Linux is an operating system kernel, the most basic layer of software managing the system and talking to your hardware. Linux exposes a standardized interface t

Linux is an operating system kernel, the most basic layer of software managing the system and talking to your hardware. Linux exposes a standardized interface to the so called 'user space', where programs like Chrome or Apache etc run. The Linux kernel is important, but only a small part of a whole operating system - it's the lowest layer, but there are lots of layers on top of it, including all the programs that the average user uses. Ubuntu, Red Hat, and other Linux _distributions_ bundle a Linux kernel, common software packages, and utilities to manage these together. So there are many Linux distributions, but only one Linux kernel.