addresses and data in parallel.