CMSC 421 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS. VERIFIED 2026.
Difference between protection and security - ANS Protection keeps the system from killing
itself. Security keeps other things from killing the system
what two things does the OS do - ANS resource allocator (manages resources) and a control
program (handles errors)
what is the kernal - ANS The operating system component running on the computer at all
times after system boot.
what are the two types of programs - ANS system programs, which are associated with the
operating system but are not necessarily part of the kernel
application programs, which include all programs not associated with the operation of the
system
describe middleware - ANS Middleware is a set of software frameworks that provide
additional services to application developers.
T/F: The operating system kernel consists of all system and application programs in a computer -
ANS FALSE
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
, T/F All computer systems have some sort of user interaction - ANS FALSE
What is a bus? - ANS A communication system; e.g., within a computer, a bus connects
various components, such as the CPU and I/O devices, allowing them to transfer data and
commands.
what is the most common secondary storage device - ANS Magnetic Disk.
difference between Flash memory and DRAM - ANS Flash memory is slower than DRAM but
needs no power to retain its contents.
what can trigger interrupts - ANS hardware or software
Which of the following would lead you to believe that a given system is an SMP-type system? -
ANS Each processor performs all tasks within the operating system.
describe a clustered system - ANS A clustered system gathers together multiple CPUs to
accomplish computational work
T/F: A dual-core system requires each core has its own cache memory. - ANS FALSE
Monolithic - ANS The OS does stuff by itself.
All the light touches is monolithic
Microkernels - ANS are tiny kernels that need to be able to at least handle interprocess
communication (help processes talk to each other), memory management (manage memory),
process/thread management (CPU scheduling)
examples of microkernals - ANS Mach, horizon, and minix
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
ANSWERS. VERIFIED 2026.
Difference between protection and security - ANS Protection keeps the system from killing
itself. Security keeps other things from killing the system
what two things does the OS do - ANS resource allocator (manages resources) and a control
program (handles errors)
what is the kernal - ANS The operating system component running on the computer at all
times after system boot.
what are the two types of programs - ANS system programs, which are associated with the
operating system but are not necessarily part of the kernel
application programs, which include all programs not associated with the operation of the
system
describe middleware - ANS Middleware is a set of software frameworks that provide
additional services to application developers.
T/F: The operating system kernel consists of all system and application programs in a computer -
ANS FALSE
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
1
, T/F All computer systems have some sort of user interaction - ANS FALSE
What is a bus? - ANS A communication system; e.g., within a computer, a bus connects
various components, such as the CPU and I/O devices, allowing them to transfer data and
commands.
what is the most common secondary storage device - ANS Magnetic Disk.
difference between Flash memory and DRAM - ANS Flash memory is slower than DRAM but
needs no power to retain its contents.
what can trigger interrupts - ANS hardware or software
Which of the following would lead you to believe that a given system is an SMP-type system? -
ANS Each processor performs all tasks within the operating system.
describe a clustered system - ANS A clustered system gathers together multiple CPUs to
accomplish computational work
T/F: A dual-core system requires each core has its own cache memory. - ANS FALSE
Monolithic - ANS The OS does stuff by itself.
All the light touches is monolithic
Microkernels - ANS are tiny kernels that need to be able to at least handle interprocess
communication (help processes talk to each other), memory management (manage memory),
process/thread management (CPU scheduling)
examples of microkernals - ANS Mach, horizon, and minix
@COPYRIGHT 2026/2027 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2
