The document explains the concepts of instruction cycle, machine cycle, and t-states in the context of the 8085 microprocessor, detailing how instructions are fetched, decoded, and executed over different cycles. An instruction cycle is the time taken to complete an instruction, consisting of fetch and execute cycles, while machine cycles refer to the read/write operations involved, determined by the specific instruction being executed. T-states, representing the time for a single clock cycle, are critical in calculating execution time for operations within the microprocessor.