Operating systems Practice Questions

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of an operating system?

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Windows — An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs. Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux are all examples of operating systems. Microsoft Word is an application software (word processor), Google Chrome is an application software (web browser), and a Solid State Drive (SSD) is a hardware component (storage device).

Question 2

Which of the following best describes the role of an operating system in a computer system?

Accepted Answer

It manages hardware resources and provides services for application software. — The operating system (OS) is system software that manages hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage) and provides a platform for applications to run. It is not an application, hardware, or programming language.

Question 3

Which of the following best describes the function of an operating system?

Accepted Answer

It manages hardware resources and provides a user interface — An operating system manages all hardware resources (CPU, memory, storage) and provides a user interface for interaction. It does not solely manage files or internet connections, nor does it only run applications.

Question 4

A server is experiencing high CPU usage. The administrator suspects a process is consuming excessive CPU. Which command-line tool would be MOST appropriate to identify the offending process on a Windows Server?

Accepted Answer

tasklist — On Windows, 'tasklist' lists running processes and their CPU usage (though not in real-time; it shows current state). 'top' and 'ps' are Unix/Linux commands. 'perfmon' is a GUI tool for performance monitoring, not a command-line tool for listing processes.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the role of the operating system in managing memory?

Accepted Answer

It allocates memory to processes and ensures they do not interfere with each other — The OS manages memory by allocating space to processes, tracking usage, and protecting memory regions to prevent conflicts. It does not store data permanently (that's the file system) nor is it just a UI or network connector.

Question 6

Which of the following best describes the purpose of an operating system?

Accepted Answer

To manage hardware resources and provide a user interface — The operating system (OS) is the core software that manages hardware (CPU, memory, storage) and provides a platform for applications and user interaction. It does not directly create documents (that's application software), connect to the internet (that's network software), or protect against viruses (that's security software).

Operating systems

Subtopics in this area

Operating systems Revision Guide

Learning Objectives

Sample Exam Questions

Related Topics in OCR GCSE Computer Science

Additional programming techniques

Boolean logic

Programming fundamentals

Primary storage (memory)