Basics of Operating Systems MCQs – 30 Essential Questions
Questions: 30
Questions
-
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
-
2. Which of the following is NOT an operating system?
- a) Windows
- b) Linux
- c) Google Chrome
- d) MacOS
-
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
-
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
-
5. Which of the following is an example of a real-time operating system?
- a) Windows XP
- b) Linux Mint
- c) RTOS
- d) macOS
-
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
-
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
-
8. Which component of the operating system manages the CPU?
- a) File system
- b) Kernel
- c) Process scheduler
- d) Memory manager
-
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
-
10. Which of the following is an example of a distributed operating system?
- a) Windows
- b) Android
- c) Linux Mint
- d) 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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
15. Which of these is a popular open-source operating system?
- a) MacOS
- b) Windows
- c) Linux
- d) Android
-
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
-
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
-
18. Which of the following operating systems is NOT UNIX-based?
- a) Linux
- b) Windows
- c) macOS
- d) FreeBSD
-
19. What does GUI stand for?
- a) General User Interface
- b) Graphic Utility Interpreter
- c) Graphical User Interface
- d) Graphics Used in Internet
-
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
-
21. Which operating system is most commonly used for mainframes?
- a) macOS
- b) z/OS
- c) Windows Server
- d) Android
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
25. Which of the following is an example of a closed-source operating system?
- a) Android
- b) Linux
- c) Windows
- d) Ubuntu
-
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
-
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
-
28. Which component is responsible for loading the OS into memory during boot?
- a) Compiler
- b) Bootloader
- c) Device driver
- d) Scheduler
-
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
-
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
Ready to put your knowledge to the test? Take this exam and evaluate your understanding of the subject.
Start Exam