Impact of Technology on Society

What does Moore's Law describe about computer chips?

• The number of electronic switches on a chip doubles roughly every year.

• Computer chips become less powerful and more expensive over time.

• The physical size of computer chips increases annually.

• The speed of data transfer remains constant.

What was a key factor that helped personal computers become popular for home use?

• They were initially designed for military bases.

• They became smaller, cheaper, and were marketed for fun and personal tasks.

• Xerox PARC believed there was no market for them in homes.

• They were only used by traditional corporate engineers.

Why did the US government create DARPA and fund the development of ARPANET?

• To develop new video games for entertainment.

• To improve communication for businesses and schools.

• To ensure information could be moved quickly even if telephone lines were cut during an attack.

• To compete with French engineers who developed Minitel.

How does packet switching work to send data?

• Data is sent as one continuous stream through a single route.

• Data is broken into small, independent parts that find their own fastest routes and are reassembled later.

• Data is transmitted only through telephone lines.

• Data is stored on floppy disks and physically transported.

Who is credited with inventing the World Wide Web?

• Bill Gates

• Steve Jobs

• Sir Tim Berners-Lee

• Mark Zuckerberg

What was a significant effect of the World Wide Web?

• It made computers more expensive for everyone.

• It allowed people to have a "home online" and connect with others globally.

• It primarily benefited large corporations and governments.

• It led to the decline of all traditional forms of communication.

How did the World Wide Web change access to knowledge and tools?

• It made knowledge creation exclusive to universities.

• It allowed only governments to share information.

• It democratized knowledge-making, enabling widespread sharing of software and information.

• It restricted access to information to only those who could afford expensive computers.

How might "Big Data" change the way scientific research is conducted in the future?

• Scientists will spend more time manually collecting data.

• Science will focus less on data collection and more on identifying patterns from already transmitted data.

• Big Data will make scientific research impossible due to too much information.

• Scientists will no longer need to ask questions, as all answers will be immediately available.