IT200
Hardware & Software Essentials
3.0 Credits
Midterm Exam Review (Qns & Ans)
2025
©2025
,1. Question:
In a hardware/software co‑design environment, which
methodology is most effective for partitioning system
functionality between dedicated hardware and software
components?
a. Top‑down design
b. Software‑only prototyping
c. Hardware/software partitioning
d. Agile software development
ANS:
c. Hardware/software partitioning
Rationale:
Hardware/software partitioning is a design methodology
that analyzes system requirements to decide which functions
are best implemented in hardware (for speed and efficiency)
and which in software (for flexibility), thereby optimizing
performance, power, and cost.
2. Question:
Which component is primarily responsible for abstracting
the details of physical hardware from application software
in a computing system?
a. BIOS/UEFI firmware
b. Device drivers
c. Operating system kernel
d. Compiler
©2025
, ANS:
c. Operating system kernel
Rationale:
The operating system kernel provides a standardized
interface to hardware resources (via system calls and
APIs), enabling application software to run independently
of hardware specifics.
3. Question:
In modern virtualized systems, which component enables
multiple operating systems to share the same physical
hardware by abstracting and managing hardware resources?
a. Hypervisor
b. Bootloader
c. Virtual machine monitor
d. Both (a) and (c)
ANS:
d. Both (a) and (c)
Rationale:
A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor)
is the software layer that abstracts the hardware and
allows multiple guest operating systems to run
concurrently, managing resource allocation and security.
4. Question:
In low‑power embedded systems, which architecture is
renowned for its energy‑efficient design?
a. x86
b. ARM Cortex‑M series
c. PowerPC
©2025
, d. MIPS
ANS:
b. ARM Cortex‑M series
Rationale:
The ARM Cortex‑M series is specifically optimized for
low‑power consumption, making it ideal for battery‑operated
embedded applications and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
5. Question:
Which technique is widely adopted to reduce dynamic
power consumption in microprocessors by adjusting both the
operating voltage and clock frequency?
a. Overclocking
b. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
c. Cache prefetching
d. Thermal throttling
ANS:
b. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
Rationale:
DVFS dynamically adjusts the voltage and frequency
according to workload demands, thereby reducing power
consumption during periods of low activity and improving
energy efficiency.
6. Question:
In real‑time control applications, which scheduling
method ensures that critical tasks meet their deadlines by
preempting lower‑priority tasks?
a. Round‑robin scheduling
©2025
Hardware & Software Essentials
3.0 Credits
Midterm Exam Review (Qns & Ans)
2025
©2025
,1. Question:
In a hardware/software co‑design environment, which
methodology is most effective for partitioning system
functionality between dedicated hardware and software
components?
a. Top‑down design
b. Software‑only prototyping
c. Hardware/software partitioning
d. Agile software development
ANS:
c. Hardware/software partitioning
Rationale:
Hardware/software partitioning is a design methodology
that analyzes system requirements to decide which functions
are best implemented in hardware (for speed and efficiency)
and which in software (for flexibility), thereby optimizing
performance, power, and cost.
2. Question:
Which component is primarily responsible for abstracting
the details of physical hardware from application software
in a computing system?
a. BIOS/UEFI firmware
b. Device drivers
c. Operating system kernel
d. Compiler
©2025
, ANS:
c. Operating system kernel
Rationale:
The operating system kernel provides a standardized
interface to hardware resources (via system calls and
APIs), enabling application software to run independently
of hardware specifics.
3. Question:
In modern virtualized systems, which component enables
multiple operating systems to share the same physical
hardware by abstracting and managing hardware resources?
a. Hypervisor
b. Bootloader
c. Virtual machine monitor
d. Both (a) and (c)
ANS:
d. Both (a) and (c)
Rationale:
A hypervisor (also known as a virtual machine monitor)
is the software layer that abstracts the hardware and
allows multiple guest operating systems to run
concurrently, managing resource allocation and security.
4. Question:
In low‑power embedded systems, which architecture is
renowned for its energy‑efficient design?
a. x86
b. ARM Cortex‑M series
c. PowerPC
©2025
, d. MIPS
ANS:
b. ARM Cortex‑M series
Rationale:
The ARM Cortex‑M series is specifically optimized for
low‑power consumption, making it ideal for battery‑operated
embedded applications and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
5. Question:
Which technique is widely adopted to reduce dynamic
power consumption in microprocessors by adjusting both the
operating voltage and clock frequency?
a. Overclocking
b. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
c. Cache prefetching
d. Thermal throttling
ANS:
b. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS)
Rationale:
DVFS dynamically adjusts the voltage and frequency
according to workload demands, thereby reducing power
consumption during periods of low activity and improving
energy efficiency.
6. Question:
In real‑time control applications, which scheduling
method ensures that critical tasks meet their deadlines by
preempting lower‑priority tasks?
a. Round‑robin scheduling
©2025
