Prelims Reviewer 1 Operating Systems

Which of the following best describes an Operating System (OS), considering its role in managing hardware, software, and serving as a bridge between the user and the machine?

• A type of application software that runs only games

• Physical hardware that controls memory modules

• System software that manages both hardware and software resources

• A driver program that controls only printers

Among the following, which is NOT an Operating System, but instead belongs to the category of application software?

• Windows, widely used in personal computers

• Linux, known for being open-source

• iOS, used in Apple smartphones

• Microsoft Word, a word processing application

The OS is often called the “manager of the computer system.” Which of the following best explains what the OS acts as a bridge between?

• The CPU and RAM only

• The user, applications, and hardware resources

• The monitor and the keyboard

• The internet and the CPU

Interrupts are critical for computer systems to handle urgent tasks. Which of the following best explains the main purpose of an interrupt?

• To intentionally slow down CPU performance

• To allow the CPU to immediately stop its current task and handle urgent events

• To automatically delete unnecessary files

• To restart the computer system whenever errors occur

RAM is considered volatile memory. Which option best explains why it is classified as volatile?

• It stores data permanently, even after power is turned off

• It is faster than ROM and cache

• It loses all stored data once power is turned off

• It is designed only for gaming and graphics applications

Some memory types are permanent and store startup instructions. Which memory type is responsible for storing the BIOS/firmware instructions that initialize the computer before the OS loads?

• RAM

• ROM

• Cache

• HDD

Modern computer systems may use more than one CPU to increase performance. Which of the following terms correctly describes a system with two or more processors working together?

• Single-processor system

• Multiprocessor system

• PROM-based system

• Cache-controlled system

Interrupts can be classified as maskable or non-maskable. Which of the following is an example of a non-maskable interrupt (NMI) that the CPU cannot ignore?

• Keyboard input from a user

• Mouse click during browsing

• Hardware failure such as RAM malfunction

• Printer ready signal after printing

Which of the following operating systems is free, open-source, and widely used by developers, researchers, and servers because it allows customization?

• Windows

• Linux

• macOS

• iOS

In the hierarchy of memory speed and size, which is the fastest but smallest type of memory, located inside the CPU itself for immediate access to data?

• Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

• RAM

• Registers

• Cache memory