Process Concepts and Scheduling: Master the Fundamentals of Process Management

Question 1

Which scheduling algorithm prioritizes processes with shorter execution times?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

First-Come First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Round-Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Question 2

Which scheduling algorithm operates on a first-come, first-served basis, without preempting running processes?

Accepted Answer

First-Come, First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Question 3

Which of the following is NOT a valid process state?

Accepted Answer

Created

Answer

Running

Answer

Waiting

Answer

Terminated

Question 4

Which scheduling algorithm is most appropriate for systems with interactive and time-critical processes?

Accepted Answer

Round-Robin (RR)

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Lottery Scheduling

Question 5

The context switch time is primarily used to:

Accepted Answer

Save the state of one process and load the state of another

Answer

Create a new process

Answer

Terminate a process

Answer

Schedule a process

Question 6

Deadlock occurs when:

Accepted Answer

Multiple processes hold resources and wait for each other to release them

Answer

A single process runs for an indefinitely long time

Answer

All available memory is consumed

Answer

A system call fails

Question 7

Which of the following scheduling algorithms is designed to prevent starvation?

Accepted Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Round-Robin (RR)

Answer

First-Come-First-Served (FCFS)

Question 8

In a First-Come First-Served (FCFS) scheduling algorithm, which process will be executed first?

Accepted Answer

The process that has been waiting for the longest time

Answer

The process with the highest priority

Answer

The process with the shortest burst time

Answer

The process with the lowest memory requirement

Question 9

What is the main purpose of thread synchronization mechanisms?

Accepted Answer

To prevent race conditions and data inconsistency

Answer

To increase processor utilization

Answer

To increase I/O throughput

Answer

To reduce memory consumption

Question 10

Which scheduling algorithm prioritizes processes based on their remaining execution time?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Lottery Scheduling

Question 11

What is the primary purpose of a process control block (PCB)?

Accepted Answer

To store and manage information about a process

Answer

To schedule the process for execution

Answer

To provide I/O services to the process

Answer

To manage the process's memory

Question 12

Which scheduling algorithm is commonly used for real-time systems?

Accepted Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

First-Come First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Question 13

What is the fundamental difference between a process and a thread?

Accepted Answer

Threads share the same address space as the process they belong to, while processes do not.

Answer

Processes share the same memory space as the threads they contain, while threads do not.

Answer

Threads are lightweight processes, while processes are heavyweight threads.

Answer

Processes are lightweight threads, while threads are heavyweight processes.

Question 14

In a multiprogrammed environment, how does context switching affect system performance?

Accepted Answer

Diminishes performance due to increased overhead.

Answer

Enhances performance by reducing wait time.

Question 15

Which characteristic accurately describes a thread within a process?

Accepted Answer

Shares the same address space as other threads within the process.

Answer

Possesses its own exclusive address space.

Answer

Maintains a unique set of resources not shared with other threads.

Answer

Operates entirely independently of other threads within the process.

Question 16

What fundamental distinction exists between preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling algorithms?

Accepted Answer

Preemptive algorithms allow for interruptions and priority-based switching, while non-preemptive algorithms do not.

Answer

Non-preemptive algorithms allow for interruptions and priority-based switching, while preemptive algorithms do not.

Answer

Preemptive algorithms always prioritize the shortest job, while non-preemptive algorithms do not.

Answer

Non-preemptive algorithms always prioritize the shortest job, while preemptive algorithms do not.

Question 17

What is the primary purpose of a context switch?

Accepted Answer

Preservation of the state of the current process and loading the state of the new process.

Answer

Termination of the current process and creation of a new process.

Answer

Temporary suspension of the current process and resumption of the new process.

Answer

Allocation of memory for the new process and deallocation of memory for the current process.

Question 18

What is the primary advantage of employing multi-threaded programming?

Accepted Answer

Concurrent execution and shared memory access.

Answer

Reduced memory consumption.

Answer

Enhanced security.

Answer

Improved performance without additional resources.

Question 19

What is the primary role of a process control block (PCB)?

Accepted Answer

Storage of process-related information, including state, resources, and execution history.

Answer

Management of process scheduling.

Answer

Provision of a communication channel between processes.

Answer

Control of memory allocation for processes.

Question 20

What is the fundamental difference between a system call and a library call?

Accepted Answer

System calls require kernel mode access, while library calls do not.

Answer

Library calls require kernel mode access, while system calls do not.

Answer

System calls are inherently faster than library calls.

Answer

Library calls are inherently faster than system calls.

Question 21

Which scheduling algorithm prioritizes processes with the shortest execution time?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

First-Come First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Question 22

What is the primary purpose of a thread?

Accepted Answer

To execute code concurrently within a process

Answer

To share resources with other threads in the same process

Answer

To provide isolation between different processes

Answer

To manage memory for a process

Question 23

Which of the following is not an advantage of using threads?

Accepted Answer

Increased code complexity

Answer

Improved responsiveness

Answer

Reduced context switching overhead

Answer

Enhanced concurrency

Question 24

What is the main purpose of a process control block (PCB)?

Accepted Answer

To store and manage information about a process

Answer

To schedule processes for execution

Answer

To manage memory for a process

Answer

To handle inter-process communication

Question 25

What is the key distinction between preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling?

Accepted Answer

Preemptive scheduling allows processes to be interrupted while executing, while non-preemptive scheduling does not

Answer

Non-preemptive scheduling allows processes to be interrupted while executing, while preemptive scheduling does not

Answer

Preemptive scheduling is used for real-time systems, while non-preemptive scheduling is used for batch processing systems

Answer

Non-preemptive scheduling is used for real-time systems, while preemptive scheduling is used for batch processing systems

Question 26

What is the primary purpose of inter-process communication (IPC)?

Accepted Answer

To establish communication channels between processes, allowing them to share data and interact with each other

Answer

To manage memory for a process

Answer

To handle input/output operations

Answer

To schedule processes for execution

Question 27

In a non-preemptive scheduling algorithm, processes are assigned to the CPU based solely on which criterion?

Accepted Answer

Arrival time

Answer

Priority

Answer

Estimated execution time

Answer

Round Robin

Question 28

Which of the following best defines a process?

Accepted Answer

A program in execution

Answer

A virtual memory region

Answer

A collection of threads

Answer

A set of running programs

Question 29

First-Come First-Served (FCFS) scheduling is characterized as:

Accepted Answer

Non-preemptive

Answer

Preemptive

Answer

Priority-based

Answer

Shortest-Job-First

Question 30

Which scheduling algorithm prioritizes processes with shorter execution times?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

First-Come First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Question 31

What is the fundamental difference between a process and a thread?

Accepted Answer

Threads share the same address space, while processes have separate ones

Answer

Processes have higher priority than threads

Answer

Threads are always created before processes

Question 32

Priority scheduling assigns priorities to processes. What is a potential concern associated with priority scheduling?

Accepted Answer

Starvation

Answer

Thrashing

Answer

Memory leaks

Answer

Deadlock

Question 33

Which scheduling algorithm balances fairness and efficiency by allocating time slices to each process?

Accepted Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

First-Come First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Question 34

A thread is often referred to as a:

Accepted Answer

Lightweight process

Answer

Heavyweight process

Answer

Kernel object

Answer

Virtual machine

Question 35

What is a key advantage of multithreading?

Accepted Answer

Improved performance in multi-core systems

Answer

Elimination of race conditions

Answer

Guaranteed fairness in resource allocation

Answer

Reduced memory usage

Question 36

Which scheduling algorithm prioritizes processes based on their **estimated** execution time?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

First Come First Serve (FCFS)

Question 37

Which of the following techniques can be used to **improve** the performance of context switching?

Accepted Answer

Lazy switching

Answer

Priority-based switching

Answer

Cooperative switching

Answer

Eager switching

Question 38

What is the primary mechanism used to synchronize access to **shared** resources among threads?

Accepted Answer

Mutex

Answer

Semaphore

Answer

Condition variable

Answer

Barrier

Question 39

What is the advantage of using a time quantum in Round Robin scheduling?

Accepted Answer

Ensures fairness and prevents **indefinite blocking**.

Answer

Reduces context switching overhead.

Answer

Enhances CPU utilization.

Question 40

Which of the following is a major **drawback** of multithreaded programming?

Accepted Answer

Increased complexity and potential **race conditions**.

Answer

Higher memory consumption.

Answer

Reduced performance due to shared resources.

Question 41

What is the **role** of a scheduler in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

To manage and allocate CPU resources to processes.

Answer

To provide protection and isolation between processes.

Answer

To handle memory allocation and management.

Answer

To handle input and output operations.

Question 42

Which scheduling algorithm assigns priority to processes based on their estimated shortest execution time?

Accepted Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

First Come First Served (FCFS)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Question 43

What is the purpose of a process control block (PCB)?

Accepted Answer

To store and manage information related to a process

Answer

To schedule processes

Answer

To manage thread priority

Answer

To execute system calls

Question 44

Which of the following is NOT a metric commonly used to compare scheduling algorithms?

Accepted Answer

Simplicity of implementation

Answer

Throughput

Answer

Waiting time

Answer

Turnaround time

Question 45

Which of the following factors is most influential in determining the choice of scheduling algorithm?

Accepted Answer

System workload and requirements

Answer

Type of operating system

Answer

Processor architecture

Answer

Available memory

Question 46

Which technique can be employed to reduce thread synchronization overhead?

Accepted Answer

Lock-free synchronization

Answer

Deadlock

Answer

Busy waiting

Answer

Priority inversion

Question 47

What is the primary function of thread local storage (TLS)?

Accepted Answer

To provide private data storage for each thread

Answer

To improve thread cache performance

Answer

To enforce thread isolation

Answer

To reduce context switching overhead

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of using threads?

Accepted Answer

Increased memory consumption

Answer

Improved concurrency

Answer

Reduced context switching overhead

Question 49

Which scheduling algorithm, while simple, can lead to longer-running processes hindering the progress of shorter ones?

Accepted Answer

First-Come, First-Served (FCFS)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Question 50

What is the key benefit of using a preemptive scheduling algorithm?

Accepted Answer

Preventing a single process from hogging the CPU, ensuring fairness for other processes.

Answer

Simplifying the scheduling process itself.

Answer

Guaranteeing that the shortest process completes first.

Question 51

A process in the 'Ready' state is waiting for:

Accepted Answer

The CPU to become available for execution.

Answer

Memory to be allocated to it.

Answer

An I/O operation to finish.

Answer

User input to proceed.

Question 52

For real-time systems where meeting deadlines is paramount, which scheduling algorithm is most suitable?

Accepted Answer

Real-Time Scheduling

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Question 53

What happens during a context switch?

Accepted Answer

The current process's state is saved, and the next process's state is loaded into memory.

Answer

A process moves from the Ready queue to the Running queue.

Answer

Memory is allocated to a new process.

Question 54

What is the fundamental difference between a process and a thread?

Accepted Answer

Processes have their own dedicated memory space, while threads share the same memory space.

Answer

Processes are more adaptable than threads.

Answer

Threads are more efficient in resource usage than processes.

Question 55

Which scheduling algorithm is generally considered the fairest for all processes, giving each a chance to run?

Accepted Answer

Round Robin (RR)

Answer

Priority Scheduling

Answer

Shortest Job First (SJF)

Answer

First-Come, First-Served (FCFS)

Question 56

A process in the 'Blocked' state is waiting for:

Accepted Answer

An I/O operation (like reading from a disk) to complete.

Answer

The CPU to become available for its use.

Answer

Memory to be allocated to it.

Answer

User input to trigger its next action.

Question 57

What is the primary objective of a scheduling algorithm?

Accepted Answer

Optimizing resource utilization and overall system performance, balancing fairness and efficiency.

Answer

Ensuring that every process completes execution without interruption.

Answer

Giving equal time slices to all processes, regardless of their needs.

Question 58

What is a race condition in the context of multiple processes?

Accepted Answer

A situation where the outcome of a program depends on the unpredictable order in which multiple processes access shared resources.

Answer

When a process is stuck waiting for another process to finish its task.