Types of OS Past Paper Questions

1. State what is meant by a distributed system.

 
[1]
 

a system with multiple components located on different machines that communicate and
coordinate actions in order to appear as a single coherent system to the user

2. Intensive Care Units in hospitals are for patients in need of round the clock monitoring and
support. Computerised systems can be used to monitor patients’ vital signs (temperature,
heart rate, blood pressure and breathing). They can then alert medical professionals to any
significant changes.

These systems usually run on an embedded, real-time, operating system.

i. State what is meant by the term real-time.

 
A system which operates in fixed time constraints
[1]

ii. Explain why a real-time operating system would be suitable for Intensive Care Units.

 
It needs to track their heart rate and if anything happened to them it would need an
immediate response
 

[2]

3. See And Believe is a company that specialises in computer-generated imagery (CGI) for
films.
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 Producing CGI requires lots of processing power and so the company has a large number
of high-performance computers.

Explain why See And Believe would use a distributed operating system.
 
 
So the different computer can work on the same part of the film and they can all  
work on the problem and it can use more resources  
 
[3]
 

4. A company produces digital photo frames (i.e. photo frames that display digital
photographs).

Identify the type of operating system that the photo frame is most likely to use.

 Operating
 Tick one
system
   Distributed    
 Embedded   x
 Multi-user  
[1]

END OF QUESTION paper

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Mark scheme
Question Answer/Indicative content Marks Guidance

 A system which shares processing (between

the processors on a network) / shares the data
Examiner's Comments
1 between different systems (on a network in 1
order to reduce bottlenecks).
This was a definition which many candidates did not know
and answered as though it was a simple network.

Total 1

The system gives a response within a guaranteed time

2 i 1 For 1 mark.
frame (1).

 If something happens to a patient, a response

must be immediate (1).
 Other types of system may have delays in Up to 2 marks for a valid explanation that demonstrates
ii response (1). 2 application of knowledge and understanding to given
 This could result in a patient not receiving context.
treatment in time (1).

Total 3

Any 2 from:

 Allow multiple computers / resources… (AO1.1)

 To be treated as one / work on the same
problem (AO1.1) Examiner's Comments

3 3 Few candidates gained full marks on this question. Many

candidates described general characteristics of a network
1 from: operating system rather than a distributed operating
system. Fewer appropriately related their explanation to
 Meaning all the computers can work on the scenario.
producing the same special effect. (AO2.1)

Total 3

 Tic
 Operating
k
system
One 1
4    Distributed     AO2.1
Examiner’s Comments
(1)
 Embedded  ✔
Most candidates achieved the single mark available in this
 Multi-user   question.

Total 1

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