The processes that are residing in main memory and are ready and waiting to be executed, are kept on a list called

The correct answer is C, Ready queue. In an operating system a process passes through the states new, ready, running, waiting and terminated. The processes that are already loaded in main memory and are only waiting for the processor are kept in a list called the ready queue, and the short term scheduler picks the next process from it using a policy such as first come first served, shortest job first or round robin. Two other lists are worth remembering. The job queue holds all the processes in the system, including those still on disk waiting to be brought into memory. A device or waiting queue holds processes blocked for an input or output operation. A is wrong because process queue is not the standard name for this list. B is wrong because the job queue is the wider list of every process in the system. D is wrong because execution queue is not a recognised term. Exam tip: job queue is all processes, ready queue is in memory waiting for the CPU.