SLR1.5

Question 1

what is an operating system

Answer 1

• provides a platform on which users can run programs
• software that tells the hardware what to do
• controls the operations of the computer

Question 2

utility software

Answer 2

used to maintain the computer system

Question 3

types of user interfaces:

Answer 3

GUI (graphical user interface)
command line
menu
natural language

Question 4

GUI

Answer 4

graphical user interface
the way in which you interact with a computer as a human being
includes windows, icons, menus, pointers
interactive and intuititve
optimised for mouse and touch gesture

Question 5

command line interface

Answer 5

text based
less source heavy compared to a GUI
more common than a GUI
efficient
useful for automating processing

Question 6

menu driven interface

Answer 6

e.g. pin and chip devices
successive menus presented to the user
single options chosen at each stage
often with buttons on a keypad

Question 7

natural language

Answer 7

responds to questions in spoken language
not always reliable
getting better all the time

Question 8

multitasking

Answer 8

running multiple applications at the same time by giving each application a small slice off processor time

Question 9

device drivers

Answer 9

translates operating system instructions into commands that the hardware will understand

The device can also pass data back to the operating system using the device driver

Question 10

what is user mangement

Answer 10

allows different users to log into a computer
data from each user is saved, e.g. theme
users could have different access rights to files and programs

Question 11

file management

Answer 11

data is stored in files
an extension to file name tells the operating system which application to load the file into

Question 12

encryption

Answer 12

utilises use algorithms to scramble plain text into cypher text

Question 13

defragmentation

Answer 13

reorganises files on a hard disk, putting fragments of files back together, and to collect free space
This reduces the movement of a read/write head across the surface of the disk speeding up file access

Question 14

data compression

Answer 14

reduces the size of a file so that it takes up less space, and is quicker to download over the internet

Question 15

System information utility

Answer 15

displays important data about the current state of the computer
e.g temperature

Question 16

Diagnosis utility

Answer 16

detects and resolves items that are not working
e.g network connection

Question 17

system software

Answer 17

Software that governs the computer system. It:
controls the hardware
allows applications to run
provides an interface for the user to interact with the computer

Question 18

incremental backup

Answer 18

Only the changes made to the device needs to be backed up
Small number of files are used between backup
Take less time
Each backup will take less memory to store

Question 19

full backup

Answer 19

backups all data, files and software
longer compared to incremental backup
faster to restore backups

Question 20

open source software

Answer 20

The source code is distributed with the software
The customer can modify the source code

Question 21

examples of utility system software

Answer 21

Defragmentation software
Backup software
Anti-virus
Firewall

Question 22

why do solid state drives not need to be fragmented

Answer 22

Solid state drives do not need to be defragmented because they contain no moving parts
they are random access memory, not sequential access

Defragmenting an SSD actually reduces their lifespan
defragmentation requires a lot of read and write cycles, which SSDs have a finite amount of

Question 23

functions of file management

Answer 23

copying files
deleting files
moving files
renaming files

Question 24

what is peripheral management

Answer 24

allows external hardware to connect to the CPU

Question 25

explain the process of defragmentation

Answer 25

files are moved around to create free space
file fragments are combined into the free space
files are all moved together, leaving all the free space in one place

Question 26

difference between operating system and system software

Answer 26

operating system is essential for the function for the computer
system software is optional that can help the computer system

Question 27

functions of the operating system

Answer 27

controlling hardware components
providing a platform for software to run on
providing a user interface
managing processes
managing the computer’s memory

Question 28

fragmentation

Answer 28

When a file is stored as a series of segments
some segments run together in sequence and some are split up over a disk

Question 29

paging

Answer 29

form of memory management
Memory is broken up into fixed-size blocks, known as pages

Question 30

Process management

Answer 30

tasks related to processing like creation, scheduling, termination, deadlock, etc

Question 31

multi-user operating system

Answer 31

Different users can log into the same computer, e.g, admins, school accounts.
allowing a personalised experience

Question 32

what is a user interface

Answer 32

• human computer interaction

Question 33

application software

Answer 33

used to carry out tasks on a computer, such as writing an email, making a poster, doing homework and messaging friends