How the Internet Works

How does the internet send messages, pictures, and videos around the world?

A journey through the physical and digital infrastructure that allows information to travel across the globe in milliseconds.

Check your understanding

1. When you send a message, it is broken down into smaller pieces to travel across the internet. What are these pieces called?
- A. Clouds
- B. Packets
- C. Servers
- D. Routers
2. What is the name of the system that helps your computer find the IP address of a website like google.com?
- A. TCP
- B. ARPANET
- C. DNS
- D. Wi-Fi
3. Where does the 'backbone' of the internet, which carries information between continents, mostly live?
- A. In the open air via satellites
- B. Under the ground and deep beneath the ocean
- C. Inside every person's personal tablet
- D. Only in the clouds above our cities
4. What does a server do in the internet system?
- A. It acts as a powerful computer that stores data and files
- B. It converts electrical pulses into radio waves
- C. It tells the internet to shut down at night
- D. It deletes your files to save space

1. Why do scientists use a 'decentralized' network instead of one main computer to run the internet?
- A. To make the internet feel like magic
- B. To ensure the internet works faster
- C. To keep the network safe, so it doesn't fail if one part breaks
- D. To make sure humans don't have to manage it
2. Imagine you are watching a video and it starts 'buffering.' What is actually happening?
- A. The internet is testing your connection speed
- B. Your device has run out of packets and is waiting for more to arrive
- C. The server is deleting the movie to make room for new content
- D. You have too many apps open on your tablet
3. What is 'Net Neutrality' according to the rules of the road?
- A. The rule that all data must be treated equally
- B. The idea that big companies should pay for faster data
- C. A law that prevents you from sending videos
- D. A rule that limits how many websites you can visit
4. What job does the TCP protocol perform when sending data?
- A. It hides your location from hackers
- B. It makes the internet use less electricity
- C. It manages the order and arrival of packets, asking for missing ones to be sent again
- D. It creates the colorful pictures you see on your screen

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