Operating System Mcq

Operating System MCQ

Explore and test your knowledge of the operating system with these 50 multiple choice questions (MCQs) with detailed explanations for each correct answer.

Whether you're a student preparing for an exam, an IT professional looking to improve your understanding, or someone interested in exploring the intricacies of operating systems, this book covers topics of many kinds.

Questions include key areas such as memory management, file systems, process scheduling, command-line utilities, and more. The accompanying explanations provide insight into the reasoning behind each correct choice, making this a valuable teaching tool for those seeking to strengthen their understanding of basic programming concepts

Use these MCQs as a self-assessment resource, study aid, or as a way to expand your knowledge of the operating system. The clear explanations aim to provide an in-depth understanding of each concept, ensuring that students of all levels benefit from this comprehensive and informative summary.

1. **What is an operating system?**

a. Software that manages hardware resources

b. A collection of device drivers

c. Application software

d. All of the above

**Correct Answer: a. Software that manages hardware resources**

- Explanation: An operating system is a software that manages hardware resources and provides services to applications.

2. **What is the role of the kernel in an operating system?**

a. User interface

b. Memory management

c. File management

d. Both b and c

**Correct Answer: d. Both b and c**

- Explanation: The kernel is responsible for managing the system's memory and handling file operations.

3. **What is the purpose of the command interpreter or shell in an operating system?**

a. Manage files

b. Provide a user interface

c. Run application programs

d. Both b and c

**Correct Answer: d. Both b and c**

- Explanation: The shell provides a user interface and runs application programs.

4. **Which memory management technique allows a process to be moved during its execution from one memory segment to another?**

a. Paging

b. Contiguous memory allocation

c. Segmentation

d. Virtual memory

**Correct Answer: c. Segmentation**

- Explanation: Segmentation allows a process to be moved from one memory segment to another.

5. **What is the purpose of an interrupt in an operating system?**

a. To stop a program

b. To initiate I/O operations

c. To handle exceptional conditions

d. Both b and c

**Correct Answer: d. Both b and c**

- Explanation: Interrupts are used to initiate I/O operations and handle exceptional conditions.

6. **Which scheduling algorithm provides the highest turnaround time?**

a. First Come First Serve (FCFS)

b. Shortest Job Next (SJN)

c. Round Robin

d. Priority Scheduling

**Correct Answer: a. First Come First Serve (FCFS)**

- Explanation: FCFS provides the highest turnaround time, especially for long processes.

7. **What is a deadlock in the context of an operating system?**

a. A process that is waiting for a resource indefinitely

b. Two or more processes are unable to proceed because each is waiting for the other

c. A process exceeds its allocated time quantum

d. Both a and b

**Correct Answer: b. Two or more processes are unable to proceed because each is waiting for the other**

- Explanation: A deadlock occurs when processes are unable to proceed due to circular waiting.

8. **Which file system is commonly used in Linux distributions?**

a. NTFS

b. FAT32

c. ext4

d. HFS+

**Correct Answer: c. ext4**

- Explanation: ext4 is a widely used file system in Linux distributions.

9. **What is the purpose of the 'ls' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. List files and directories

b. Print system logs

c. Load a shell

d. Lock screen

**Correct Answer: a. List files and directories**

- Explanation: The 'ls' command is used to list files and directories.

10. **Which of the following is not a real-time operating system?**

a. Windows CE

b. VxWorks

c. Linux

d. QNX

**Correct Answer: c. Linux**

- Explanation: Linux is not primarily designed as a real-time operating system.

11. **What is the main purpose of the 'chmod' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Change the mode of a file

b. Change the owner of a file

c. Change the group of a file

d. Change the timestamp of a file

**Correct Answer: a. Change the mode of a file**

- Explanation: The 'chmod' command is used to change the permissions of a file.

12. **Which process scheduling algorithm uses time slices or quanta?**

a. First Come First Serve (FCFS)

b. Shortest Job Next (SJN)

c. Round Robin

d. Priority Scheduling

**Correct Answer: c. Round Robin**

- Explanation: Round Robin scheduling uses time slices for each process.

13. **What is the purpose of a device driver in an operating system?**

a. Manage memory

b. Manage processes

c. Interface with hardware devices

d. Run applications

**Correct Answer: c. Interface with hardware devices**

- Explanation: Device drivers allow the operating system to communicate with hardware devices.

14. **Which of the following is a feature of a multiprogramming operating system?**

a. Concurrent execution of multiple programs

b. Single-tasking

c. Limited memory utilization

d. Both b and c

**Correct Answer: a. Concurrent execution of multiple programs**

- Explanation: Multiprogramming allows concurrent execution of multiple programs.

15. **What is the purpose of the 'grep' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Search for a pattern in a file

b. Copy files

c. Delete files

d. Move files

**Correct Answer: a. Search for a pattern in a file**

- Explanation: The 'grep' command is used to search for a pattern in a file.

16. **Which memory allocation technique suffers from external fragmentation?**

a. Paging

b. Contiguous memory allocation

c. Segmentation

d. Virtual memory

**Correct Answer: b. Contiguous memory allocation**

- Explanation: Contiguous memory allocation can lead to external fragmentation.

17. **In a preemptive scheduling algorithm, a process can be forcibly removed from the CPU. What event triggers this?**

a. I/O request

b. Time quantum expiration

c. Process termination

d. All of the above

**Correct Answer: b. Time quantum expiration**

- Explanation: Preemptive scheduling removes a process from the CPU after its time quantum expires.

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

a. Windows 10

b. Android

c. VxWorks

d. Ubuntu

**Correct Answer: c. VxWorks**

- Explanation: VxWorks is designed as a real-time operating system.

19. **What is the purpose of the 'ping' command in networking?**

a. Check network connectivity

b. Download files

c. Display IP configuration

d. List network devices

**Correct Answer: a. Check network connectivity**

- Explanation: The 'ping' command is used to check network connectivity.

20. **Which type of file system is commonly used in Windows operating systems?**

a. ext4

b. NTFS

c. FAT32

d. HFS+

**Correct Answer: b. NTFS**

- Explanation: NTFS is a file system commonly used in Windows operating systems.

21. **What is the purpose of the 'ps' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Display system logs

b. Display running processes

c. Change file permissions

d. Create a new process

**Correct Answer: b. Display running processes**

- Explanation: The 'ps' command is used to display information about running processes.

22. **Which process scheduling algorithm assigns priority levels to processes?**

a. First Come First Serve (FCFS)

b. Shortest Job Next (SJN)

c. Round Robin

d. Priority Scheduling

**Correct Answer: d. Priority Scheduling**

- Explanation: Priority Scheduling assigns priority levels to processes for execution.

23. **What is the purpose of the 'tar' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Compress files

b. Create an archive

c. Copy files

d. Delete files

**Correct Answer: b. Create an archive**

- Explanation: The 'tar' command is used to create archives or compressed files.

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

a. MS-DOS

b. Linux

c. Windows 10

d. Google Chrome OS

**Correct Answer: d. Google Chrome OS**

- Explanation: Google Chrome OS is an example of a distributed operating system.

25. **What is the purpose of the 'fdisk' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Format a disk

b. Display disk space usage

c. Partition a disk

d. Mount a disk

**Correct Answer: c. Partition a disk**

- Explanation: The 'fdisk' command is used to partition a disk in Unix/Linux.

26. **Which of the following is responsible for translating virtual addresses to physical addresses in a virtual memory system?**

a. CPU

b. Memory Management Unit (MMU)

c. File System

d. Device Driver

**Correct Answer: b. Memory Management Unit (MMU)**

- Explanation: The MMU is responsible for translating virtual addresses to physical addresses.

27. **What is the primary function of the 'grep' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Copy files

b. Search for a pattern in files

c. Delete files

d. Move files

**Correct Answer: b. Search for a pattern in files**

- Explanation: 'grep' is used for searching patterns within files.

28. **Which type of operating system allows multiple users to run programs simultaneously?**

a. Single-user operating system

b. Multi-user operating system

c. Real-time operating system

d. Batch processing operating system

**Correct Answer: b. Multi-user operating system**

- Explanation: Multi-user OS allows multiple users to run programs concurrently.

29. **What is the purpose of the 'chmod' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Change file ownership

b. Change file permissions

c. Change file size

d. Change file type

**Correct Answer: b. Change file permissions**

- Explanation: 'chmod' is used to change file permissions in Unix/Linux.

30. **Which of the following is an example of a non-volatile memory in a computer system?**

a. RAM

b. Cache memory

c. Hard disk drive (HDD)

d. Register

**Correct Answer: c. Hard disk drive (HDD)**

- Explanation: HDD is an example of non-volatile memory.

31. **What is the purpose of the 'kill' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Terminate a process

b. Restart the system

c. List running processes

d. Check disk usage

**Correct Answer: a. Terminate a process**

- Explanation: 'kill' is used to terminate a process in Unix/Linux.

32. **Which type of file system is commonly used in macOS?**

a. NTFS

b. HFS+

c. ext4

d. FAT32

**Correct Answer: b. HFS+**

- Explanation: HFS+ is a file system commonly used in macOS.

33. **What is the purpose of the 'ifconfig' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Configure network interfaces

b. Install software packages

c. Display system information

d. Change file permissions

**Correct Answer: a. Configure network interfaces**

- Explanation: 'ifconfig' is used to configure network interfaces.

34. **Which of the following is an example of an embedded operating system?**

a. Windows 10

b. Linux

c. VxWorks

d. macOS

**Correct Answer: c. VxWorks**

- Explanation: VxWorks is commonly used as an embedded operating system.

35. **What is the purpose of the 'mv' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Copy files

b. Delete files

c. Move files

d. Rename files

**Correct Answer: c. Move files**

- Explanation: 'mv' is used to move or rename files in Unix/Linux.

36. **Which of the following is a function of the shell in an operating system?**

a. Manage memory

b. Provide a user interface

c. Interface with hardware devices

d. Allocate CPU time

**Correct Answer: b. Provide a user interface**

- Explanation: The shell provides a command-line or graphical user interface.

37. **What is the purpose of the 'chkdsk' command in Windows?**

a. Check disk space

b. Check file permissions

c. Check and repair file system errors

d. Change system configuration

**Correct Answer: c. Check and repair file system errors**

- Explanation: 'chkdsk' is used to check and repair file system errors in Windows.

38. **In which scheduling algorithm does each process get an equal share of the CPU time?**

a. First Come First Serve (FCFS)

b. Round Robin

c. Shortest Job Next (SJN)

d. Priority Scheduling

**Correct Answer: b. Round Robin**

- Explanation: Round Robin provides each process with an equal time quantum.

39. **What is the purpose of the 'swapon' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Swap file content

b. Enable swapping

c. Display swap space usage

d. Disable swapping

**Correct Answer: b. Enable swapping**

- Explanation: 'swapon' is used to enable swapping in Unix/Linux.

40. **Which of the following is a characteristic of a monolithic kernel?**

a. Efficient in terms of performance

b. Modular design

c. Requires less memory

d. All system services run in a single address space

**Correct Answer: d. All system services run in a single address space**

- Explanation: Monolithic kernels have all system services in a single address space.

41. **What is the role of the 'BIOS' in a computer system?**

a. Manage memory

b. Bootstrap the operating system

c. Interface with hardware devices

d. Allocate CPU time

**Correct Answer: b. Bootstrap the operating system**

- Explanation: The BIOS initiates the boot process and loads the operating system.

42. **Which command is used to display the current directory in Unix/Linux?**

a. pwd

b. cd

c. ls

d. mkdir

**Correct Answer: a. pwd**

- Explanation: 'pwd' displays the current working directory.

43. **In a paged memory management system, what is a page fault?**

a. Error in the page table

b. A page is not found in the main memory

c. CPU exception

d. Process termination

**Correct Answer: b. A page is not found in the main memory**

- Explanation: A page fault occurs when a required page is not in main memory.

44. **Which of the following is an example of a network operating system (NOS)?**

a. Windows 10

b. Linux

c. Windows Server

d. macOS

**Correct Answer: c. Windows Server**

- Explanation: Windows Server is designed as a network operating system.

45. **What is the purpose of the 'grep' command in networking?**

a. Check network connectivity

b. Filter text based on patterns

c. Copy files over a network

d. Configure network interfaces

**Correct Answer: b. Filter text based on patterns**

- Explanation: 'grep' filters text based on patterns, typically used in networking logs.

46. **Which of the following is a characteristic of a real-time operating system?**

a. High performance

b. Predictable response time

c. General-purpose use

d. Large memory footprint

**Correct Answer: b. Predictable response time**

- Explanation: Real-time operating systems prioritize predictable response times.

47. **What is the purpose of the 'cat' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Copy files

b. Display file content

c. Create a new file

d. Move files

**Correct Answer: b. Display file content**

- Explanation: 'cat' is used to display the content of a file in Unix/Linux.

48. **In the context of a file system, what is an inode?**

a. A directory entry

b. A data block

c. An index node

d. A file attribute

**Correct Answer: c. An index node**

- Explanation: An inode is an index node that contains information about a file.

49. **What is the purpose of the 'kill -9' command in Unix/Linux?**

a. Terminate a process

b. Pause a process

c. Restart the system

d. Forcefully terminate a process

**Correct Answer: d. Forcefully terminate a process**

- Explanation: 'kill -9' is used to forcefully terminate a process.

50. **Which of the following is a function of the operating system's file manager?**

a. Memory management

b. User authentication

c. File organization and manipulation

d. Device driver management

**Correct Answer: c. File organization and manipulation**

- Explanation: The file manager handles file organization and manipulation tasks.

Operating System Mcq