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Session 4 Part 1 Quiz (Serial vs Multiprocessing Basics)

Question 1

What is the key difference between serial and parallel execution?

  • Serial uses more memory
  • Serial runs tasks sequentially; parallel can run tasks concurrently
  • Parallel always uses threads only
  • Parallel cannot run Python code

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 45 Explanation: Serial executes one task after another; parallel overlaps independent tasks.

Question 2

In multiprocessing.Process(target=foo), what is target?

  • The path to a data file
  • The function to execute in the child process
  • The CPU core number
  • The timeout value

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 40 Explanation: The target is the callable executed by each process.

Question 3

Why do we call join()?

  • To start a process
  • To force faster execution
  • To wait until a process finishes
  • To duplicate results

Answer: 3 Type: single Time: 40 Explanation: join() ensures the parent waits for child completion.

Question 4

If a 1-second task runs 3 times serially, expected runtime is near:

  • 1 second
  • 2 seconds
  • 3 seconds
  • 5 seconds

Answer: 3 Type: single Time: 35 Explanation: Serial runtime is roughly the sum of individual durations.

Question 5

Why is if __name__ == '__main__': important with multiprocessing?

  • It enables sorting
  • It avoids repeated child process spawning issues
  • It sets worker count automatically
  • It imports modules faster

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 45 Explanation: It protects startup behavior for spawned processes.

Question 6

Which timer is preferred for elapsed-time benchmarks here?

  • time.sleep()
  • datetime.date.today()
  • time.perf_counter()
  • os.getpid()

Answer: 3 Type: single Time: 35 Explanation: perf_counter() is high-resolution for timing measurements.

Question 7

Why can multiprocessing help CPU-heavy independent tasks?

  • It changes O(n²) to O(1)
  • It distributes work across CPU cores
  • It removes all overhead
  • It eliminates loops

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 45 Explanation: Multiple processes can run on multiple cores.

Question 8

When might parallel execution be slower than serial?

  • Always for any task
  • For very small tasks with high process overhead
  • Only when using integers
  • Never

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 45 Explanation: Process startup/synchronization cost can dominate tiny workloads.

Question 9

multiprocessing.Process creates:

  • a new thread in the same process
  • a separate OS process
  • a generator object
  • a file descriptor only

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 40 Explanation: Each Process is an independent process managed by the OS.

Question 10

What makes a fair serial-vs-parallel benchmark?

  • Different tasks for each mode
  • Same workload and same environment for both modes
  • Fewer data points in serial
  • Printing less in parallel

Answer: 2 Type: single Time: 45 Explanation: Fair comparison requires equivalent work under similar conditions.