Scheduling: Deciding Which Process Runs Next · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Picking who runs next, and why

Computing · Computer Systems · ages 19-21
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What does shortest-first minimize?

    • The number of jobs
    • Average waiting time
    • The clock speed

  2. Which rule suits an interactive machine?

    • Round robin
    • Run nothing
    • Longest-first

  3. Ageing raises a waiter's rank the longer it queues.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Why does typing stay snappy under round robin?

    • Jobs run in secret
    • Each job soon gets a first slice
    • The disk spins faster

  5. Jobs need 8, 6, 4, 2 and run shortest-first. Type the average wait.

    Answer: ______________

  6. A long low job waits forever as short high jobs keep arriving. What is this?

    • Starvation
    • Booting
    • Caching

  7. Shortest-first needs no burst lengths to order jobs.

    Circle one:   True   False

  8. A batch room runs round robin and posts poor average waits. What is the fix?

    • Shorter turns forever
    • More screens
    • Move to shortest-first for average wait
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_QZYzfVIcP6-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Picking who runs next, and why W1-mt_QZYzfVIcP6-s1

  1. Average waiting time · Short jobs first drains the queue fastest.
  2. Round robin · Short turns keep response snappy.
  3. True · That climb ends starvation.
  4. Each job soon gets a first slice · Short turns spread first slices around.
  5. 5 · Waits 0, 2, 6, 12 average to five.
  6. Starvation · Strict priority can starve low jobs.
  7. False · Ordering by length needs known bursts.
  8. Move to shortest-first for average wait · Batch rooms prize average wait over response.
Worksheet · LightMySky