By yourself or in groups, compare, tabulate, and average your measurements in each scenario. Determine how much time the CPU spends idle as a lower bound, average case, and upper bound. Discuss and record your results.

Answer 1

To compare the measurements and determine the CPU idle time, we need to measure the CPU usage in different scenarios, both alone and in groups. Here's a step-by-step process to carry out this task:

Step 1: Identify the scenarios
Determine the scenarios where you will measure the CPU idle time. For example, you could measure when the computer is idle, when running a specific program, when multiple programs are running simultaneously, or when the computer is under heavy load.

Step 2: Measure CPU usage
Using a performance monitoring tool, measure the CPU usage in each scenario. This tool could be a built-in feature of the operating system (e.g., Task Manager in Windows or Activity Monitor in macOS) or a third-party application like CPU-Z, HWMonitor, or Process Explorer. Note down the CPU usage percentage at regular intervals (e.g., every 10 seconds).

Step 3: Tabulate the measurements
Create a table with columns for scenario, time, and CPU usage percentage. Fill in the table with the measurements you took in each scenario.

Step 4: Calculate averages
For each scenario, calculate the average CPU usage percentage by summing up the usage values and dividing by the number of measurements taken.

Step 5: Determine CPU idle time
To determine the CPU idle time, examine the CPU usage measurements. The idle time occurs when the CPU usage is consistently low (e.g., close to 0% or below a certain threshold that you define). Note the time intervals when the CPU usage is idle for each scenario.

Step 6: Analyze the results
Based on the idle time intervals recorded, determine the lower bound, average case, and upper bound of the CPU idle time for each scenario. The lower bound represents the minimum idle time observed, the average case represents the typical idle time, and the upper bound represents the maximum idle time experienced.

Step 7: Discuss and record the results
Understand the implications of the CPU idle time results in each scenario. Share your findings, compare the measurements in different scenarios (alone vs. in groups), and note any patterns or significant differences you observe. Record the results, including the average idle time in each scenario.

By following this process, you can compare and analyze the CPU idle time in various scenarios, both individually and when running multiple tasks simultaneously.