Word processing, spreadsheet, and photo editing programs are all examples of which broad category of computer software?

Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of how computer software is classified. In everyday computing, users interact with many different programs, such as word processors, spreadsheets, and image editors. All of these help the user perform specific tasks and are grouped together under a particular type of software category that differs from system level software like operating systems.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Examples given are word processing, spreadsheet, and photo editing programs.
• The options include system software, application software, operating systems, and platform software.

Concept / Approach:
Application software consists of programs that perform specific user oriented tasks such as writing documents, managing data, creating presentations, and editing images. System software includes operating systems and utilities that manage hardware resources. Operating systems are a specific type of system software. Platform software is sometimes used to describe underlying environments or frameworks. Since word processors, spreadsheets, and photo editors are all task oriented programs used directly by users, they belong to application software.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the common characteristic of the examples. All of them are tools that users open to do work such as writing, calculating, or editing images. Step 2: Recall the definition of application software as made for specific user tasks on top of the operating system. Step 3: Compare this with the definition of system software, which includes the operating system and basic utilities that manage the computer itself. Step 4: Recognise that operating systems like Windows or Linux are not the same as the user programs described and represent a separate category. Step 5: Therefore, the only category that correctly includes the examples is application software.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider how these programs are installed and run. After installing an operating system, users typically install office suites, image editing tools, and other applications. The operating system provides services such as file management and memory management, while the applications provide specific features. This separation into operating system and applications is widely described in basic computer textbooks, which supports the classification of the given examples as application software.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
System software: This is wrong because system software refers to operating systems and utilities that manage the computer hardware. Word processing or photo editing programs do not manage the system; they run on top of it.
Operating systems: This is wrong because operating systems like Windows or Linux are not themselves word processors or spreadsheets. They are platforms on which those applications run.
Platform software: This is wrong because the term platform is more abstract and does not specifically describe user task oriented programs. It is not the standard name used in basic exam syllabi for these tools.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners sometimes assume that any popular program is system software, mixing up usage frequency with classification. Another pitfall is to think that if an application is pre installed with the operating system, it must be part of system software, but classification depends on function, not pre installation status. Remember that if the main purpose is to help the user perform a task, it is application software.

Final Answer:
Word processing, spreadsheet, and photo editing programs are all examples of Application software.