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Qualifications OCR GCSE Computer Science 1.5 System Software

Memory Management and Multitasking

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Which term describes the operating system giving each running program its own section of RAM and keeping track of which sections are free?
Allocation of memory
What is meant by the transfer of data between memory?
Copying programs and data into RAM and saving data back to secondary storage
Which term describes the operating system removing a closed program from RAM so that its space can be used again?
Freeing of memory
When the operating system loads a program, what is copied from secondary storage into RAM?
The program and the data it needs
What does the memory management function of an operating system do?
Decides how RAM is shared between running programs
A student opens a spreadsheet program. Where must the program be copied before the CPU can run it?
Into RAM from secondary storage
A user saves a document they are working on. What does the operating system do with the data?
Transfers it from RAM to secondary storage
A user closes a photo editing program. What happens to the memory that the program was using?
It is freed so it can be allocated to other programs
Why does the operating system give each running program its own area of RAM?
So one program cannot overwrite another program's data
Which statement best describes multitasking?
Running more than one program at the same time
How does memory management allow a computer to multitask?
Several programs are held in RAM at once in separate areas
A game stops responding and the operating system closes it. What effect does this have on the other programs held in RAM?
They continue to run, each in its own area of RAM
A computer has several programs open at the same time. Why does the operating system need to manage how RAM is used?
RAM is limited and all the open programs share it
The operating system keeps a record of which areas of RAM are in use and which are free. Why does it need this record?
So it knows where to place a program when it is opened
A user is typing a report but has not saved it yet. Where is the report being held?
In RAM, in the word processor's own area
A user closes a word processor. The program file is stored on secondary storage. What happens to that file?
It stays on secondary storage and can be opened again