Amount of work that a system is able to do per unit time is called as:

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is (3):
Throughput is the fundamental metric used in computer science and operations management to quantify the overall efficiency and productivity of a system. It is precisely defined as the number of tasks, jobs, or units of work that a system can successfully process and complete per unit of time (e.g., processes per second, transactions per second, or bits per second). High throughput indicates a highly productive system capable of handling a large workload quickly. Therefore, the phrase "Amount of work that a system is able to do per unit time" is the textbook definition of Throughput, as it represents the rate of output.

The incorrect option is (1):
Response Time is a measure of the delay, specifically the time interval between the moment a request is submitted and the moment the system produces the first response. This metric is a measure of latency, not a measure of the total volume of completed work over time. While important for user experience in interactive systems, it only marks the beginning of the system's service. It is a time measurement, whereas the question asks for a work-per-time rate.

The incorrect option is (2):
Turn around Time is the total elapsed time for a single process or job, calculated from its submission to its absolute completion. Unlike throughput, which is a system-wide rate of many completed jobs, turnaround time is a single duration measured in units of time (like seconds or minutes). It is a key metric for evaluating how long individual users have to wait for their results, but it does not represent the system's production rate for all work.

The incorrect option is (4):
Input Time is a term that refers only to the duration required to load or read input data into the system's memory or storage. It represents only a small component of the overall process time, excluding the critical periods of computation, execution, and output. Since the question asks for the measure of the total work a system is able to do, a measure of only the input phase is too narrow and conceptually inadequate.