CSCI 4500/8506 Page 1 Quiz 1 Practice QuestionsCSCI 4500/8506 – Spring 2012Sample Questions for Quiz 1(covers modules 1 and 2)1. The first microprocessors did not have separate modes for the kernel or supervisor anduser. Of what significance is this to the operating system for such a microprocessor?a. Obviously not much, since these microprocessors were (and still are, in some cases)widely used.b. Memory protection is the major issue, since it's not possible to prevent userapplications from looking at or changing memory that belongs to the kernel. As long asthe kernel periodically checks the validity of its data, though, the lack of separate userand kernel modes really isn't a problem.c. Plenty! In these systems there is no way to prevent user programs and applicationsfrom intentionally or unintentionally corrupting code and data structures belonging tothe operating system, or from attempting to use a shared I/O device.2. It has been said that the operating system is that portion of a system's software that runs inkernel mode or supervisor mode. Why is this definition inadequate?a. Operating systems written in high-level languages, like Java, do not ever run in kernelmode.b. Some systems (like MINIX 3) run traditional operating system components in usermode. Still others may run multiple operating systems in user mode, with specialvirtualization software used to multiplex the real hardware resources between theoperating systems.c. Some machines may have more than two modes, and in these cases it is impossible toassociate a single mode with the kernel.3. At the machine language level, how are devices controlled?a. Each device has its own set of machine language instructions that can be executed tocause the device to perform operations.b. Special registers called device registers can be loaded to direct a device to perform anoperation.c. Devices are not controlled by anything at the machine language level. All devicecontrol is done at the microarchitecture level.4. What are the major functions of an operating system?a. Perform input/output on disks (and other similar devices) and terminals (keyboards,mice, and displays), and allocate and deallocate primary memory for user processes.b. Guarantee that only appropriately licensed user may execute commands, and takecorrective action when security problems are detected.c. Provide an extended machine which is easier to use than the bare hardware, andmanage the use of complex system resources.CSCI 4500/8506 Page 2 Quiz 1 Practice Questions5. A computer system's resources can be shared in two ways. What are these?a. Sharing by priority: highest priority user gets the resource until it is finished, thensecond highest priority user gets it, ...; and round-robin sharing: each user gets theresource for a fixed amount of time, then repeat.b. Sharing in time: user 1, user 2, user 1, ...; and sharing in space: user 1 and user 2 eachget part of the resource.c. Sharing by lottery: a user needing the resource is randomly selected from all usersneeding the resource; and sharing by payment: a user willing to pay the most for theresource is allowed to use it first.6. Who designed the first true digital computer?a. Charles Babbageb. J. Presper Eckertc. John Mauchley7. Which of the following devices was used in the first generation of real digital computers(that is, those that were actually built and used)?a. vacuum tubesb. transistorsc. LSI technology8. Who was the father of the person after whom the Ada (reg tm) programming language wasnamed?a. Lord Byronb. General Montgomeryc. Lord Mountbatten9. What device(s) was(were) used for the input of jobs to, and output of results from, themain computer in a batch computing system?a. DVDsb. USB memory devicesc. magnetic tape10. For what purpose was the IBM 1401 computer frequently used?a. With very large disk drives (for the time), it was used to provide processing of SQLqueries for other computer systems.b. It was used as a telecommunications front-end processor.c. It was often used to copy jobs from punched cards to magnetic tape, and to copy resultsfrom magnetic tape to line printers.11. Actions taken by a computer in processing a batch job were primarily controlled by what?a. Commands entered by the operator on the computer's consoleb. Control cards such as $JOB, $LOAD, and $RUNc. A key inserted by the operator into a slot on the computerCSCI 4500/8506 Page 3 Quiz 1 Practice Questions12. Just before the introduction of IBM 360 computer systems, what were the main types ofcomputers available?a. Systems that used wired plugboards for input, those that used punched cards, and thosethat used magnetic tapesb. Number-crunching scientific systems and character-oriented systems for sorting andprintingc. Systems with 32 bits per word, 36 bits per word, and those with 60 bits per word13. The first major computer to use integrated circuits wasa. the Bendix G-15.b. the IBM 360.c. the UNIVAC 1108.14. Multiprogramming attempts to eliminate significant waste of what computer systemresource(s)?a. memoryb. CPUc. tape drives15. Which of the following special features is needed to support multiprogramming?a. memory protection hardwareb. mercury delay linesc. fast carry look-ahead generators16. What unrealistic goal was associated with the OS/360 operating system?a. It had to run well on small and large systems, on commercial and scientific systems, onsystems with few and with many peripheral devices, and it had to be efficient in allcases.b. It had to support emulation of the IBM 1401 and IBM 7094 so the work being done inthe predecessor batch systems could be moved seamlessly to the 360.c. It had to be sufficiently efficient so it never used more than five (5) percent of the CPUresource, even under heavy load on small low-end 360 systems.17. To what does the acronym spooling refer?a. Stored Program Operations Off Lineb. Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On Linec. Sequential Polling Of Operation Licensing18. When a system uses spooling,a. object-oriented linking of relocatable object modules eliminates the need for a separatelink step or a linking loader.b. off-line systems to copy cards to tape and tape to print are not necessary.c. several sequential system calls from a programm can be submitted as a group to saveoverhead during kernel entry.CSCI 4500/8506 Page 4 Quiz 1 Practice Questions19. How are timesharing and multiprogramming related?a. Timesharing is used to allow multiple users at online terminals to access