Systems Software

What are the four main functions of an operating system?

What is the purpose of a file system?

What is the role of the OS in managing memory?

What is virtual memory and why does an OS use it?

Explain what fragmentation is and distinguish between internal and external fragmentation.

Which of the following is an example of the operating system performing file management?

Explain what is meant by "device management" as a function of an operating system.

A user opens a word processor, a web browser, and a music player at the same time. Which OS function is primarily responsible for ensuring each program gets a fair share of CPU time?

Explain why memory management is needed when several programs are running on a computer at the same time.

Which of these tasks is an example of process management by the operating system?

What is multitasking?

What is multitasking in the context of an operating system?

Describe the round robin CPU scheduling algorithm and give one advantage over First Come First Served (FCFS).

What is a "time slice" (or quantum) in the context of CPU scheduling?

Explain how the operating system creates the impression that multiple programs are running at exactly the same time on a single-core processor.

What does it mean for a process to be in a "waiting" state?

Explain why a CPU with multiple cores can run more processes truly simultaneously than a single-core CPU.

A process is given a higher "priority" by the operating system. What effect does this have on CPU scheduling?

State two pieces of information the operating system needs to keep track of for each running process in order to manage multitasking.

A user notices their computer becomes very slow when many programs are open at once, even though only one program is being actively used. Which OS function is most directly responsible for trying to manage this situation?

What is a device driver?

What is the purpose of a device driver?

What is the difference between BIOS and UEFI?

A user plugs in a new printer, but the computer cannot use it until specific software is installed for that model. What is this software called?

Explain what would happen if a computer did not have the correct device driver installed for its graphics card.

Why does each model of printer typically require its own specific device driver, rather than one universal driver working for all printers?

Explain how a device driver allows application software to use a hardware device without the application needing to know the technical details of that hardware.

What might happen if an operating system is updated but a piece of hardware's device driver is not updated to match?

A new graphics card is installed in a computer. State two things the manufacturer might provide to ensure the OS can use it fully.

Which statement best describes the relationship between the operating system and device drivers?

What is defragmentation and why might it be needed?

State three examples of utility software and describe the purpose of each.

What is the main purpose of compression utility software?

Explain the purpose of backup utility software, and state one reason backups are important.

Which type of utility software would be used to encrypt a folder of sensitive documents before storing them?

Explain why defragmentation utility software is not used on solid-state drives (SSDs).

A user has a folder containing 500 photos that they want to email, but the total size is too large to attach. Which type of utility software would help, and how?

Describe the difference between a full backup and an incremental backup.

Which of the following best explains why encryption utility software is considered important for data security?

A company runs a full backup of its servers every Sunday and an incremental backup every other day. Explain one advantage of this approach compared to running a full backup every day.

What is a GUI?

What is the difference between a CLI and a GUI?

Give one advantage of a command line interface (CLI) over a graphical user interface (GUI).

Explain one advantage of a touch interface for a mobile device compared to using a keyboard and mouse.

Which type of user interface would be most suitable for a novice computer user who has never used a computer before?

State one disadvantage of a touch interface compared to a physical keyboard.

A system administrator needs to perform the same set of file operations on thousands of files across a server. Which interface type would most likely be used, and why?

Explain why a GUI generally requires more processing power and memory than a CLI to run.

Which of these is an example of a touch interface gesture?

Compare a GUI and a CLI in terms of how easy they are to learn for a new user, and how efficient they are for an experienced user performing repetitive tasks.

What is the main difference between systems software and application software?

Give one example of systems software and one example of application software.

Which of the following is an example of application software?

Explain why an operating system is classed as systems software rather than application software.

A user installs a spreadsheet program to manage their household budget. What category of software is this?

Explain why utility software (such as antivirus or disk cleanup tools) is generally classed as systems software, even though users interact with it directly.

Which of these statements about systems software and application software is correct?

Explain why a computer cannot run application software without an operating system being installed.

A school computer has Windows installed, along with Microsoft Word, a printer driver, and an antivirus program. Which of these is application software?

Categorise each of the following as either systems software or application software: (a) a web browser, (b) a device driver, (c) an operating system, (d) a video game.