Purposes of an Operating System (OS) (Cambridge (CIE) A Level Computer Science): Exam Questions

The kernel is the central component of an Operating System (OS).

Outline how the kernel of an OS acts as an interrupt handler.

(i) State what is meant by the term multi‑tasking in an Operating System.

(1)

(ii) Describe how multi‑tasking is implemented in an Operating System.

(2)

A student buys a new computer.

State one benefit to the student of a user interface and give an example.

Benefit

Example

Two of the process states are the running state and the ready state.

Identify one other process state.

Outline conditions under which a process could change from the running state to the ready state.

Outline the reasons why an operating system may need to use virtual memory.

Explain the circumstances in which disk thrashing could occur.