Virtual Memory MCQs – T4Tutorials.com

What is the primary purpose of virtual memory in modern operating systems?
a) To extend the physical memory of a computer using disk storage
b) To manage hardware devices
c) To speed up CPU operations
d) To provide additional CPU cores
Answer: a) To extend the physical memory of a computer using disk storage

Which of the following is true about virtual memory addressing?
a) Virtual memory uses addresses that are mapped to physical memory addresses
b) Virtual memory directly accesses physical addresses
c) Virtual memory addressing is only used in 64-bit systems
d) Virtual memory eliminates the need for physical memory
Answer: a) Virtual memory uses addresses that are mapped to physical memory addresses

What is the role of a page table in virtual memory management?
a) To map virtual addresses to physical addresses
b) To manage the CPU’s registers
c) To handle input and output operations
d) To control network traffic
Answer: a) To map virtual addresses to physical addresses

What is a page fault?
a) An event that occurs when a program accesses a page not currently in physical memory
b) An error in the page table
c) A hardware failure
d) An interruption in the CPU’s processing
Answer: a) An event that occurs when a program accesses a page not currently in physical memory

What happens when a page fault occurs?
a) The operating system loads the required page from disk into physical memory
b) The program is terminated
c) The CPU is reset
d) The page table is deleted
Answer: a) The operating system loads the required page from disk into physical memory

Which technique is used to manage the space in physical memory for virtual memory?
a) Paging
b) Segmentation
c) Caching
d) Buffering
Answer: a) Paging

What is a page frame?
a) A fixed-size block of physical memory
b) A block of virtual memory
c) A section of the page table
d) A unit of disk storage
Answer: a) A fixed-size block of physical memory

In virtual memory, what is the term for the division of memory into fixed-sized blocks?
a) Paging
b) Segmentation
c) Fragmentation
d) Swapping
Answer: a) Paging

What is the purpose of a page replacement algorithm?
a) To determine which pages to swap out of physical memory when it is full
b) To manage page table entries
c) To handle page faults
d) To increase CPU speed
Answer: a) To determine which pages to swap out of physical memory when it is full

Which of the following is a common page replacement algorithm?
a) Least Recently Used (LRU)
b) First-In-First-Out (FIFO)
c) Optimal Page Replacement
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above

What does the term “thrashing” refer to in virtual memory systems?
a) Excessive paging or swapping, which degrades system performance
b) A type of disk error
c) A CPU fault
d) A network issue
Answer: a) Excessive paging or swapping, which degrades system performance

What is the primary advantage of virtual memory?
a) It allows programs to use more memory than is physically available
b) It speeds up data transfer rates
c) It increases the number of CPU cores
d) It provides better network connectivity
Answer: a) It allows programs to use more memory than is physically available

Which of the following is a disadvantage of virtual memory?
a) It can lead to increased disk I/O and slower performance
b) It reduces the amount of available physical memory
c) It limits the number of programs that can run simultaneously
d) It requires more CPU cores
Answer: a) It can lead to increased disk I/O and slower performance

In virtual memory, what is the term for the mapping of a page table entry to a physical page frame?
a) Address translation
b) Segmentation
c) Paging
d) Swapping
Answer: a) Address translation

What is the term for a segment of a program’s memory space that can be swapped in and out of physical memory?
a) Page
b) Frame
c) Segment
d) Block
Answer: a) Page

Which of the following strategies can help reduce the impact of thrashing?
a) Increasing physical memory size
b) Decreasing the page size
c) Reducing the number of running processes
d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above

What is the term for a memory management scheme that uses variable-sized blocks instead of fixed-sized pages?
a) Segmentation
b) Paging
c) Swapping
d) Fragmentation
Answer: a) Segmentation

Which component in virtual memory management helps to keep track of free and used memory pages?
a) Memory Management Unit (MMU)
b) Page Table
c) Disk Storage
d) CPU Register
Answer: b) Page Table

In virtual memory systems, what is the term for the portion of disk space used to simulate additional RAM?
a) Swap Space
b) Cache
c) Buffer
d) Register
Answer: a) Swap Space

What is the typical unit size for a memory page in a virtual memory system?
a) 4 KB
b) 64 KB
c) 1 MB
d) 2 GB
Answer: a) 4 KB

Which virtual memory technique allows different parts of a program to be loaded into different areas of physical memory?
a) Paging
b) Segmentation
c) Swapping
d) Caching
Answer: b) Segmentation

What is the term for the technique of temporarily transferring data from RAM to disk storage to free up physical memory?
a) Swapping
b) Paging
c) Buffering
d) Caching
Answer: a) Swapping

Which virtual memory component is responsible for translating virtual addresses into physical addresses?
a) Memory Management Unit (MMU)
b) Page Table
c) Disk Controller
d) CPU Register
Answer: a) Memory Management Unit (MMU)

What is a common page replacement strategy that aims to minimize the number of page faults?
a) Optimal Page Replacement
b) Least Recently Used (LRU)
c) FIFO
d) Random Replacement
Answer: a) Optimal Page Replacement

What does the term “page size” refer to in a virtual memory system?
a) The size of each fixed-size block in physical memory
b) The total amount of physical memory
c) The size of the disk storage
d) The size of the CPU cache
Answer: a) The size of each fixed-size block in physical memory

Which of the following is a primary reason for using virtual memory in a computer system?
a) To increase the amount of available memory beyond physical limitations
b) To increase the CPU clock speed
c) To improve network bandwidth
d) To manage peripheral devices
Answer: a) To increase the amount of available memory beyond physical limitations

What is a common method for handling page faults?
a) Loading the required page from disk into physical memory
b) Ignoring the fault and continuing execution
c) Terminating the process causing the fault
d) Allocating additional CPU cores
Answer: a) Loading the required page from disk into physical memory

Which of the following is a benefit of segmentation over paging in virtual memory systems?
a) Segmentation allows for variable-sized memory blocks
b) Segmentation reduces page fault rates
c) Segmentation simplifies memory management
d) Segmentation eliminates the need for virtual memory
Answer: a) Segmentation allows for variable-sized memory blocks

What is a “valid” bit in a page table entry used for?
a) To indicate whether the page is currently in physical memory
b) To manage access permissions
c) To track the age of the page
d) To store the page size
Answer: a) To indicate whether the page is currently in physical memory

What does the “dirty” bit in a page table entry indicate?
a) Whether the page has been modified since it was last loaded into memory
b) Whether the page is valid or not
c) The age of the page
d) The size of the page
Answer: a) Whether the page has been modified since it was last loaded into memory

Which technique is used to minimize the performance impact of page faults?
a) Prefetching pages into memory before they are accessed
b) Increasing the page size
c) Reducing the amount of physical memory
d) Using slower storage devices
Answer: a) Prefetching pages into memory before they are accessed

What is the term for the space on a disk used to store pages that are not currently in physical memory?
a) Swap Space
b) Cache
c) RAM
d) Registers
Answer: a) Swap Space

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using large page sizes in a virtual memory system?
a) Increased internal fragmentation
b) Increased page fault rates
c) Reduced memory efficiency
d) Increased disk I/O operations
Answer: a) Increased internal fragmentation

What is the main goal of a page replacement algorithm?
a) To decide which pages to evict from physical memory when it is full
b) To manage the size of the page table
c) To increase the page size
d) To handle disk I/O operations
Answer: a) To decide which pages to evict from physical memory when it is full

Which of the following describes the term “internal fragmentation” in the context of paging?
a) Wasted space within allocated memory pages due to their fixed size
b) Wasted space between memory pages
c) Loss of data due to faulty memory
d) Overlap of physical memory pages
Answer: a) Wasted space within allocated memory pages due to their fixed size

What does the term “working set” refer to in virtual memory management?
a) The set of pages currently being used by a process
b) The total memory allocated to a process
c) The set of pages stored on disk
d) The set of pages in the page table
Answer: a) The set of pages currently being used by a process

What is the role of the “translation lookaside buffer” (TLB) in virtual memory systems?
a) To cache recent virtual-to-physical address translations
b) To manage the page table
c) To handle page faults
d) To increase the page size
Answer: a) To cache recent virtual-to-physical address translations

Which technique allows for sharing of code among processes in a virtual memory system?
a) Paging
b) Segmentation
c) Memory-mapped files
d) Swapping
Answer: c) Memory-mapped files

What does the term “paging” refer to in the context of virtual memory?
a) Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks
b) Allocating variable-sized memory blocks
c) Managing disk storage
d) Increasing CPU cache size
Answer: a) Dividing memory into fixed-size blocks

Which component is used to hold the data of a page that is currently not in physical memory?
a) Swap Space
b) Cache
c) Register
d) Buffer
Answer: a) Swap Space

What is the effect of increasing the size of the page table?
a) It can consume more memory and potentially reduce system performance
b) It increases the speed of address translation
c) It reduces the number of page faults
d) It eliminates internal fragmentation
Answer: a) It can consume more memory and potentially reduce system performance

What does “memory overcommitment” refer to in virtual memory systems?
a) Allocating more virtual memory than physical memory available
b) Allocating more physical memory than virtual memory available
c) Increasing the page size beyond physical memory limits
d) Reducing the number of page faults
Answer: a) Allocating more virtual memory than physical memory available

How does “demand paging” work in virtual memory?
a) Pages are loaded into physical memory only when they are needed by the process
b) All pages are loaded into physical memory at the start of the process
c) Pages are preloaded based on predictions of future accesses
d) Pages are loaded from disk in a continuous stream
Answer: a) Pages are loaded into physical memory only when they are needed by the process

What is the primary function of “page swapping”?
a) To move pages between physical memory and disk storage
b) To change the page size
c) To increase the page fault rate
d) To manage CPU registers
Answer: a) To move pages between physical memory and disk storage

Which of the following best describes “external fragmentation”?
a) Free memory blocks are scattered throughout physical memory
b) Wasted space within a page
c) Memory that is inaccessible
d) Unused space in disk storage
Answer: a) Free memory blocks are scattered throughout physical memory

What is the main advantage of using a smaller page size?
a) Reduced internal fragmentation
b) Increased page fault rate
c) Increased disk I/O operations
d) Larger page table size
Answer: a) Reduced internal fragmentation

What is the impact of “copy-on-write” in virtual memory systems?
a) Allows multiple processes to share the same page until a write operation occurs
b) Increases the size of physical memory
c) Reduces the number of page faults
d) Eliminates the need for a page table
Answer: a) Allows multiple processes to share the same page until a write operation occurs

How does the concept of “address space” relate to virtual memory?
a) It refers to the range of addresses a process can use
b) It is the size of physical memory
c) It represents the amount of disk storage
d) It is the area where CPU operations occur
Answer: a) It refers to the range of addresses a process can use

What does the term “virtual address space” refer to?
a) The range of addresses that a process can use in virtual memory
b) The size of the physical memory
c) The total disk space available
d) The area of the CPU reserved for cache
Answer: a) The range of addresses that a process can use in virtual memory

Which mechanism in virtual memory allows for efficient memory sharing among processes?
a) Memory-mapped files
b) Paging
c) Segmentation
d) Swapping
Answer: a) Memory-mapped files

What is the effect of “page sharing” in virtual memory systems?
a) Multiple processes can share the same page to reduce memory usage
b) It increases the size of the page table
c) It leads to increased page faults
d) It requires more physical memory
Answer: a) Multiple processes can share the same page to reduce memory usage

What is the role of the “page directory” in virtual memory management?
a) To manage the mapping of virtual addresses to page tables
b) To store physical memory addresses
c) To handle disk storage
d) To control CPU operations
Answer: a) To manage the mapping of virtual addresses to page tables

What does “context switching” involve in the context of virtual memory?
a) Saving and restoring the state of a process when switching between processes
b) Switching between different disk storage devices
c) Changing the page size dynamically
d) Altering physical memory directly
Answer: a) Saving and restoring the state of a process when switching between processes

Which technique helps to minimize the impact of page faults on system performance?
a) Using a larger page size
b) Increasing physical memory
c) Implementing a more efficient page replacement algorithm
d) Reducing the number of processes
Answer: c) Implementing a more efficient page replacement algorithm

What does the term “locality of reference” mean in the context of virtual memory?
a) The tendency of programs to access a small, localized portion of memory repeatedly
b) The distribution of memory access across the entire address space
c) The size of the page table
d) The rate of page faults
Answer: a) The tendency of programs to access a small, localized portion of memory repeatedly

Virtual Memory MCQs
By: Prof. Dr. Fazal Rehman Shamil | Last updated: September 20, 2024

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