How the Internet Was Invented: Part 1

What was a major challenge for early computers during World War II when working on complex problems like those for the atomic bomb?

• They were too small to store enough information.

• They could only solve one part of a complex problem at a time, taking months.

• They frequently broke down due to overheating.

• They required too many operators to function efficiently.

Which US government agency funded the research to create a computer network connecting scientists and engineers across the country?

• The National Science Foundation

• The US Department of Education

• The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)

• The Soviet Union's technology department

Why is packet switching more practical for the internet than circuit switching?

• Packet switching uses fewer wires, saving costs.

• Circuit switching is too slow for modern internet speeds.

• Packet switching allows different computers to send messages along the same wires, unlike circuit switching which needs dedicated lines.

• Circuit switching is only used for phone calls, not data transfer.

How does a message travel across a network using packet switching?

• The entire message is sent as one continuous signal directly to the destination.

• A dedicated circuit is established between the sender and receiver for the duration of the message.

• The message is broken into smaller packets, each with an address, and forwarded by nearby computers until it reaches its destination.

• A central server receives the message and then broadcasts it to all connected computers.

What was a major problem with ARPANET's early system for connecting computers?

• Computers were too slow to send messages.

• Each computer had to keep a list of every other computer's address, which often became outdated.

• Phone lines were not reliable enough for data transfer.

• There were too few computers connected to the network.

What set of programs helped different computer networks communicate by standardizing how data was sent and addressed?

• ARPANET Connectors

• Domain Name System (DNS)

• Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

• Global Network System (GNS)

How did the Domain Name System (DNS) make sending emails easier on the growing internet?

• It allowed emails to be sent without any addresses.

• It created a single, central computer that stored all email messages.

• It organized computers into domains and handled tracking addresses, so users didn't need to know the full path.

• It automatically translated emails into different languages.

Why did the Department of Defense decide to end the ARPANET project in the late 1980s?

• The project ran out of funding.

• ARPANET had become too small to be useful.

• Its original goal of creating a reliable, interconnected computer network had been achieved and evolved into the global Internet.

• Newer, faster technologies made ARPANET obsolete.