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ICT Unit Test: Operating Systems

This document contains an exam for an Information and Communication Technology unit test on operating systems. It includes multiple choice questions testing knowledge of operating systems concepts like interfaces, resources, and memory management. It also includes structured essay questions requiring descriptions of operating system types, components, and processes.

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Keshan Bulathsinghe
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80 views6 pages

ICT Unit Test: Operating Systems

This document contains an exam for an Information and Communication Technology unit test on operating systems. It includes multiple choice questions testing knowledge of operating systems concepts like interfaces, resources, and memory management. It also includes structured essay questions requiring descriptions of operating system types, components, and processes.

Uploaded by

Keshan Bulathsinghe
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

NALANDA COLLEGE – COLOMBO

G.C.E. (Advanced Level)


Information & Communication Technology
Unit Test
Unit 05 – Operating Systems

Answer all questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following operating systems provides a command line interface?


(1) Linux (2) Unix (3) Ubuntu (4) Fedora (5) Mac OS

2. Which one of the following is incorrect regarding computer operating system?


(1) It manages resources within the computer.
(2) A computer can’t operate without an operating system.
(3) Windows, Linux, Mac OS, Novell Netware are examples of operating systems.
(4) An operating system is needed only to boot the computer.
(5) It provides an interface to computer users.

3. Consider the following characteristics about evolution of operating systems:


A - Executing one program at a time
B - Loading programs to a tape prior to execution.
C - CPU was idle during input/output operation.
Which of the above is/are correct regarding Simple Batch systems?
(1) A only (2) C only (3) A and B only
(4) B and C only (5) All A, B and C

4. When there is enough space to fit a process in memory, but the space is not contiguous is
called ……………….. .
(1) Internal Fragmentation (2) Virtual Fragmentation (3) Paging
(4) Partitioning (5) External Fragmentation

5. Switching the CPU to another process requires to save state of old process and loading new
process state is known as ……………. .
(1) process blocking (2) context switch (3) time sharing
(4) preempting (5) re-entrant

6. A scheduler which selects processes from secondary storage device is called ………… .
(1) Short term scheduler (2) Long term scheduler
(3) Medium term scheduler (4) Process scheduler
(5) Very long term scheduler

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 1


7. The time interval from the time of submission of a process to the time of the completion of
the process is called ………………… .
(1) waiting time (2) throughput (3) response time
(4) completion time (5) turnaround time

8. A system with byte addressable memory has 8 GB of maximum usable memory. How
many bits are used to access a byte in this memory?
(1) 30 bits (2) 33 bits (3) 24 bits (4) 32 bits (5) 64 bits

9. Which of the following contains the states to which a process can be moved from running
state?
(1) New, Ready, Blocked
(2) Ready, Swapped out and blocked, Terminated
(3) Blocked, Swapped out and waiting, Ready
(4) Ready, Blocked, Terminated
(5) Blocked, Created, Ready

10. Consider the following statements about file systems:


A - FAT is compatible with many operating systems.
B - File size is unlimited in FAT 32 file system.
C - FAT 32 provides more security than NTFS.
Which of the above is/are correct?
(1) A only (2) B only (3) A and C only
(4) B and C only (5) A and B only

11. Consider the following features of storage allocation in operating systems:


A - High speed data access
B - Eliminates external fragmentation
C - Supports direct access
D - Allows files to grow easily
Which of the above are advantages of linked allocation?
(1) A and B only (2) B and D only (3) C and D only
(4) A, B and C only (5) A, B and D only

12. Consider the following statements about device drivers:


A - hardware will not function without device drivers.
B - It is a firmware.
C - specific to operating system.
D - hardware independent
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(1) A and C only (2) B and D only (3) C and D only
(4) A, B and C only (5) A, B and D only

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 2


Structured Essay Questions

1. Write three differences between command line interface and graphical user interface.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. State three differences between NTFS and FAT file system
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Briefly describes the following types of operating systems.


(a) Single user – Single task operating systems
(b) Multi-threading operating systems
(c) Real-time operating systems

4. Compare and contrast linked allocation and indexed allocation.


Linked allocation Indexed allocation
Differences

Similarities

5. Write advantages and disadvantages of each of the three allocation methods: contiguous,
linked and indexed allocation.

Advantages Disadvantages
Contiguous
Linked
Indexed

6. What is the difference between a program and a process?


…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. State four resources needed by a process.


…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 3


8. State four information stored in a PCB.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. Write the other states a process can transit from each of the following states.
Current State Next State(s)

Created (new)

Running

Blocked

10. State the type of scheduler which is responsible for each of the following functions in an
operating system.
(a) Swapping processes
……………………………………………………………………………………………
(b) Dispatching processes
……………………………………………………………………………………………
(c) Admitting created processes to the ready queue
……………………………………………………………………………………………
11. Identify the state transitions of processes for each of the following conditions.

Condition State Transition

A new process is assigned the main memory.

A process has been terminated.

A process in the ready queue is moved to the


virtual memory.

12. Give one advantage and two disadvantages of using virtual memory in a computer system.
Advantage: ……………………………………………………………………………………

Disadvantage: …………………………………………………………………………………

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 4


Essay Questions

1. Write the sequence of operations that take place when a computer is switched on.
2. Draw a diagram to show the interaction between the layers hardware, liveware, application
software and system software.

3. Explain the following types of operating systems by giving examples.


(a) Multi-user
(b) Multiprogramming
(c) Multithreading
(d) Real-time
4. Draw a diagram to show the transitions between process states.
5. For each of the following transitions between process states, indicate whether the transition is
possible, and for each possible transition, give an example that would cause the transition.
(a) Running → Blocked
(b) Blocked →Running
(c) Running →Terminated
(d) Created → Swapped out and Ready

6. Briefly describe the following terms


(a) Context Switching
(b) Throughput
(c) Turnaround time
(d) Dispatch latency
(e) Waiting time
7. Briefly describe the main functions of each of the three schedulers in an operating system.
8. Explain how multiprogramming improves processor utilization.
9. A file of size 14250 bits needs to be stored in the secondary storage where each block has a
size of 512 bytes.
(a) How many blocks are needed to store the file?
(b) Calculate the wastage of memory space in the last block.

10. Briefly explain the term Spooling.


11. The memory of a computer system is byte addressable and has the maximum usable size of
8 GB. It uses 12 bits to identify a page.
(a) Calculate the number of bits required to access any byte in its memory.
(b) State the number of addresses the system can generate.
(c) What is the range (starting and ending addresses) of the memory address space
identified in the section (b) above?
(d) Calculate the total number of pages that can be defined by the system.
(e) Show how to calculate the size of a page in megabytes.

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 5


12. Assume that a 32KB program is run on a computer having 16KB of physical memory. The
page size of the system is 4KB.
The page table of this process is shown on the table below.

Page Number Frame Number Present/ Absent


0 11 1
1 00 1
2 01 1
3 00 0
4 10 1
5 00 0
6 00 0
7 00 0

(a) What is the size of a Frame?


(b) Show how to calculate the number of bits in the offset field.
(c) What is the length of a virtual address?
(d) Show how to calculate the maximum usable size of memory.
(e) Assume this program requires accessing the virtual address 8200. To which physical
address will it get transformed to?
Note: The virtual addresses on page 0 are from 0 to 4095 and on page 1 are from 4096
to 8191 and so on.

Prepared by: Ms. Imalka Dissanayaka

Nalanda College – Colombo ICT 6

Common questions

Powered by AI

The primary advantage of virtual memory is its ability to allow a system to run larger applications than the physical memory would otherwise permit by using disk space as an extension of RAM. However, the disadvantages include potential overhead from managing the virtual memory and reduced performance due to page swapping between disk and RAM .

Context switching is the process of storing and restoring the state of a CPU such that multiple processes can share a single CPU resource. Frequent context switching can degrade system performance due to the overhead involved in saving and loading process states, which can lead to increased CPU time spent on context switches rather than actual process execution .

Page sizes are calculated by dividing the total addressable memory by the number of available pages, considering factors like the address length used for identification. Larger pages reduce overhead from page tables but can increase internal fragmentation, while smaller pages reduce fragmentation but increase the page management overhead .

A program is a set of instructions stored on disk, while a process is an active instance of a program in execution, which requires resources such as CPU, memory, and I/O devices to operate. The process is more dynamic, as it is a real-time execution of the program's code and may interact with the operating system for resource allocation and management .

From the 'Running' state, a process can transition to 'Blocked' due to I/O operations, 'Ready' if it is preempted by the scheduler, or 'Terminated' upon completion. The transitions are triggered by I/O requests, scheduler interventions, or process completion, respectively .

When a computer is powered on, the BIOS initializes hardware components and performs a POST (Power-On Self Test) to ensure hardware functionality. It then locates the boot loader, commonly stored in the Master Boot Record on storage devices, to load the operating system into memory and transfer control over to it .

Linked allocation reduces external fragmentation since files are stored in separate, scattered blocks, but suffers from increased time to read sequentially due to pointers. Indexed allocation allows direct access to file blocks using an index block, reducing the sequential read time but can have substantial overhead if index blocks become large .

Turnaround time is calculated as the difference between the completion time and the submission time of a process. It is significant because it reflects the total time taken for a process from submission to finishing, thus being a key metric in assessing system performance, particularly in batch processing environments .

NTFS supports large file sizes, greater partition sizes, and enhanced security features like file encryption and permissions, compared to FAT, which is simpler and more widely compatible but lacks detailed security measures. This makes NTFS more suitable for modern computing needs requiring security and large storage capabilities .

Multiprogramming increases processor utilization by allowing multiple processes to reside in memory simultaneously. This setup ensures that the CPU always has a process to execute, minimizing idle time by switching to another process when the currently executing process is waiting for I/O operations to complete .

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