Internet
What is the interconnected network of networks that use standardized communication protocols?
The internet
This protocol is used for sending and receiving web pages via a browser.
HTTP
Small units of data into which a larger message is broken before being sent over a network.
Packets
The gap between those who have access to the Internet and those who do not.
Digital Divide
A model where a program is broken into multiple parts that run simultaneously on one machine.
Parallel Computing
This "system" translates human-readable domain names (like https://www.google.com/search?q=google.com) into IP addresses.
DNS (Domain Name System)
This 32-bit addressing system was replaced by IPv6 because we ran out of unique addresses.
IPv4
This device forwards data packets between computer networks along the most efficient path.
Router
Name one demographic factor (besides wealth) that contributes to the digital divide.
Age, Geography (Urban vs. Rural), or Education level.
This model uses multiple autonomous computers to solve a single problem (like the SETI@home project).
Distributed Computing
A system's ability to continue functioning even if a component fails (e.g., a broken cable).
Fault Tolerance
This protocol manages the sending/receiving of data packets and ensures they arrive in order.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol
True or False: Data packets always take the same path from the sender to the receiver.
False (Routing is dynamic and depends on traffic/congestion).
How can the digital divide affect a person’s ability to participate in the modern economy?
Limits access to job applications, online education, or healthcare information.
The time it takes for a bit to travel from its sender to its receiver.
Latency
This term describes the maximum amount of data that can be sent in a fixed amount of time.
Bandwidth
This protocol is used for secure, encrypted web communication.
HTTPS
The inclusion of extra components so that a system can continue to work even if individual components fail.
Redundancy
True or False: The digital divide only exists between different countries, not within a single country.
False
If a task takes 100 mins sequentially and 25 mins in parallel, what is the "speedup" value?
4 (Speedup = Sequential Time / Parallel Time)
Describe the difference between the World Wide Web and the Internet.
The Internet is the hardware/infrastructure; the World Wide Web is a service that uses the Internet to share information via HTTP.
This protocol is "best-effort" and faster than TCP because it does not check for errors or re-send lost data.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
This concept describes how the Internet can grow and handle more users/devices without redesigning its core.
Scalability
Explain how government policy or infrastructure investment can help close the digital divide.
Building broadband in rural areas, providing subsidies for low-income families, or increasing digital literacy programs.
Explain why doubling the number of processors rarely results in a 50% reduction in processing time.
Because of "Sequential portions" of the code that cannot be parallelized and the overhead of communication between processors.