Nepal Agricultural Research Council2080 BSQuestion 7 of 10
What is an Operating System? Explain its function in detail.
10 marks
Question source
- Exam year
- 2080 BS / 2023 AD
- Level
- Level 5 (T-5, Prabidhik, Computer Sahayak)
- Paper
- D-3 – Subjective
- Section
- Section C
Model answer
An OS manages resources and bridges user and hardware (Windows, Linux).
Functions:
- Process — Schedules CPU, multitasking (field data entry + print + backup together).
- Memory — Allocates RAM, virtual memory, isolates programs.
- Files — Folders, search, NTFS permissions for trial datasets.
- Devices — Drivers, spooling (queue lab prints).
- Security — Accounts, passwords, MFA, audit logs for research data.
Without OS, users would control hardware in machine code — OS hides complexity with GUI/CLI.