Computer & IT · Topic 2
What an operating system does and the main operating systems.
Learn first
Learn what an operating system does and who makes the main ones.
Practise
Try each question, then open the answer. MCQs 151–200 of 218.
151.Which shortcut opens a private (incognito) window in Chrome?
Answer: B. Ctrl+Shift+N
Firefox uses Ctrl+Shift+P.
152.Which shortcut opens browser history in most browsers?
Answer: B. Ctrl+H
Ctrl+H shows history; Ctrl+J shows downloads.
153.Which shortcut bookmarks the current page in a browser?
Answer: A. Ctrl+D
Ctrl+D adds a bookmark.
154.Which file system is used by most USB flash drives for compatibility across devices?
Answer: D. FAT32 or exFAT
exFAT removes FAT32's 4 GB file limit.
155.Which file system is used by default on modern Macs?
Answer: B. APFS
Apple File System replaced HFS+ in 2017.
156.Which file system is commonly used on Linux?
Answer: A. ext4
ext4 is the default on many Linux distributions.
157.The process that loads the OS from storage into memory at start-up is handled by what?
Answer: C. Bootloader
GRUB is a common Linux bootloader.
158.UEFI is the modern replacement for what?
Answer: B. BIOS
UEFI starts computers faster and supports larger disks.
159.A sudden fatal error screen in Windows is commonly called what?
Answer: A. Blue Screen of Death
On Mac and Linux the equivalent is a kernel panic.
160.A program that runs in the background and starts automatically, such as a print service, is called what in Linux?
Answer: B. Daemon
Daemon names often end in "d", such as sshd.
161.A small piece of a process that can run alongside others is called what?
Answer: D. Thread
Multithreading lets one program do several things at once.
162.What does "plug and play" mean?
Answer: D. Devices work as soon as they are connected
The OS detects the device and installs its driver.
163.Software updates that fix bugs or security holes are called what?
Answer: C. Patches
Patches are small fixes to software.
164.A software that runs one operating system inside another is called what?
Answer: C. Virtual machine
Hypervisors such as VirtualBox run virtual machines.
165.Which feature lets Windows run Linux programs directly?
Answer: A. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)
WSL was introduced in Windows 10.
166.Which Microsoft command-line shell is more powerful than Command Prompt?
Answer: A. PowerShell
PowerShell is used for automation and administration.
167.Which operating system runs on most smart TVs from Samsung?
Answer: B. Tizen
LG uses webOS; many others use Android TV.
168.Which operating system runs on Apple Watch?
Answer: D. watchOS
Wear OS is Google's system for smartwatches.
169.Which operating system runs on iPads?
Answer: D. iPadOS
Apple separated iPadOS from iOS in 2019.
170.A program that controls one specific piece of hardware for the OS is called what?
Answer: A. Device driver
Printers and graphics cards need drivers.
171.A request a program makes to the operating system's kernel is called what?
Answer: B. System call
Opening a file uses a system call.
172.A signal from hardware asking the CPU for attention is called what?
Answer: A. Interrupt
Pressing a key causes an interrupt.
173.The time-sharing of a CPU among processes in small slices is called what?
Answer: A. Round-robin scheduling
Each process gets a fixed time slice in turn.
174.The scheduling method that runs jobs in the order they arrive is called what?
Answer: A. First-come, first-served
It is simple but can make short jobs wait.
175.Memory that the OS gives each program as if it were the whole memory is called what?
Answer: C. Virtual memory
Virtual memory uses disk space to extend RAM.
176.The area on a disk used as an extension of RAM is called what?
Answer: A. Swap space (page file)
Windows calls it the page file.
177.The part of the OS that decides which page to remove from memory uses what?
Answer: D. A page replacement algorithm
LRU (least recently used) is a common algorithm.
178.The list of files and folders arranged like branches is called what?
Answer: C. Directory tree (hierarchical file system)
The top of the tree is the root directory.
179.The top-level folder in Linux is written as what?
Answer: C. /
Everything in Linux starts from the root "/".
180.The symbol "~" in Linux refers to what?
Answer: A. The user's home directory
For example, /home/username.
181.A file's full location, such as C:\Users\Ali\Documents\cv.docx, is called what?
Answer: B. Path
An absolute path starts from the drive or root.
182.A small link to a file or program on the Windows desktop is called what?
Answer: C. Shortcut
Deleting a shortcut does not delete the original file.
183.A file attribute that stops a file from being changed is called what?
Answer: D. Read-only
Read-only files can be opened but not saved over.
184.Hidden files in Windows can be shown from which program?
Answer: A. File Explorer
Use View > Show > Hidden items.
185.The maximum length of a Windows file name is about how many characters?
Answer: D. 255
Old MS-DOS allowed 8 characters plus a 3-letter extension.
186.MS-DOS file names were limited to which format?
Answer: D. 8 characters plus a 3-character extension
This was called the "8.3" format.
187.Which character cannot be used in a Windows file name?
Answer: A. ?
Characters like \ / : * ? " < > | are not allowed.
188.The user account with full control over a Windows PC is called what?
Answer: A. Administrator
Standard users need admin permission to install software.
189.The Windows feature that asks for permission before changes are made is called what?
Answer: B. User Account Control (UAC)
UAC helps stop malware making silent changes.
190.The Windows security feature that warns about unknown downloads is called what?
Answer: D. SmartScreen
It checks files and websites against a reputation list.
191.Signing in to Windows using your face or fingerprint is called what?
Answer: C. Windows Hello
It is a biometric sign-in feature.
192.Apple's face recognition sign-in on iPhones is called what?
Answer: A. Face ID
Touch ID uses fingerprints.
193.The Android feature that keeps a phone unlocked in trusted places is called what?
Answer: D. Smart Lock
It can use trusted locations or devices.
194.Restoring a phone or computer to its original factory settings is called what?
Answer: B. Factory reset
It erases personal data, so back up first.
195.Installing an unofficial operating system on an Android phone is called what?
Answer: B. Rooting or flashing a custom ROM
Jailbreaking is the iPhone equivalent.
196.Removing Apple's software restrictions on an iPhone is called what?
Answer: B. Jailbreaking
It can weaken security.
197.Small programs on the Android home screen that show live information are called what?
Answer: D. Widgets
Weather and clock widgets are common.
198.The app permission system on phones mainly protects what?
Answer: B. Users' privacy and data
Apps must ask before using the camera, location or contacts.
199.The Linux desktop environments GNOME and KDE provide what?
Answer: B. A graphical user interface
They give Linux windows, menus and icons.
200.The Linux program that installs software on Ubuntu from the command line is called what?
Answer: C. apt
"sudo apt install" installs packages.
Test yourself
Each quiz has 50 MCQs from this topic and 50 minutes. A correct answer earns 1 mark and each wrong answer takes off 0.25; skipped questions score nothing. No password needed.
