AP®Computer ScienceCollege BoardComputer Science PrinciplesExam QuestionsUnit 4: Computer Systems and NetworksThe Internet

The Internet (College Board AP® Computer Science Principles): Exam Questions

33 mins33 questions
Easy
Medium
Hard
1
1 point

What is a computing device?

  • A set of rules that devices follow to communicate

  • A physical object that can run a program

  • A chunk of data sent across a network

  • A web page accessed through a browser

Choose your answer

2
1 point

What is a computer network?

  • A program that removes errors from data

  • A single computer running many programs at once

  • Interconnected computing devices that can communicate and share data

  • The physical case that holds a computer's components

Choose your answer

3
1 point

In a network, what is a path?

  • The sequence of directly connected computing devices that data passes through from sender to receiver

  • The maximum amount of data a connection can carry per second

  • The set of rules that data must follow

  • The web page a user is trying to reach

Choose your answer

4
1 point

What is bandwidth?

  • The number of errors in a data transfer

  • The total number of devices connected to a network

  • The physical length of a network cable

  • The maximum amount of data that can be sent through a connection in a fixed amount of time

Choose your answer

5
1 point

What is a protocol?

  • A physical device that stores web pages

  • An agreed-upon set of rules that specify the behaviour of a system

  • A single packet of data sent across the network

  • The maximum capacity of a network connection

Choose your answer

6
1 point

What is a packet?

  • A complete file that is never divided when sent

  • The maximum amount of data a connection can carry

  • A physical device that connects two networks

  • A chunk of data together with metadata used for routing and reassembly

Choose your answer

7
1 point

Where are the packets of a file reassembled into the original data?

  • At the sender before the packets are sent

  • At the first router the packets reach

  • At every router along the path

  • At the destination device

Choose your answer

8
1 point

What is the World Wide Web?

  • A system of linked pages, programs, and files, accessed via HTTP, that runs on the Internet

  • The physical network of cables and routers that connects devices

  • A single web browser installed on a computer

  • A protocol that breaks data into packets

Choose your answer

9
1 point

A connection with a bandwidth of 600 Mbps is shared equally by 12 devices. What is the maximum bandwidth available to each device?

  • 12 Mbps

  • 50 Mbps

  • 600 Mbps

  • 7200 Mbps

Choose your answer

10
1 point

Which of the following lists protocols that define how packets are formatted, addressed, and transmitted on the Internet?

  • HTML and CSS

  • JPEG and MP3

  • ASCII and RGB

  • IP and TCP

Choose your answer

11
1 point

On the World Wide Web, which of the following connects one web page to another so that users can navigate between them?

  • Packets

  • Hyperlinks

  • Routers

  • Bandwidth

Choose your answer

1
1 point

A group of computing devices and programs working together for a common purpose is best described as a:

  • Single computing device

  • Protocol

  • Packet

  • Computing system

Choose your answer

2
1 point

What is routing?

  • The process of reducing the size of a file before it is sent

  • The process of finding a path from sender to receiver through the network

  • The process of converting analog signals into digital data

  • The process of encrypting data so it cannot be read

Choose your answer

3
1 point

Which device examines the destination of each piece of data and forwards it along an appropriate path?

  • A printer

  • A monitor

  • A router

  • A hard drive

Choose your answer

4
1 point

The actual data transfer rate is often lower than a connection's stated bandwidth. Which two factors can cause this? Select two answers.

  • Network congestion

  • Using open, standardized protocols

  • Many devices sharing the same connection

  • A higher bandwidth rating on the connection

Choose your answer

5
1 point

A connection with a bandwidth of 240 Mbps is shared equally by 8 devices. What is the maximum bandwidth available to each device?

  • 30 Mbps

  • 240 Mbps

  • 8 Mbps

  • 1920 Mbps

Choose your answer

6
1 point

What does it mean that the Internet's protocols are "open"?

  • They are kept secret so that data stays secure

  • They can only be used by devices from one approved manufacturer

  • They are nonproprietary and publicly available, not controlled by any single company

  • They change randomly each time a device connects

Choose your answer

7
1 point

A company releases a new fitness tracker that connects to the Internet using the established Internet standards. Why can it communicate with existing servers built years earlier?

  • Because the tracker converts all its data through one central translation server

  • Because the tracker must be licensed by every server it contacts

  • Because smart devices run on a separate Internet from ordinary computers

  • Because the Internet's protocols are open and standardized, so any device that follows the rules can communicate

Choose your answer

8
1 point

What does scalability mean when applied to the Internet?

  • The capacity of the system to grow in size and scale to meet new demands

  • The ability to keep all data completely private

  • The speed at which a single web page loads

  • The process of breaking data into packets

Choose your answer

9
1 point

What is dynamic routing on the Internet?

  • Every message always follows the same fixed path

  • The path data takes is chosen in real time based on current network conditions

  • Routing decisions are made only by the sender before sending

  • Data can only travel between devices from the same manufacturer

Choose your answer

10
1 point

Which two statements about the Internet's communication protocols are correct? Select two answers.

  • They are owned and controlled by a single company

  • They are open, meaning nonproprietary and publicly available

  • They are different for every manufacturer's devices

  • They are standardized, so all devices follow the same rules

Choose your answer

11
1 point

Besides the chunk of data, which two pieces of information are included in a packet's metadata? Select two answers.

  • The bandwidth of the connection

  • The user's account password

  • The destination address

  • The packet's position in the original data stream

Choose your answer

12
1 point

When packets travel across the Internet, in what ways may they arrive at the destination?

  • In order, out of order, or not at all

  • Always in the exact order they were sent

  • Always at exactly the same moment

  • Only in the reverse of the order they were sent

Choose your answer

13
1 point

Packets from a single message arrive at the destination out of order. How are they put back into the correct sequence?

  • By resending the whole message as one block

  • Using the ordering metadata contained in each packet

  • By discarding any packet that arrives out of order

  • By asking the user to reorder them manually

Choose your answer

14
1 point

Why might two packets from the same file arrive at the destination at different times?

  • The file was compressed before sending

  • Packets are always sent one full day apart

  • Each packet can take a different path through the network

  • The destination device has too much bandwidth

Choose your answer

15
1 point

Which statement about the Internet and the World Wide Web is correct?

  • The Web can operate without the Internet, but the Internet cannot function without the Web

  • The Internet can operate without the Web, but the Web cannot function without the Internet

  • The Internet and the Web are two names for exactly the same thing

  • The Web existed before the Internet was created

Choose your answer

16
1 point

Which protocol does the World Wide Web use to request and deliver web pages?

  • FTP

  • SMTP

  • HTTP

  • A protocol unique to each website

Choose your answer

17
1 point

Which of the following is a service that uses the Internet but is not part of the World Wide Web?

  • Browsing linked pages in a web browser

  • Following a hyperlink from one web page to another

  • Loading a web page over HTTP

  • Sending an email

Choose your answer

18
1 point

A home broadband connection is upgraded from 50 Mbps to 200 Mbps, but a large file still downloads at about the same speed as before. Which of the following best explains this?

  • Bandwidth is the maximum capacity of the connection, so another bottleneck such as congestion or a hardware limit can hold the actual transfer rate below it

  • A higher bandwidth always guarantees a faster transfer, so the download must have finished instantly

  • Increasing the bandwidth reduces the maximum capacity of the connection

  • Bandwidth measures the number of devices connected, not the speed of a transfer

Choose your answer

19
1 point

While a message is being sent, a link on the route it normally uses stops working. The message still reaches the receiver. Which of the following best explains why?

  • Bandwidth automatically increases to force the data through the broken link

  • The message is stored until the broken link is repaired, then sent along it

  • Multiple paths exist between devices, so routing can direct the data along a different working path

  • The Web reassembles the message at the broken link before forwarding it

Choose your answer

20
1 point

A file is split into several packets and sent across the Internet. One of the packets is lost on the way and never reaches the destination. According to how the Internet handles packets, this outcome is:

  • Possible, because packets may arrive in order, out of order, or not at all

  • Impossible, because every packet is guaranteed to arrive

  • Impossible, because packets always travel together along one path

  • Possible only if the file was never broken into packets

Choose your answer

1
1 point

Why can new networks and devices be added to the Internet without changing the existing infrastructure?

  • Every new device replaces an old device to keep the total number fixed

  • A central authority manually reconfigures the whole Internet for each new device

  • Open protocols and dynamic routing mean there is no central point of control that must approve or reconfigure new connections

  • New devices must use a completely different set of secret protocols

Choose your answer

2
1 point

Which of the following is true of the World Wide Web but not of the Internet itself?

  • It is a global network of interconnected computing devices

  • It provides the physical infrastructure that carries data between devices

  • It is a system of linked pages, programs, and files accessed using HTTP

  • It existed first and can operate without the other

Choose your answer