OPERATING SYSTEM – IMPORTANT
QUESTIONS (Priority-Based)
BCU – 2nd Sem – SEP Exam 2025
Note: Along with this questions paper practice all model question
paper.
Watch you tube videos to get more clarity about questions.
UNIT I: Introduction, OS Structures & Processes
2 Marks Questions
Define Operating System.
What is a system call?
Define Process Control Block (PCB).
List two services of an Operating System.
Define Interrupt.
Define Shell and Kernel.
Define Command Interpreter System.
Define System Booting and its Steps.
Define Threads.
5 Marks Questions
Explain the structure of an Operating System.
Explain functions of Operating System.
Describe the different types of system calls with examples.
Explain the various types of OS (Batch, Time-sharing, Real-time, etc.).
Compare Process and Program.
Compare Synchronous and Asynchronous IPC.
10 Marks Questions
Explain process states with a neat process life cycle diagram.
Describe multithreading models with diagrams and examples.
Explain inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms in detail.
UNIT II: Synchronization, Scheduling & Deadlocks
2 Marks Questions
What is a critical section?
Define semaphore.
What is a deadlock?
List any two CPU scheduling algorithms.
Define RAG.
Define race condition.
Define Monitors and its syntax.
5 Marks Questions
Explain Peterson’s solution for the critical section problem.
Describe any two CPU scheduling algorithms with examples.
Explain deadlock characteristics with suitable examples.
Compare Binary and Counting Semaphore.
Compare preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling.
Explain Scheduling criteria.
10 Marks Questions
Explain classical problems of synchronization (e.g., producer-consumer, readers-
writers) using semaphores.
Dinning Philosophers problem.
Compare FCFS, SJF, Round Robin, and Priority Scheduling algorithms.
Describe methods for handling deadlocks: prevention, avoidance, detection, and
recovery.
One Numerical based on FCFS, SJF (Preemptive and non-preemptive), round robin and
priority scheduling algorithms.
UNIT III: Memory, Virtual Memory & File System
2 Marks Questions
What is paging?
Define segmentation.
What is copy-on-write? 5 marks
Name any two file allocation methods.
Define Page Fault.
5 Marks Questions
Explain contiguous memory allocation.
What is Swapping and how it works.
Explain the Steps in handling page fault.
Write a short note on structure of page table.
Explain any two file allocation methods with example.
10 Marks Questions
Compare paging and segmentation with diagrams.
Explain demand paging and page replacement algorithms (FIFO, LRU, Optimal).
Describe file system implementation and free space management in detail.
Numerical on FIFO, LRU and Optimal page replacement algorithm.
UNIT IV: Linux Architecture & Commands
2 Marks Questions
What is the use of `ls` command in Linux?
Write the syntax of `mkdir` and `rmdir`.
Differentiate between internal and external commands.
What is the format of a Linux command?
5 Marks Questions
Explain directory and file-related commands in Linux with examples.
Describe any five general utilities in Linux (`cal`, `date`, `who`, `man`, etc.).
Explain file permission and `chmod` command usage.
10 Marks Questions
Explain Linux system architecture with a neat diagram.
Write and explain 10 commonly used Linux commands with syntax and usage.
Describe Linux command structure and categorize commands (file, directory, disk-
related).
Final Advice:
Don’t leave answers incomplete.
Even if you’re unsure, write what you know clearly.
Use diagrams to save words and earn extra marks.
Attempt all questions.
