a) get to a "terminal window"?

Solution: [select it from various possible places, e.g. the little Terminal icon on the bottom of the screen -- any such specific answer gets you the marks for this part]

b) start the "IDLE" IDE for Python?

Solution: Type "idle" in a terminal window.

c) view the contents of a (short) text file?

Sample solution: Type "cat file" in a terminal window, where "file" is an absolute or relative pathname for the file.

d) examine the list of names of files in the directory /etc ?

Sample solution: Type "ls /etc" in a terminal window.

e) log out?

Solution: Select "Log out" from the KDE main menu, then select 'Yes' to confirm. (You didn't have to mention the confirmation step to get the marks.)