COMPUTER SCIENCE AN OVERVIEW

12TH EDITION BROOKSHEAR

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Test Bank—Chapter Three (Operating Systems)

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following components of an operating system maintains the directory system?

A. Device drivers B. File manager C. Memory manager

ANSWER: B

2. Which of the following components of an operating system handles the details associated with particular
peripheral equipment?

A. Device drivers B. File manager C. Memory manager

ANSWER: A

3. Which of the following components of an operating system is not part of the kernel?

A. User Interface B. File manager C. Scheduler

ANSWER: A

4. Multitasking in a computer with only one CPU is accomplished by a technique called

A. Bootstrapping B. Batch processing C. Multiprogramming

ANSWER: C

5. Execution of an operating system is initiated by a program called the

A. Window manager B. Scheduler C. Boot loader

ANSWER: C

6. The end of a time slice is indicted by the occurrence of a signal called

A. An interrupt B. A semaphore C. A login

ANSWER: A

7. A section of a program that should be executed by at most one process at a time is called a

A. Utility B. Critical region C. Privileged instruction

ANSWER: B

8. Which of the following is not an attempt to provide security?

A. Passwords B. Privilege levels C. Multitasking

ANSWER: C

9. Which of the following items of information would not be contained in an operating system’s process
table?

A. The location of the memory area assigned to the process

B. The priority of each process
C. Whether the process is ready or waiting
D. The machine language instructions being executed by the process

ANSWER: D

10. Which of the following events is detrimental to an operating system’s performance?

A. Deadlock B. Interrupt C. Booting

ANSWER: A

11. Which of the following is a technique for controlling access to a critical region?

A. Spooling B. Time sharing C. Semaphore D. Booting

ANSWER: C

12. Which of the following is not involved in a context switch?

A. Interrupt B. Process table C. Dispatcher D. User Interface

ANSWER: D

13. Which of the following concepts is not associated with critical regions?

A. Semaphores B. Mutual exclusion C. Bootstrap

ANSWER: C

14. Which of the following is not a role of a typical operating system?

 A. Control the allocation of the machine’s resources
B. Control access to the machine
C. Maintain records regarding files stored in mass storage
D. Assist the computer user in the task of processing digital photographs

ANSWER: D

15. Which of the following is a task that is not performed by the kernel of an operating system?

A. Communicate with the user B. Schedule processes

C. Allocate resources D. Avoid deadlock

ANSWER: A

16. Which of the following is not a means of performing multiple activities at the same time?

A. Pipeling B. Multiprogramming C. Virtual memory D. Multiple processors

ANSWER: C (Caution: This problem uses terminology from Chapter 1.)

17. Which of the following components of an operating system is executed as the result of an interrupt
signal?

A. Dispatcher B. Memory manager C. File manager

ANSWER: A

18. Which of the following would be a concern of the file manager in a multi-user computer system that
would not be a concern in a single-user system?

A. Maintain records regarding the location of files

B. Maintain records regarding the ownership of files
C. Maintain records regarding the size of files
D. None of the above

ANSWER: B

19. Which of the following would not require real-time processing?

A. Typing a document with a word processor

B. Navigation of an aircraft
C. Forecasting world-wide trend for the next five year period
D. Maintaining a airline reservation system

ANSWER: C

20. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Allowing several processes to share time in a multiprogramming system is less efficient than
executing each of them to completion one after the other.
B. The use of passwords provides an impenetrable safeguard.
C. Both A and B
D. Neither A not B

ANSWER: D
Fill-in-the-blank/Short-answer Questions
1. Suppose an operating system allocates time slices in 10 millisecond units and the time required for a
context switch is negligible.

A. How many processes can obtain a time slice in one second?

____________

B. How many processes can obtain a time slice in one second if half of them use only half of their
slice?

____________

ANSWER: A. 100 B. 150

2. If it takes one microsecond to perform a context switch and processes use only half of their allotted 10
millisecond time slices, what percent of a CPUs time is spent performing context switches rather than
executing processes?

____________

ANSWER: .02% (1/5000)

3. In contrast to early batch processing techniques, ____________________ allows the user to

communicate with the computer while the user’s application is being executed. In turn, this type of
processing requires that the computer’s responses to its environment be performed in a timely manner, a
requirement known as _______________________ .

ANSWER: Interactive processing, Real-time processing

4. Fill in the blanks below with the part on the operating system (file manager, memory manager, device
drivers, window manager, scheduler, dispatcher) that performs the activity described.

A. _______________ Maintains a record of what is displayed on the computer’s screen

B. _______________ Performs the switching from one process to another

C. _______________ Maintains the directory system

D. _______________ Creates virtual memory

ANSWER: A. Window manager B. Dispatcher C. File manager D. Memory manager

5. Fill in the blanks below with the part on the operating system (file manager, memory manager, device
drivers, window manager, scheduler, dispatcher) that performs the activity described.

A. _______________ Places new entries in the process table

B. _______________ Performs the actual communication with I/O units

C. _______________ Maintains a record of memory allocations

 D. _______________ Protects files from unauthorized access

ANSWER: A. Scheduler B. Device drivers C. Memory manager D. File Manager

6. Fill in the blanks below with the part on the operating system (file manager, memory manager, device
drivers, window manager, scheduler, dispatcher) that performs the activity described.

A. _______________ Executes each time a time slice terminates

B. _______________ Removes entries from the process table

C. _______________ Maintains a record of available mass storage space

D. _______________ Displays icons on the computer screen

ANSWER: A. Dispatcher B. Scheduler C. File manager D. Window manager

7. In each blank below write a term that might be considered the opposite of the term next to the blank.

A. _______________ Interactive processing

B. _______________ System software

C. _______________ Waiting process

ANSWER: A. Batch processing B. Application software C. Ready process

8. What action is performed as a result of executing each of the following types of instructions?

A. Test-and-set ______________________________________________________

B. Interrupt disable ___________________________________________________

C. Interrupt enable ___________________________________________________

ANSWER: A. Checks to see if the contents of a memory cell is 0 or 1 and sets the value to a 1.
B. Causes the CPU to not recognize incoming interrupts.
C. Causes the CPU to begin recognizing incoming interrupts.

9. Which necessary condition for deadlock is removed by each of the following.

A. Require processes to request all required resources at once.

________________________________________________________________

B. Allow only one process at a time in the process table.

________________________________________________________________

C. Take all resources from processes when deadlock occurs and restart the processes.

________________________________________________________________

ANSWER: A. Resources must be requested on a partial basis.

B. There must be competition for nonshareable resources.
C. Resources cannot be forcibly retrieved.
10. List four resources whose access an operating system should coordinate.

A. ___________________________ B. _____________________________

C. ___________________________ D. _____________________________

ANSWER: Possible answers include: Memory space, mass storage space, printers, space in process table,
CPU time, and many more

11. What problem could occur if, to allow more processes to share time in a multiprogramming
environment, an operating system is designed to use very short time slices?

________________________________________________________________________

ANSWER: The time spent switching between processes could become significant when compared to the
time spent actually executing processes.

12. What is meant by the term load balancing in the context of multiprocessor computers?

________________________________________________________________________

ANSWER: Load balancing refers to the task of assigning tasks to the processors in a way that leads to
efficient use of all processors.

13. A ______________ is a set of instructions. In contrast, a ________________ is the activity of

executing those instructions.

ANSWER: program, process

14. List three features provided by modern CPUs that are used by operating systems to implement
multitasking environments.

A. ___________________

B. ___________________

C. ___________________

ANSWER: Possible answers include: privilege levels, privileged instructions, test-and-set instructions,
memory limit registers, and others.

15. List three popular operating systems.

A. ___________________

B. ___________________

C. ___________________

ANSWER: Possible answers include: UNIX, Linux, Microsoft’s Windows series and Mac-OS

16. List three popular smartphone operating systems.

A. ___________________
 B. ___________________

C. ___________________

ANSWER: Competitors in the smartphone operating system arena include Apple’s iPhone OS, Research In
Motion’s BlackBerry OS, Microsoft’s Windows Phone, Nokia’s Symbian OS, and Google’s Android.

Vocabulary (Matching) Questions

The following is a list of terms from the chapter along with descriptive phrases that can be used to produce
questions (depending on the topics covered in your course) in which the students are ask to match phrases
and terms. An example would be a question of the form, “In the blank next to each phrase, write the term
from the following list that is best described by the phrase.”

Term Descriptive Phrase

user interface The part of an operating system that communicates with the user
multiprogramming A technique that allows multiprocessing on a computer with a single
CPU
time sharing The act of more than one user using a computer at the same time
process The activity of executing a program
queue A storage system in which the first entry in is the first entry out
virtual memory Extended storage space created by the memory manager
ROM Memory area whose contents cannot be altered
firmware Software associated with booting and fundamental startup tasks that
resides in non-volatile memory
multitasking The phenomenon of a user performing more than one activity at the
same time
interactive processing Allows the user to communicate with the computer system while the
user’s application is being performed
deadlock A situation in which activities find themselves waiting on each other
GUI A means of communicating with a computer user by means of images
rather than words
mutual exclusion The requirement that a process complete a block of instructions before
another process is allowed to start the block
boot loader The program first executed when a computer is turned on
directory path A sequence of folders each containing the next
kernel The heart of an operating system
interrupt A signal that suspends the CPU’s current activities
auditing software A tool used to monitor a computer system’s activities
privilege levels A means of restricting the capabilities of different processes

General Format Questions

1. Explain the difference between application software and system software.

ANSWER: System software provides the infrastructure required by the application software. It includes the
operating system and utilities. Application software provides the unique functionality required to perform
the particular tasks for with the computer is used. Examples include word processors, spreadsheet systems,
database systems, and image processing systems.

2. Describe a scenario that leads to deadlock in a computer system.

ANSWER: There are many possible answers. One would be the case of two processes in a
multiprogramming environment, each of which needs to spawns additional processes to complete its task
even though the process table is full. In this case, each process would hold a nonshareable resource (space
in the process table) that the other needed to progress resulting in deadlock.

3. What conditions are necessary for deadlock to occur?

ANSWER: There must be competition for nonshareable resources, resources must be requested on a
piecemeal basis, and resources, once allocated, cannot be forcibly retrieved.

4. What are privileged instructions?

ANSWER: Privileged instructions are machine language instructions that request activities that general
application programs should not be allowed to perform. These instructions can only be executed when the
CPU is operating in “privileged mode.” Examples of privileged instructions include requests to change the
CPU’s current privilege level and requests to alter registers that control memory access limits.

5. What is the difference between a process that is waiting as opposed to a process that is ready?

ANSWER: A process that is waiting would not be able to advance if given a time slice (perhaps because it
is waiting for a peripheral device to complete a task) whereas a process that is ready would be able to
continue execution if given a time slice.

6. Describe the bootstrap process.

ANSWER: When the computer is first turned on, the boot loader program stored in ROM is executed. This
program directs the computer to load the operating system into main memory from mass storage. The boot
loader then executes a jump to the operating system, the operating system takes over.

7. Why is a “test-and-set” instruction included in most machine languages for CPUs designed for
multitasking environments?

ANSWER: The “test-and-set” instruction are useful when bits in main memory are used to record whether
various nonshareable resources have been allocated because they allow memory cells to be read and altered
without fear of interruption.

8. Explain why the average length of a time slice would be reduced if the processes in an operating
system’s process table perform lots of I/O operations.

ANSWER: Once a process requests an I/O operation, its time slice will be terminated, it will be labeled as a
waiting process, and another process will be allowed to start another time slice. Thus, the first process’s
effective time slice would be reduced.

9. In the sense of the term virtual memory, give an argument that multiprogramming creates virtual CPUs.

ANSWER: The term virtual memory refers to the illusion of a memory space that is larger than that
actually present. This illusion is created by the operating system. Multiprogramming is a technique used by
operating systems to create the illusion of more CPUs than are actually present.

10. Describe concerns that occur when designing a time-sharing/multitasking operating system that do not
occur in the case of a single tasking system.

ANSWER: Possible answers include: The implementation of multiprogramming, the need to protect each
process from malicious behavior of other processes, and the need to deal with the possibility of deadlock.

11. Describe how the widespread availability of multi-core processors effects operating systems.
ANSWER: Multi-core machines can actually execute multiple processes simultaneously, rather than
merely multiprocessing to give the illusion of multiple CPUs. Multi-core operating systems must schedule
and dispatch processes on such machines, and coordinating access to shared resources becomes a more
challenging problem for these systems.