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ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Computer Science Fundamentals: Architecture, Data Structures, Networks & Operating Systems: practice questions

ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF - Agricultural Statistics, Computer Application, Bioinformatics (PhD admission and fellowship) · India · National Testing Agency for ICAR

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
10worked here, free
48written to this exam in this subject
10syllabus units

What this subject covers

The computer-science core of the Computer Application sub-subject in the ICAR Statistical Sciences group: number systems and architecture, data structures and algorithms, operating systems, networks, compilers, software engineering and web programming. Statisticians need the data-structure and algorithm units; Computer Application candidates need all of it.

In the exams: AICE-JRF subject 70 Computer Application Units 1-9 (heavy: the whole paper); AIEEA-PG Group 07 computer unit (heavy for sub-subject 7.2); GATE DA data structures and algorithms (present)

Where the 48 questions fall

How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Computer Science Fundamentals: Architecture, Data Structures, Networks & Operating Systems. Difficulty: 2 easy, 36 medium, 10 hard.

Number systems, Boolean algebra and logic circuits6
Operating systems: processes, scheduling, memory management, deadlocks and file systems6
Compilers: regular expressions, finite automata and parsing6
Computer organisation: CPU, memory hierarchy and input/output5
Object-oriented programming: encapsulation, inheritance and polymorphism (C++/Java)5
Networking: topologies, OSI and TCP/IP models, security and cryptography basics5
Internet programming: HTML, client- and server-side scripting with databases5
Software engineering: process models, testing, metrics and PERT/CPM for projects4
Data structures: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, heaps and graphs3
Sorting and searching algorithms and their complexity3

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · Number systems, Boolean algebra and logic circuits · medium

In a half adder, the sum and carry outputs are:

  1. A OR B and A AND B
  2. A XOR B and A AND B
  3. A AND B and A XOR B
  4. A NAND B and A OR B
Answer and working

B. A XOR B and A AND B

Sum is 1 when exactly one input is 1; carry when both are.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

2 · Number systems, Boolean algebra and logic circuits · hard

A double-precision IEEE 754 number has 52 fraction bits. Its precision is about:

  1. 7 significant decimal digits
  2. 52 significant decimal digits
  3. 15–17 significant decimal digits
  4. 32 significant decimal digits
Answer and working

C. 15–17 significant decimal digits

2⁻⁵² ≈ 2.2 × 10⁻¹⁶; single precision gives about 7 digits.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

3 · Data structures: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, heaps and graphs · medium

Breadth-first search of a graph uses which structure?

  1. A stack
  2. A heap
  3. A hash table
  4. A queue
Answer and working

D. A queue

Depth-first search uses a stack or recursion.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

4 · Data structures: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, heaps and graphs · medium

In a binary min-heap, the time to find the minimum and to remove it is:

  1. O(1) and O(log n)
  2. O(log n) and O(1)
  3. O(n) and O(n)
  4. O(1) and O(1)
Answer and working

A. O(1) and O(log n)

The minimum is the root; removing it requires sifting down.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

5 · Operating systems: processes, scheduling, memory management, deadlocks and file systems · hard

Processes with burst times 24, 3 and 3 arrive in that order. Under FCFS, the average waiting time is:

  1. 3
  2. 10
  3. 17
  4. 27
Answer and working

C. 17

Waits are 0, 24 and 27; (0 + 24 + 27)/3 = 17.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

6 · Operating systems: processes, scheduling, memory management, deadlocks and file systems · medium

For the same processes (24, 3, 3), SJF scheduling gives an average waiting time of:

  1. 17
  2. 9
  3. 1
  4. 3
Answer and working

D. 3

Order 3, 3, 24: waits 0, 3, 6; average 3.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

7 · Networking: topologies, OSI and TCP/IP models, security and cryptography basics · medium

Routing of packets between networks takes place at which OSI layer?

  1. Data link
  2. Transport
  3. Session
  4. Network
Answer and working

D. Network

Switches work at the data link layer; TCP at the transport layer.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

8 · Compilers: regular expressions, finite automata and parsing · medium

Context-free languages are recognised by:

  1. Finite automata
  2. Linear-bounded automata only
  3. Lexical analysers
  4. Pushdown automata
Answer and working

D. Pushdown automata

A stack gives the extra memory needed for nesting.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

9 · Compilers: regular expressions, finite automata and parsing · medium

A grammar is ambiguous if:

  1. It has more than ten production rules
  2. It is context-free
  3. A sentence has two different parse trees
  4. It contains recursion
Answer and working

C. A sentence has two different parse trees

Ambiguity is removed by rewriting rules, for example to encode precedence.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

10 · Internet programming: HTML, client- and server-side scripting with databases · medium

Which HTTP method sends form data in the body of the request?

  1. GET
  2. HEAD
  3. TRACE
  4. POST
Answer and working

D. POST

GET places parameters in the URL.

Further reading: Cormen et al., Introduction to Algorithms (2022); Silberschatz, Galvin and Gagne, Operating System Concepts (2018); Tanenbaum and Wetherall, Computer Networks (2011); Aho et al., Compilers (2006); Sommerville, Software Engineering (2015)

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Computer Science Fundamentals: Architecture, Data Structures, Networks & Operating SystemsThe full study manual, free ICAR AICE-JRF/SRFFormat, sections and how it has changed

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