Virtual Memory: A Comprehensive Guide for Operating Systems Students

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of utilizing virtual memory in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

Higher context switching overhead

Answer

Increased memory capacity

Answer

Reduced memory fragmentation

Answer

Enhanced process isolation

Question 2

What is a potential drawback of using virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Elevated system complexity

Answer

Enlarged memory capacity

Answer

Enhanced system speed

Question 3

Which of the following is a primary benefit of virtual memory in operating systems?

Accepted Answer

Improved memory utilization and reduced fragmentation

Answer

Increased processor utilization

Answer

Faster loading times for applications

Answer

Lower hardware costs

Question 4

Which paging technique retrieves memory pages from the disk only when they are needed?

Accepted Answer

Demand paging

Answer

Anticipatory paging

Answer

Global paging

Answer

Sequential paging

Question 5

Which page replacement algorithm replaces the page that has not been used for the longest period?

Accepted Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Most Recently Used (MRU)

Answer

First In, First Out (FIFO)

Answer

Optimal

Question 6

What is the term for the event that occurs when a requested memory page is not found in RAM?

Accepted Answer

Page fault

Answer

Page hit

Answer

Page transfer

Answer

Page copy

Question 7

What is the basic unit of memory allocation and management in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

Page

Answer

Segment

Answer

Frame

Answer

Block

Question 8

What is the term for a translated address that identifies the physical location of a memory page?

Accepted Answer

Physical address

Answer

Virtual address

Answer

Absolute address

Answer

Relative address

Question 9

Which page replacement policy gives priority to modified pages over accessed pages?

Accepted Answer

Modified No Write (MNW)

Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Not Recently Used (NRU)

Answer

Clock

Question 10

What is the primary performance implication of utilizing virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Improved memory efficiency, but potentially slower system speed

Answer

Increased system speed

Answer

Enhancements to both system speed and memory efficiency

Answer

No significant impact on either system speed or memory efficiency

Question 11

For a system encountering frequent page faults, which page replacement algorithm is most suitable?

Accepted Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

First-In First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Optimal (OPT)

Answer

Random

Question 12

Which of the following is the primary benefit of utilizing virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Increased effective memory capacity

Answer

Enhanced system performance

Answer

Improved data protection

Answer

Reduced memory fragmentation

Question 13

In virtual memory, demand paging is a technique that involves:

Accepted Answer

Loading only the necessary portions of memory when required

Answer

Dividing memory into fixed-size pages

Answer

Using a dedicated hardware cache to store frequently accessed data

Answer

Replacing pages in memory based on the least recently used algorithm

Question 14

What is the term used to describe the process of transferring a page from disk to main memory?

Accepted Answer

Paging in

Answer

Roll-in

Answer

Swapping in

Answer

Fetching

Question 15

What is the purpose of a page table in virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

To translate virtual addresses to their corresponding physical addresses

Answer

To store the contents of each page in memory

Answer

To manage the replacement of pages in memory

Answer

To cache frequently accessed pages for improved performance

Question 16

What is the fundamental difference between logical addressing and physical addressing in virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Logical addresses are relative to the process, while physical addresses are absolute memory locations

Answer

Physical addresses are relative to the process, while logical addresses are absolute memory locations

Answer

Logical addresses are used by the CPU, while physical addresses are used by the memory

Answer

Physical addresses are used by the CPU, while logical addresses are used by the memory

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of virtual memory's memory management capabilities?

Accepted Answer

Reduced overall memory usage

Answer

Enhanced multitasking

Answer

Improved performance

Answer

Increased memory utilization

Question 18

What is the core component of the operating system responsible for managing virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Memory manager

Answer

Page table manager

Answer

Swapper

Answer

Cache manager

Question 19

Which of the following is **NOT** a primary benefit of virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Increased program execution speed

Answer

Increased memory capacity

Answer

Reduced disk access

Answer

Improved process isolation

Question 20

Which page replacement algorithm aims to **minimize** the total number of page faults?

Accepted Answer

Optimal page replacement

Answer

Least recently used (LRU)

Answer

First-in first-out (FIFO)

Answer

Random page replacement

Question 21

In demand paging, when a page fault occurs:

Accepted Answer

Only the faulting page is loaded into memory.

Answer

The entire process is suspended.

Answer

The whole memory is cleared and reloaded.

Answer

The program is terminated.

Question 22

Which data structure is **typically** used to implement a page table?

Accepted Answer

Array

Answer

Linked list

Answer

Hash table

Answer

Binary tree

Question 23

What is the purpose of a thrashing mechanism in virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

To prevent excessive page faults and improve performance.

Answer

To increase the number of page faults and allocate more memory.

Answer

To delete unused pages from memory.

Answer

To terminate processes that are consuming too much memory.

Question 24

Which of the following is a potential advantage of segmentation in virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Improved memory protection

Answer

Ability to share pages between processes

Answer

Reduced page fault overhead

Answer

Simpler page table implementation

Question 25

What is the term for the fault handler that is invoked when a process attempts to access a page that is not present in physical memory?

Accepted Answer

Page fault handler

Answer

Exception handler

Answer

Memory manager

Answer

Interrupt handler

Question 26

In a system with virtual memory, which of the following is typically used to cache recently accessed pages?

Accepted Answer

Page cache

Answer

Process control block

Answer

Stack

Answer

Heap

Question 27

Demand paging, a technique in virtual memory, involves:

Accepted Answer

Bringing pages into physical memory only when they are needed

Answer

Loading all pages into physical memory before execution

Answer

Replacing pages in physical memory with pages from the disk

Answer

Mapping virtual addresses directly to physical memory locations

Question 28

Which page replacement algorithm aims to minimize the frequency of page faults?

Accepted Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Most Recently Used (MRU)

Answer

First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Clock Algorithm

Question 29

In a virtual memory system, the data structure that translates virtual addresses to physical memory locations is called:

Accepted Answer

Page Table

Answer

Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB)

Answer

Swap File

Answer

Inverted Page Table

Question 30

Virtual memory can result in a phenomenon called thrashing, which occurs when:

Accepted Answer

The page fault rate overwhelms the system's ability to handle them

Answer

The physical memory becomes fragmented

Answer

The virtual address space is too large

Answer

The CPU utilization is too low

Question 31

What is a potential drawback of using demand paging in virtual memory management?

Accepted Answer

Increased memory overhead

Answer

Reduced memory utilization

Answer

Increased performance due to reduced page faults

Answer

Simplified memory management

Question 32

Which page replacement algorithm in Linux is known for its simplicity and 'first-in, first-out' (FIFO) approach?

Accepted Answer

First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Optimal Page Replacement (OPT)

Question 33

In the context of demand paging, what is the primary technique utilized?

Accepted Answer

Allocating pages to processes upon demand

Answer

Swapping pages to secondary storage as required

Answer

Duplicating pages into physical memory prior to execution

Answer

Maintaining a fixed number of pages for each process

Question 34

Which of the following page replacement algorithms prioritizes pages that have been recently utilized?

Accepted Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

First-In First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Last-In First-Out (LIFO)

Answer

Optimal Page Replacement

Question 35

What is the primary purpose of a page table?

Accepted Answer

Mapping virtual addresses to their physical counterparts

Answer

Storing the contents of pages within memory

Answer

Managing the allocation of pages to different processes

Answer

Handling page faults

Question 36

Demand paging in virtual memory involves:

Accepted Answer

Fetching memory pages only when needed

Answer

Loading all necessary program data before execution

Answer

Exchanging seldom used pages with disk storage

Answer

Assigning continuous memory blocks for efficient access

Question 37

In a virtual memory system, the page table:

Accepted Answer

Maps virtual addresses to their physical counterparts

Answer

Manages page protection mechanisms

Answer

Monitors page usage to inform replacement algorithms

Answer

Schedules processes for execution

Question 38

Thrashing in a virtual memory context refers to:

Accepted Answer

Excessive paging activity leading to performance degradation

Answer

Insufficient memory causing system slowdowns

Answer

Competition among processes for memory resources

Answer

Inability of the operating system to allocate memory

Question 39

Virtual memory implementation typically involves:

Accepted Answer

Combination of hardware and software

Answer

Hardware alone

Answer

Software alone

Answer

Firmware exclusively

Question 40

A potential concern associated with virtual memory is:

Accepted Answer

Additional memory overhead

Answer

Compromised security

Answer

Limited scalability

Answer

Data inconsistency issues

Question 41

Which of the following is a major advantage of implementing virtual memory in an operating system?

Accepted Answer

Increased memory capacity perceived by processes

Answer

Reduced memory fragmentation

Answer

Improved processor efficiency

Answer

Enhanced data security without additional hardware support

Question 42

Which of the following page replacement algorithms assigns higher priority to pages that have been recently accessed?

Accepted Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Optimal

Answer

First-In First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Clock

Question 43

What is the purpose of a Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

To cache page table entries for faster memory access

Answer

To store the physical addresses of all pages in memory

Answer

To translate virtual addresses to physical addresses

Question 44

Which mechanism is primarily responsible for protecting the memory space of different processes in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

Memory segmentation

Answer

Multithreading

Answer

Time slicing

Question 45

What is the maximum amount of virtual memory that a process can potentially access?

Accepted Answer

The size of its virtual address space

Answer

The amount of free space on the disk

Answer

The size of the swap file

Answer

The size of the physical memory

Question 46

Which of the following is a potential limitation or drawback of using virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

Performance overhead due to page swapping

Answer

Increased memory capacity

Answer

Enhanced data security

Answer

Support for multiple processes

Question 47

What is the primary function of the page table in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

To translate virtual addresses to physical addresses

Answer

To store the contents of pages in memory

Answer

To manage the allocation of physical memory

Question 48

What is the primary purpose of virtual memory?

Accepted Answer

To allow processes to have the illusion of using more memory than physically available.

Answer

To eliminate the need for swapping.

Answer

To speed up memory access.

Question 49

What is the guiding principle behind demand paging?

Accepted Answer

Memory pages should be loaded into physical memory only when they are needed.

Answer

Memory pages should be loaded into physical memory in the order of their addresses.

Answer

All memory pages should be preloaded into physical memory.

Question 50

What scenario triggers a page fault in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

An attempt to access a memory page that is not currently residing in physical memory.

Answer

When the page table is updated.

Answer

When a page is modified in physical memory.

Question 51

Which page replacement algorithm is known for its simplicity but is prone to Belady's Anomaly?

Accepted Answer

First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Answer

Second Chance Algorithm

Answer

Optimal Page Replacement

Question 52

Which page replacement algorithm achieves optimal performance, but is not practically feasible?

Accepted Answer

Optimal Page Replacement

Answer

First-In, First-Out (FIFO)

Answer

Second Chance Algorithm

Answer

Least Recently Used (LRU)

Question 53

How does the 'working set' concept contribute to virtual memory management?

Accepted Answer

It dynamically identifies the set of actively used pages, informing page replacement decisions.

Answer

It assigns pages to specific physical memory locations.

Answer

It determines the maximum amount of virtual memory that can be allocated.

Question 54

What is the primary function of a page table in virtual memory systems?

Accepted Answer

To translate virtual memory addresses into their corresponding physical memory addresses.

Answer

To detect and handle page faults.

Answer

To store the contents of memory pages.

Answer

To manage the allocation and deallocation of physical memory.

Question 55

What is the purpose of a Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) in a virtual memory system?

Accepted Answer

To cache recently used virtual-to-physical address translations, reducing memory access time.

Answer

To handle page faults and swap pages in and out of memory.

Answer

To manage the page table and track page usage.

Question 56

In a virtual memory system with demand paging, how does the operating system respond to a page fault?

Accepted Answer

It retrieves the requested page from secondary storage (e.g., disk) into physical memory and updates the page table.

Answer

It ignores the fault and continues execution.

Answer

It terminates the process that caused the fault.