Basics of Operating Systems MCQs – 30 Essential Questions

Questions (30)

1. What is an operating system?

   • a) A hardware device for input/output
   • b) A software that acts as an intermediary between user and hardware
   • c) A device driver for input devices
   • d) None of the above
   View Answer

   Correct A software that acts as an intermediary between user and hardware

2. Which of the following is NOT an operating system?

   • a) Windows
   • b) Linux
   • c) Google Chrome
   • d) MacOS
   View Answer

   Correct Google Chrome

3. What is the primary function of an operating system?

   • a) To translate programming languages
   • b) To manage system resources and provide a user interface
   • c) To design hardware components
   • d) To control network traffic
   View Answer

   Correct To manage system resources and provide a user interface

4. Which type of operating system is designed for mobile devices?

   • a) Real-time operating system
   • b) Distributed operating system
   • c) Mobile operating system
   • d) Batch operating system
   View Answer

   Correct Mobile operating system

5. Which of the following is an example of a real-time operating system?

   • a) Windows XP
   • b) Linux Mint
   • c) RTOS
   • d) macOS
   View Answer

   Correct RTOS

6. What is the kernel in an operating system?

   • a) The graphical user interface of the system
   • b) The core part of the OS that controls all operations
   • c) A utility program for disk management
   • d) A security feature
   View Answer

   Correct The core part of the OS that controls all operations

7. What is a multitasking operating system?

   • a) An OS that allows multiple users to log in simultaneously
   • b) An OS that can run multiple processes simultaneously
   • c) An OS designed only for batch processing
   • d) An OS for mobile devices
   View Answer

   Correct An OS that can run multiple processes simultaneously

8. Which component of the operating system manages the CPU?

   • a) File system
   • b) Kernel
   • c) Process scheduler
   • d) Memory manager
   View Answer

   Correct Process scheduler

9. What is the purpose of a device driver?

   • a) To enable communication between the OS and hardware devices
   • b) To manage system processes
   • c) To schedule tasks
   • d) To provide user interfaces
   View Answer

   Correct To enable communication between the OS and hardware devices

10. Which of the following is an example of a distributed operating system?

    • a) Windows
    • b) Android
    • c) Linux Mint
    • d) Hadoop
    View Answer

    Correct Hadoop

11. What does the term “bootstrapping” refer to in an operating system?

    • a) The process of upgrading system hardware
    • b) The process of starting up a computer and loading the OS
    • c) The process of compiling programs
    • d) None of the above
    View Answer

    Correct The process of starting up a computer and loading the OS

12. Which type of operating system is used in embedded systems?

    • a) Batch operating system
    • b) Real-time operating system
    • c) Mobile operating system
    • d) Distributed operating system
    View Answer

    Correct Real-time operating system

13. What is a shell in an operating system?

    • a) The hardware of the system
    • b) The user interface to interact with the kernel
    • c) The antivirus program of the system
    • d) A system utility
    View Answer

    Correct The user interface to interact with the kernel

14. What does a batch operating system do?

    • a) Processes jobs in real-time
    • b) Processes jobs in groups or batches without user interaction
    • c) Processes multiple tasks simultaneously
    • d) None of the above
    View Answer

    Correct Processes jobs in groups or batches without user interaction

15. Which of these is a popular open-source operating system?

    • a) MacOS
    • b) Windows
    • c) Linux
    • d) Android
    View Answer

    Correct Linux

16. What is the function of virtual memory in an operating system?

    • a) To physically expand RAM
    • b) To allow execution of processes that may not completely fit into physical memory
    • c) To connect external memory devices
    • d) To act as an operating system scheduler
    View Answer

    Correct To allow execution of processes that may not completely fit into physical memory

17. What is the purpose of the task manager in operating systems like Windows?

    • a) To manage user accounts
    • b) To monitor and control running processes
    • c) To configure hardware devices
    • d) To design software interfaces
    View Answer

    Correct To monitor and control running processes

18. Which of the following operating systems is NOT UNIX-based?

    • a) Linux
    • b) Windows
    • c) macOS
    • d) FreeBSD
    View Answer

    Correct Windows

19. What does GUI stand for?

    • a) General User Interface
    • b) Graphic Utility Interpreter
    • c) Graphical User Interface
    • d) Graphics Used in Internet
    View Answer

    Correct Graphical User Interface

20. What is the role of system calls in an OS?

    • a) To facilitate hardware communication directly from the application
    • b) To provide the OS with updates
    • c) To monitor network traffic
    • d) To enable communication between user applications and the OS
    View Answer

    Correct To enable communication between user applications and the OS

21. Which operating system is most commonly used for mainframes?

    • a) macOS
    • b) z/OS
    • c) Windows Server
    • d) Android
    View Answer

    Correct z/OS

22. What is the primary difference between a process and a program?

    • a) A process is active while a program is passive
    • b) A process is hardware-based while a program is software-based
    • c) A process is compiled while a program is interpreted
    • d) A process is stored while a program is executed
    View Answer

    Correct A process is active while a program is passive

23. Which of the following is NOT a type of operating system?

    • a) Batch operating system
    • b) Multiprogramming operating system
    • c) General-purpose operating system
    • d) Time-sharing operating system
    View Answer

    Correct Multiprogramming operating system

24. What is the function of an interrupt in an OS?

    • a) To store system logs
    • b) To signal the OS to handle an event or execute a task
    • c) To process user input
    • d) To connect external devices
    View Answer

    Correct To signal the OS to handle an event or execute a task

25. Which of the following is an example of a closed-source operating system?

    • a) Android
    • b) Linux
    • c) Windows
    • d) Ubuntu
    View Answer

    Correct Windows

26. What is the primary purpose of a time-sharing OS?

    • a) To execute a single task at a time
    • b) To allow multiple users to share system resources effectively
    • c) To improve hardware reliability
    • d) To connect multiple devices to a network
    View Answer

    Correct To allow multiple users to share system resources effectively

27. What is a system daemon in an OS?

    • a) A hardware device
    • b) A process that runs in the background
    • c) A security program
    • d) A user interface
    View Answer

    Correct A process that runs in the background

28. Which component is responsible for loading the OS into memory during boot?

    • a) Compiler
    • b) Bootloader
    • c) Device driver
    • d) Scheduler
    View Answer

    Correct Bootloader

29. What is the purpose of the command interpreter in an OS?

    • a) To execute commands entered by the user
    • b) To debug system errors
    • c) To connect hardware to software
    • d) To manage storage devices
    View Answer

    Correct To execute commands entered by the user

30. Which type of operating system ensures a quick response to critical tasks?

    • a) Real-time operating system
    • b) Batch operating system
    • c) Time-sharing operating system
    • d) Distributed operating system
    View Answer

    Correct Real-time operating system