Computer Concepts - Chapter 2: Connecting and Communicating Online

Study Questions

SECTION 1: The Internet & Its Evolution

1. What is the Internet, and what types of organizations does it connect?
2. What agency created ARPANET, and what were its two main goals?
3. When did ARPANET become functional, and how many computers were in the original network?
4. What is a host (server), and what role does it play on a network?
5. No single person or company owns the Internet. Which organization oversees research and sets standards for the web, and what is its mission?
6. What is the W3C, and approximately how many organizations are members?

SECTION 2: Connecting to the Internet

1. What is the difference between a wired and a wireless Internet connection?
2. What is a dongle, and what does it do?
3. What is broadband Internet service, and why do users prefer it?
4. List and describe four types of wired broadband technologies (e.g., Cable, DSL, FTTP).
5. List and describe three types of wireless broadband technologies (e.g., Wi-Fi, Mobile broadband, Satellite).
6. What is a Wi-Fi hot spot? Give three examples of public places where they are commonly found.
7. What is tethering, and how does it create a mobile hot spot?
8. What is dial-up access, and why might some users still choose it?
9. What is an ISP (Internet Service Provider)? What additional services might an ISP offer besides Internet access?
10. What does bandwidth represent, and what is the difference between a megabyte (MB) and a gigabyte (GB)?
11. What is a mobile service provider, and how does it differ from a regular ISP?

SECTION 3: How Data Travels the Internet

1. What is the Internet backbone, and what role does it play in data transmission?
2. Describe the steps of how a home user's request for a webpage travels through a cable Internet connection.
3. What is an IP address, and what is its purpose?
4. What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6? Why was IPv6 introduced?
5. What is a domain name, and how does it relate to an IP address?
6. What is the top-level domain (TLD)? Give three examples (e.g., .com, .edu, .gov) and their intended purposes.
7. What does ICANN stand for, and what is its role?
8. What is a country code TLD (ccTLD)? Give an example.
9. How do you register a domain name? What is a registrar?
10. What is a DNS server, and what happens when you type a domain name into a browser?
11. What is cybersquatting, and what law was enacted to protect trademark owners from it?

SECTION 4: The World Wide Web

1. When did the World Wide Web emerge, and who created it?
2. What is a webpage, and what is the difference between a static and a dynamic webpage?
3. What is a website, and what is a web server?
4. What does the term Web 2.0 refer to? Give two examples of Web 2.0 websites.
5. What is a browser? How does a mobile browser differ from a standard browser?
6. What is a browser's home page? What are two uses of the term "home page"?
7. What is tabbed browsing?
8. List five safe browsing techniques to protect yourself online.
9. What is a phishing filter?
10. What is a pop-up blocker, and how does it differ from a pop-under blocker?
11. What is private browsing, and what information does it discard?
12. What is a proxy server, and how does it protect your online identity?
13. Name five browsers discussed in the chapter and describe one unique feature of each.

SECTION 5: Web Addresses & Web Apps

1. What is a URL (Uniform Resource Locator)? What are the components of a web address?
2. What does HTTP stand for, and what is it used for?
3. What is the host name in a web address? What does "www" indicate?
4. What is a web feed, and how does it save users time?
5. What is a web app, and how does it differ from a mobile app?
6. What is cloud storage, and how does it allow web apps and mobile apps to work together?
7. What is GPS, and how many satellites does a GPS receiver analyze to determine its location?

SECTION 6: Types of Websites

1. List ten types of websites covered in the chapter.
2. What is a web search engine? Give three examples.
3. What is search text? What are keywords?
4. Using the table in the chapter, explain what each of the following search operators does:
   • + (or space)
   • OR
   • –
   • ""
   • *
5. What is a subject directory, and how does it differ from a search engine?
6. What is an online social network? Give two examples.
7. What is a hashtag, and how is it used on social media?
8. What is a status update?
9. List three privacy risks associated with online social networks and how to protect yourself.
10. What is an informational and research website? Give two examples.
11. What is a media sharing site? Give an example of a video sharing site.
12. What is a bookmarking site? What is a tag? Give an example of a bookmarking site.
13. What is social media? List four forms of social media content.
14. What is a blog? What is a microblog? What is a vlog?
15. What is the blogosphere?
16. What is a wiki, and how does it differ from a blog? Give a well-known example of a public wiki.
17. What is streaming, and how does it work for audio and video?
18. What is e-retail? What is a shopping cart in an online store?
19. What is e-commerce? Define the three types: B2C, C2C, and B2B.
20. What is a portal, and what free services do most portals offer?
21. What is a content aggregation website? What is another name for it?
22. What are the five main steps in web publishing?
23. What is responsive web design (RWD)?
24. List six criteria used to evaluate whether a website's content is reliable.

SECTION 7: Digital Media on the Web

1. What is multimedia? List five types of media used on webpages.
2. What is a graphic? What is a thumbnail?
3. What is an infographic? Give three examples of infographic forms.
4. Explain the difference between JPEG and PNG graphics formats.
5. What is PDF, and why is it useful?
6. What is animation on the web? Give an example of how it is used.
7. What is the MP3 format, and how much does it reduce the size of an audio file?
8. What is a media player? Name two media players available for download.
9. What is streaming video, and why is it useful for longer videos?
10. What is Virtual Reality (VR)? What is a VR world?
11. What is a plug-in (add-on)? Give one example of a plug-in and its use.

SECTION 8: Other Internet Services

1. What is email? What was its original purpose on the Internet?
2. What is an email address? What symbol separates the user name from the domain name?
3. Explain the roles of an outgoing mail server and an incoming mail server.
4. List five good email practices.
5. What is an email list (electronic mailing list)? What is a list server?
6. What is an Internet messaging service? What is required for real-time messaging to work?
7. What is a chat room? How does it differ from internet messaging?
8. What is an online discussion (discussion forum)? What is a thread?
9. What is VoIP, and what equipment do you need to make an internet phone call?
10. What does FTP stand for, and what does it allow users to do?
11. What is the difference between uploading and downloading?
12. What is an FTP site, and what is anonymous FTP?

SECTION 9: Netiquette & Ethics

1. What is netiquette? For which areas of the Internet does it apply?
2. What is a flame, and what is a flame war?
3. What do the following netiquette acronyms mean?
   • BTW
   • FYI
   • IMHO
   • TTFN
4. What is a spoiler in online communication?
5. What is cyberbullying? Give three examples of cyberbullying behavior.
6. What is catfishing? What is a troll?
7. What is identity theft, and what is one financial statistic mentioned in the chapter about its impact?
8. List five techniques to protect yourself from identity theft.
9. When using a public Wi-Fi hot spot, what are four precautions you should take?