Operating System Sample Questions

Section: - DCSE- 3A+3E

20 MCQ with answer:

1. What is an Operating System?

a) Collection of hardware components

b) Interface between hardware and user
c) Application software
d) Compiler
✔ Answer: b) Interface between hardware and user

2. Which of the following is NOT a function of an Operating System?

a) Process management
b) Virus protection
c) Memory management
d) File management
✔ Answer: b) Virus protection

3. The OS manages...

a) Only software
b) Only hardware
c) Hardware and software resources
d) Internet
✔ Answer: c) Hardware and software resources

4. In multiprogramming systems, the processor...

a) Executes one job at a time

b) Executes multiple jobs at the same time
c) Switches among jobs
d) Runs one job until it completes
✔ Answer: c) Switches among jobs

5. Which of the following is a preemptive scheduling algorithm?

a) FCFS
b) Round Robin
c) SJF (non-preemptive)
d) Priority (non-preemptive)
✔ Answer: b) Round Robin

6. Context switching involves...

a) Switching between memory and disk

b) Saving and restoring process state
c) File management
d) Switching between threads only
✔ Answer: b) Saving and restoring process state

7. A process that has finished execution but still has an entry in the process table is
called...

a) Orphan process
b) Zombie process
c) Suspended process
d) Daemon
✔ Answer: b) Zombie process

8. Which condition is NOT required for a deadlock?

a) Mutual Exclusion
b) Hold and Wait
c) Preemption
d) Circular Wait
✔ Answer: c) Preemption

9. Which memory management technique suffers from external fragmentation?

a) Paging
b) Segmentation
c) Contiguous memory allocation
d) Virtual memory
✔ Answer: c) Contiguous memory allocation

10. A page fault occurs when...

a) Page is found in memory

b) Page is not found in memory
c) Disk fails
d) RAM is full
✔ Answer: b) Page is not found in memory

11. The main purpose of swapping is...

a) Load balancing
b) Memory compaction
c) Increase speed
d) Manage memory
✔ Answer: d) Manage memory

12. What is the role of the dispatcher in CPU scheduling?

a) Creates jobs
b) Switches context
c) Manages file systems
d) Removes deadlock
✔ Answer: b) Switches context

13. Which of the following algorithms minimizes average waiting time?

a) FCFS
b) SJF
c) Priority
d) Round Robin
✔ Answer: b) SJF
14. Which system call is used to create a new process in UNIX?

a) fork()
b) create()
c) init()
d) run()
✔ Answer: a) fork()

15. In a time-sharing system, CPU scheduling is...

a) First-Come-First-Serve
b) Round Robin
c) LIFO
d) None
✔ Answer: b) Round Robin

16. What is virtual memory?

a) Memory on disk
b) Part of RAM
c) Illusion of large memory using disk
d) ROM
✔ Answer: c) Illusion of large memory using disk

17. A semaphore is used to...

a) Increase throughput
b) Synchronize processes
c) Manage memory
d) Manage files
✔ Answer: b) Synchronize processes

18. What is the name of the technique to run multiple programs at the same time?

a) Spooling
b) Multiprogramming
c) Virtualization
d) Swapping
✔ Answer: b) Multiprogramming
 19. In which scheduling algorithm does the process with the highest priority get
executed first?

a) FCFS
b) Priority scheduling
c) Round Robin
d) Multilevel queue
✔ Answer: b) Priority scheduling

20. Which of the following file allocation methods does not cause external
fragmentation?

a) Contiguous allocation
b) Linked allocation
c) Indexed allocation
d) All cause fragmentation
✔ Answer: c) Indexed allocation

Operating System – 3 Marks Short Answer Questions

1. What is an Operating System? Explain with an example.

2. Differentiate between Multitasking and Multiprocessing.

3. Define Process and Thread. How are they different?

4. What is Context Switching? Why is it important?

5. Explain the five states of a process in the Process State Diagram.

6. What is a Scheduler? Name the types of schedulers used in OS.

7. Write any three differences between Preemptive and Non-preemptive Scheduling.

8. What is CPU Scheduling? Mention any two common scheduling algorithms.

9. Explain First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) scheduling with an example.

10. What is a Deadlock? Mention the four necessary conditions for deadlock.

11. What is Mutual Exclusion in Operating Systems? Give an example.

12. Define Semaphore. How is it used in process synchronization?

13. Differentiate between Paging and Segmentation.

14. What is Virtual Memory? How does it benefit a system?

15. Explain Page Fault with an example.

16. What is a Zombie Process? How does it occur?

17. What is the purpose of File Allocation Table (FAT)?

18. Explain the concept of Spooling in Operating Systems.

19. Write a short note on Kernel and its functions.

20. What are System Calls? Name any two system calls related to process control.

Operating Systems – 5 Marks Sample Short Questions

1. Explain the differences between user mode and kernel mode. Why is this separation
important in an OS?

2. Discuss the process life cycle with a neat diagram.

3. What is process scheduling? Compare FCFS, SJF, and Round Robin scheduling
algorithms.

4. Define deadlock. Explain the four conditions necessary for deadlock to occur.

5. What are semaphores? How can they be used to avoid race conditions?

6. Explain the concept of virtual memory. How does it differ from physical memory?

7. What is paging? Describe the address translation mechanism in paging with a diagram.

8. What are system calls? List and explain any five commonly used system calls.

9. Describe any two memory allocation techniques used in operating systems.

10. What is the difference between internal fragmentation and external fragmentation? How
can each be handled?

11. Compare preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling with examples.

12. Explain the role of the dispatcher in process scheduling.

13. Describe multithreading. What are its advantages over multiprocessing?

14. What are the different types of operating systems? Give examples.

15. What is context switching? Describe the steps involved in context switching.

16. Discuss the difference between logical address and physical address.

17. Explain any two file allocation methods. Mention their advantages and disadvantages.

18. What is a critical section? How can we solve the critical section problem?

19. Write a short note on I/O buffering. Why is it needed in OS?

20. Describe the Banker's Algorithm for deadlock avoidance. Give an example.