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3.2.1Operating systems

Edexcel GCSE Computer Science (1CP2) · Computers › Software

Practise Operating systems. 11 exam-style questions on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.

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Quick recall

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State the purpose of an operating system.
To manage the computer's hardware and software and let applications run.
Give the full path of the file homework.docx that belongs to form 10B.
S:\Students\10B\homework.docx

Sample questions

Written for this site in the style of Edexcel exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.

Question 1Easy3 marks
(a) Identify the function of an operating system that decides how much processor time each program is given.[1]
  • File management
  • Process management
  • Peripheral management
  • User management
(b) Give two tasks carried out by an operating system as part of file management.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a) Answer: Process management
(b) Answer: Any two from: organising folders; creating, renaming, moving and deleting files; tracking where files are stored; permissions.
  • organising files into folders / directories (a hierarchical structure)
  • allowing files to be created, named, renamed, copied, moved and deleted
  • keeping track of where each file is stored on secondary storage
  • controlling access to files using permissions, e.g. read-only
Question 2Medium4 marks
Explain how an operating system manages the different users of a shared school computer.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
Answer: User accounts with passwords, access rights for each user, separate profiles and storage, managed by an administrator.
  • each user has an account with a username and password
  • users must log in (authenticate), so only authorised people can use the computer
  • access rights / permissions control which files, folders and programs each user can use, e.g. students cannot open staff folders
  • each user has their own storage area / profile with their own settings
  • an administrator can create and delete accounts, reset passwords and change permissions
  • the operating system can record when users log in and what they access
Question 3Hard4 marks
Explain how the file management features of an operating system can help to protect files on a shared network drive.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
Answer: Permissions (read-only or no access), file locking during editing, and recoverable deletion protect shared files.
  • access rights / permissions can be set for each file or folder
  • e.g. some users can only read a file (read-only), so they cannot change or delete it
  • users can be prevented from seeing or opening folders that belong to other users
  • a file that is open can be locked, so two users cannot edit it at the same time and overwrite each other's changes
  • deleted files can go to a recycle bin first, so they can be recovered if deleted by mistake
  • important system files can be hidden or protected so that users cannot damage them

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