Are there situations that a crashed Android app's task will remain running in the background?

Quick question to help me understand how my phone's performance is affected when an app terminates "irregularly".

When an Android app crashes (or otherwise terminates irregularly), could the task keep running even though it's inaccessible?

For example, when a Windows app (like Excel) crashes either "on it's own," or because of a programmatic error on my part, and I then restart Excel, the Windows Task Manager will sometimes show 2 or more instances of the application (sucking up resources even though the extra windows aren't visible/accessible) until I manually CtrlAltDel→End Task or Reboot.

My question(s) are:

• Can the same thing happen when an Android app crashes?




• If multiple instances were indeed running, would multiples show in Android Task Manager?




• The Clear Memory button in RAM Managerisn't exactly descriptive of what it's "clearing". Is it doing anything helpful in cases like these?




• Are the answers to these questions affected by whether or not the crash produces the standard Unfortunately, xxxxxx has stopped. Report/OK dialog (as opposed to just returning to the home screen)?




• Is there a better method for keeping an eye on resource usage that might not be easily identified with builtin Android Task Manager?

A quick explanation (or a point in the right direction) would be appreciated... As a coder (but not for Android!) the info I've found is either too simplified or too advanced to answer my questions. :)

I'm running Kitkat 4.4.4 on Samsung Galaxy 3.