Unit 1: A1 Computer fundamentals
Topic 1.3: Operating systems Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Computer Science Topic 1.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Outline4 marks
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In a school computer lab, pupils open and close many programs during a lesson. Outline two ways the operating system manages primary memory on each computer.
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Unlock Question2Describe3 marks
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Describe the use of the microprocessor in a self-service fuel pump.
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Unlock Question4State1 mark
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State two examples of operating systems.
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Unlock Question5Explain3 marks
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Explain why application software needs an operating system underneath it.
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Unlock Question6Outline2 marks
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Outline what is meant by an abstraction layer in the context of the operating system.
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Describe the role of a device driver.
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Explain what happens when a new printer is connected to a computer that has no driver for it.
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Unlock Question9Distinguish3 marks
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Distinguish between system software and application software.
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Unlock Question10Identify2 marks
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Identify each of the following as system or application software: a device driver, a spreadsheet program, a disk defragmenter, a web browser.
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Unlock Question11Outline2 marks
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Outline what is meant by a user interface.
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Suggest one situation in which a command-line interface is preferable to a graphical one.
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Outline what is meant by a utility program.
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Explain why an operating system must control access to files.
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Describe how an operating system allows several programs to appear to run at once on a single-core processor.
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Unlock Question16Explain3 marks
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Explain why a multi-core processor does not remove the need for the operating system to switch between programs.
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Unlock Question17Describe4 marks
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Describe what happens when a computer is switched on, up to the point where the operating system is running.
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Unlock Question18Explain3 marks
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Explain why the first instructions a computer executes must be held in ROM rather than RAM.
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Unlock Question19Suggest3 marks
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Suggest why an embedded system in a washing machine runs a much smaller operating system than a laptop does.
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Unlock Question20Suggest2 marks
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Suggest one risk of not installing operating system updates.
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