Explain user space vs. kernel space

The operating system executes the kernel in protected memory to prevent anyone from changing (and risking it crashing). This is what is known as "Kernel space". "User space" is where users executes their commands or applications. It's important to create this separation since we can't rely on user applications to not tamper with the kernel, causing it to crash.

Applications can access system resources and indirectly the kernel space by making what is called "system calls".