Operating Systems MCQ Test

1. What is an operating system?

• A. An application for browsing the web
• B. System software that manages hardware and provides services to programs
• C. A hardware component
• D. A programming language

Answer: System software that manages hardware and provides services to programs

2. Which of these is NOT an operating system?

• A. Windows
• B. Linux
• C. Oracle
• D. macOS

Answer: Oracle

3. What is the core part of an operating system called?

• A. Shell
• B. Kernel
• C. Driver
• D. BIOS

Answer: Kernel

4. What is the shell in an operating system?

• A. The physical case of the computer
• B. The interface between the user and the kernel
• C. A storage device
• D. A memory chip

Answer: The interface between the user and the kernel

5. Which of these is a primary function of an operating system?

• A. Compiling source code
• B. Process management
• C. Designing graphics
• D. Writing documents

Answer: Process management

6. What is a process?

• A. A program stored on disk
• B. A program in execution
• C. A hardware interrupt
• D. A file system

Answer: A program in execution

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

• A. There is none
• B. A program is passive on disk; a process is an active running instance
• C. A process is smaller
• D. A program uses more memory

Answer: A program is passive on disk; a process is an active running instance

8. What is a thread?

• A. A separate computer
• B. The smallest unit of execution within a process
• C. A type of file
• D. A network cable

Answer: The smallest unit of execution within a process

9. What does the Process Control Block (PCB) store?

• A. User passwords
• B. Information about a process such as its state, program counter and registers
• C. Disk partitions
• D. Network addresses

Answer: Information about a process such as its state, program counter and registers

10. Which scheduling algorithm serves processes in the order they arrive?

• A. Shortest Job First
• B. First Come First Served
• C. Round Robin
• D. Priority scheduling

Answer: First Come First Served

11. Which scheduling algorithm gives each process a fixed time slice?

• A. FCFS
• B. SJF
• C. Round Robin
• D. Priority

Answer: Round Robin

12. Which scheduling algorithm gives the best average waiting time in theory?

• A. FCFS
• B. Shortest Job First
• C. Round Robin
• D. Random

Answer: Shortest Job First

13. What is the time slice in Round Robin scheduling called?

• A. Burst
• B. Quantum
• C. Interval
• D. Cycle

Answer: Quantum

14. What is starvation in process scheduling?

• A. Running out of memory
• B. A low-priority process waiting indefinitely for CPU time
• C. A process using too much CPU
• D. A disk failure

Answer: A low-priority process waiting indefinitely for CPU time

15. What is a deadlock?

• A. A process finishing too early
• B. Two or more processes each waiting for a resource held by the other
• C. A full hard disk
• D. A CPU overheating

Answer: Two or more processes each waiting for a resource held by the other

16. How many conditions must hold simultaneously for a deadlock to occur?

• A. Two
• B. Three
• C. Four
• D. Five

Answer: Four

17. Which of these is NOT one of the four necessary conditions for deadlock?

• A. Mutual exclusion
• B. Hold and wait
• C. Circular wait
• D. Round robin scheduling

Answer: Round robin scheduling

18. Which algorithm is used for deadlock avoidance?

• A. Banker's algorithm
• B. Dijkstra's shortest path
• C. Round Robin
• D. LRU

Answer: Banker's algorithm

19. What is a critical section?

• A. A damaged part of the disk
• B. A code segment that accesses shared resources and must not run concurrently
• C. The kernel boot code
• D. The BIOS setup area

Answer: A code segment that accesses shared resources and must not run concurrently

20. What is a semaphore used for?

• A. Speeding up the CPU
• B. Controlling access to shared resources between processes
• C. Formatting disks
• D. Compressing files

Answer: Controlling access to shared resources between processes

21. What is mutual exclusion?

• A. Two processes sharing a resource at once
• B. Ensuring only one process uses a shared resource at a time
• C. Deleting a process
• D. Merging two processes

Answer: Ensuring only one process uses a shared resource at a time

22. What is context switching?

• A. Changing the desktop theme
• B. Saving one process's state and loading another's so the CPU can switch between them
• C. Restarting the computer
• D. Switching users

Answer: Saving one process's state and loading another's so the CPU can switch between them

23. What is virtual memory?

• A. Memory that does not exist
• B. A technique using disk space to extend the apparent size of main memory
• C. Cache memory
• D. ROM

Answer: A technique using disk space to extend the apparent size of main memory

24. What is paging?

• A. Printing documents
• B. Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks called pages
• C. Sending messages
• D. Scanning for viruses

Answer: Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks called pages

25. What is a page fault?

• A. A damaged memory chip
• B. When a requested page is not present in main memory
• C. A printing error
• D. A corrupted file

Answer: When a requested page is not present in main memory

26. What is thrashing?

• A. Deleting many files at once
• B. Excessive paging that leaves little time for useful work
• C. Overclocking the CPU
• D. A disk defragmentation process

Answer: Excessive paging that leaves little time for useful work

27. Which page replacement algorithm removes the page that has not been used for the longest time?

• A. FIFO
• B. LRU
• C. Optimal
• D. Random

Answer: LRU

28. Which page replacement algorithm removes the oldest loaded page?

• A. LRU
• B. FIFO
• C. LFU
• D. Optimal

Answer: FIFO

29. What is segmentation in memory management?

• A. Dividing memory into variable-size logical units
• B. Dividing memory into fixed-size pages
• C. Deleting memory
• D. Encrypting memory

Answer: Dividing memory into variable-size logical units

30. What is fragmentation?

• A. Breaking a file into parts for transfer
• B. Wasted memory space that cannot be used efficiently
• C. A CPU error
• D. A network delay

Answer: Wasted memory space that cannot be used efficiently

31. External fragmentation occurs when what happens?

• A. Allocated blocks are larger than needed
• B. Free memory exists but is split into non-contiguous pieces
• C. Memory is full
• D. A page fault occurs

Answer: Free memory exists but is split into non-contiguous pieces

32. What is a device driver?

• A. A person who operates hardware
• B. Software that lets the operating system communicate with a hardware device
• C. A type of cable
• D. A power supply

Answer: Software that lets the operating system communicate with a hardware device

33. What is spooling most commonly used for?

• A. Printing
• B. Compiling
• C. Encrypting
• D. Booting

Answer: Printing

34. What is a file system?

• A. A method of naming, storing and retrieving files on storage media
• B. A type of application
• C. A network protocol
• D. A CPU instruction set

Answer: A method of naming, storing and retrieving files on storage media

35. Which file system is used by modern Windows installations?

• A. ext4
• B. NTFS
• C. HFS+
• D. ZFS

Answer: NTFS

36. Which file system is commonly used by Linux?

• A. NTFS
• B. ext4
• C. FAT16
• D. APFS

Answer: ext4

37. What is the maximum file size limitation of FAT32?

• A. 2 GB
• B. 4 GB
• C. 16 GB
• D. No limit

Answer: 4 GB

38. What is the boot process?

• A. Shutting down the computer
• B. The sequence that starts the computer and loads the operating system
• C. Installing software
• D. Deleting temporary files

Answer: The sequence that starts the computer and loads the operating system

39. What does BIOS stand for?

• A. Basic Input Output System
• B. Binary Integrated Operating System
• C. Base Internal Output Set
• D. Boot Instruction Operating Sequence

Answer: Basic Input Output System

40. Which operating system type allows several users at the same time?

• A. Single-user
• B. Multi-user
• C. Batch
• D. Embedded

Answer: Multi-user

41. What is a real-time operating system used for?

• A. Playing games
• B. Applications with strict timing requirements such as industrial control
• C. Web browsing
• D. Word processing

Answer: Applications with strict timing requirements such as industrial control

42. What is multiprogramming?

• A. Writing many programs at once
• B. Keeping several programs in memory so the CPU always has work
• C. Using multiple monitors
• D. Programming in several languages

Answer: Keeping several programs in memory so the CPU always has work

43. What is time sharing in an operating system?

• A. Sharing files over a network
• B. Rapidly switching the CPU between users so each seems to have their own machine
• C. Setting the system clock
• D. Scheduling backups

Answer: Rapidly switching the CPU between users so each seems to have their own machine

44. What is a system call?

• A. A phone call to support
• B. A request from a program to the operating system kernel for a service
• C. A hardware interrupt
• D. A shutdown command

Answer: A request from a program to the operating system kernel for a service

45. Which Linux command lists the contents of a directory?

• A. dir
• B. ls
• C. list
• D. show

Answer: ls

46. Which Linux command changes the current directory?

• A. chdir
• B. cd
• C. move
• D. goto

Answer: cd

47. Which Linux command shows the current working directory?

• A. cwd
• B. pwd
• C. path
• D. where

Answer: pwd

48. Which Linux command changes file permissions?

• A. chown
• B. chmod
• C. chgrp
• D. perm

Answer: chmod

49. In Linux permissions, what does the number 7 grant?

• A. Read only
• B. Read, write and execute
• C. Write only
• D. Execute only

Answer: Read, write and execute

50. Which Linux command displays running processes?

• A. list
• B. ps
• C. proc
• D. run

Answer: ps

51. Which Linux command terminates a process by its ID?

• A. stop
• B. kill
• C. end
• D. halt

Answer: kill

52. Which Windows utility manages running applications and processes?

• A. Control Panel
• B. Task Manager
• C. Device Manager
• D. Disk Cleanup

Answer: Task Manager

53. What is the swap space in Linux used for?

• A. Storing user documents
• B. Acting as overflow when physical RAM is full
• C. Caching web pages
• D. Storing the kernel

Answer: Acting as overflow when physical RAM is full

54. What is an interrupt?

• A. A program error
• B. A signal that tells the CPU to stop and handle an event
• C. A power failure
• D. A network timeout

Answer: A signal that tells the CPU to stop and handle an event

55. Which memory is directly accessible to the CPU?

• A. Hard disk
• B. Main memory (RAM)
• C. Optical disc
• D. Magnetic tape

Answer: Main memory (RAM)

56. What is a zombie process in Linux?

• A. A virus
• B. A finished process whose entry remains in the process table
• C. A process using too much CPU
• D. A hidden process

Answer: A finished process whose entry remains in the process table

57. What is the root user in Linux?

• A. A guest account
• B. The administrator account with full system privileges
• C. A hidden folder
• D. The first directory

Answer: The administrator account with full system privileges

58. What is the top-level directory in a Linux file system?

• A. /home
• B. /
• C. C:\
• D. /root

Answer: /