CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1202)Operating SystemsEasy
A user on a macOS workstation needs to quickly identify which applications are consuming the most CPU resources and potentially causing system slowdowns. Which utility should the user open to monitor these processes?
- ASystem Settings
- BActivity Monitor
- CDisk Utility
- DTerminal
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor on macOS is the primary tool for viewing and managing running processes, including CPU, memory, disk, and network usage. It directly shows which applications are consuming the most CPU.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. System Settings manages system preferences, not real-time process monitoring.
- C. Disk Utility manages storage devices and volumes, not active processes.
- D. Terminal provides command-line access, but a GUI tool is more direct for quick visual monitoring.
macOS Activity Monitor
A macOS utility that displays information about all processes running on the system, including CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network usage.
- Accessible from Applications/Utilities.
- Allows users to quit or force quit unresponsive processes.
- Provides tabs for different resource categories (CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, Network).
Memory trick: Active Monitoring Reveals Resource Hogs.