Question 1

Software-generated interrupts in the IA-32 architecture can be used to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   indicate errors occurring in hardware
B)   perform system calls
C)   indicate an I/O completion
D)   none of the above B

Question 2

What type of exception would occur in the IA-32 architecture if a process attempts to divide by zero?

Accepted Answer

A)   fault
B)   trap
C)   abort
D)   any of the above could occur A

Question 3

Typically, the ready list of ready processes is maintained in ________ order, while the blocked list of blocked processes is ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   prioritized, unordered
B)   random, prioritized
C)   alphabetical, ordered chronologically
D)   chronological, prioritized A

Question 4

What operation is particularly useful for detecting security threats and debugging software?

Accepted Answer

A)   dispatch
B)   suspend
C)   block
D)   abort

Question 5

________________ employs interprocess communication.

Accepted Answer

A)   A text editor sending a document to a print spooler
B)   A Web browser retrieving data from a distant server
C)   A distributed application used to find large prime numbers
D)   all of the above

Question 6

Which of the following statements about pipes is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   A pipe serves as a buffer through which two or more processes can exchange data.
B)   The operating system synchronizes access to a pipe.
C)   After a process reads data from the pipe, the data is removed from the pipe.
D)   all of the above

Question 7

When a process ________ a signal, the operating system responds to the signal using the default signal handler; however, when a process ________ a signal of a particular type, the operating system does not deliver signals of that type and does not respond to the signal.

Accepted Answer

A)   masks, catches
B)   ignores, masks
C)   catches, masks
D)   masks, ignores

Question 8

________ assigns a processor to the first process in the ready list.

Accepted Answer

A)   Initializing
B)   Instantiating
C)   Dispatching
D)   Loading

Question 9

A ________ send is an example of ________ communication that requires the sender to wait for receipt notification before continuing program execution.

Accepted Answer

A)   blocking, synchronous
B)   blocking, asynchronous
C)   nonblocking, synchronous
D)   nonblocking, asynchronous

Question 10

How many processes truly can execute concurrently in a system at any time?

Accepted Answer

A)   any number
B)   at least as many as there are processors
C)   at most as many as there are processors
D)   none of the above

Question 11

The interrupt vector ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   is an array of pointers to PCBs of processes generating interrupts.
B)   can be modified only by running processes.
C)   is an array of pointers to interrupt handlers.
D)   stores information about each interrupt that occurs.

Question 12

When a child process is spawned, the UNIX fork system call returns ________ to the parent process and ________ to the child process.

Accepted Answer

A)   a value of zero, the PID of the parent process
B)   a value of one, the PID of the parent process
C)   the PID of the child process, a value of zero
D)   the PID of the child process, a value of one

Question 13

A process control block (PCB) typically includes which of the following information?

Accepted Answer

A)   the process's execution context
B)   the process state
C)   the process identification number (PI
D)  
D)   all of the above

Question 14

Which of the following statements about signals is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Signals often are used to pass data between processes.
B)   All operating systems use the same set of signals.
C)   Signals notify a process that an event has occurred.
D)   all of the above

Question 15

Which of the following can occur?

Accepted Answer

A)   A running process may suspend itself.
B)   A running process may be suspended by a blocked process.
C)   A running process may be suspended by a ready process.
D)   none of the above

Question 16

Which of the following typically is not part of a process's execution context?

Accepted Answer

A)   general-purpose registers that store process data
B)   process management registers
C)   pointers to the process's parent and child processes
D)   registers that store pointers to the process's address space

Question 17

Which of the following statements about UNIX processes is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   The UNIX kernel allows user processes to modify PCBs as needed.
B)   UNIX processes are provided with a range of physical addresses in which to store its code, data and stack.
C)   The process table allows the operating system to access information regarding every process.
D)   all of the above

Question 18

Which of the following may occur when a process is destroyed?

Accepted Answer

A)   The process's memory and other resources are returned to the system.
B)   The destroyed process's children are destroyed.
C)   The process is removed from any system lists or tables.
D)   all of the above

Question 19

An operating system must be designed such that ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   context-switching time is maximized
B)   context switches are transparent to processes
C)   as many "useful" computations as possible are performed while switching contexts
D)   all of the above

Question 20

________ can be used instead of interrupts to inform the processor of changes in device status?

Accepted Answer

A)   Polling
B)   Querying
C)   Exceptions
D)   Events

Exam 3: Understanding Processes and Threads in Operating Systems