Practice C. Web science with authentic IB Computer Science (CS) exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like programming concepts, algorithms, and data structures. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
A technology firm is deploying a new distributed network architecture to support its global team.
Describe two components of a distributed network.
Explain one reason why distributed networks are beneficial for remote work.
Outline one challenge that the technology firm may encounter when implementing a distributed network.
Web crawlers are programs used by search engines to browse and index the web.
Define the term web crawler.
Describe how a web crawler identifies and collects information on web pages.
Explain two ways in which web indexing benefits the user experience in search engines.
HealthConnect is a website providing medical resources and health information to the public. To help users find specific information, HealthConnect relies on an in-house search engine that indexes its medical articles.
Describe the function of a meta-tag and how it can improve the relevance of search results on HealthConnect.
Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of using meta-tags for HealthConnect’s search engine optimization (SEO).
Outline two reasons why HealthConnect might prioritize updating its index regularly.
When a user requests a file from a particular website, the website uses lossy compression to send the file to the user over the internet.
Outline the functions of each of these three processes: crawling, indexing, searching.
Explain why the PageRank algorithm might discriminate against new websites.
Explain how a search engine is able to maintain an up-to-date index when the web is continually expanding.
Discuss how this use of lossy compression might affect the user's experience.
Many city authorities have realised the opportunities that social media and collective intelligence can provide.
Narayan City is considering using data gathered from citizens using traffic apps on their GPS-enabled mobile devices to help plan future changes to the layout of the road network in and around the city.
Outline one advantage for Narayan City of using collective intelligence to solve complex problems such as changing the layout of roads.
Many social networking sites allow users to classify their posts and responses, for example by adding one or more “hashtags”.
To what extent does the increasing number of social networking sites and the creation of folksonomies contribute to web users modifying their online behaviour?
A health organization, MedData, has created a database of patient information accessible through its web portal. MedData uses a secure connection and strict protocols to protect sensitive information.
The MedData portal is accessible at https://meddata.org. (i) State the protocol used in this URL.
Explain why MedData would use HTTPS rather than HTTP for its portal.
Outline how a URL like https://meddata.org/login helps users access specific resources on a web server.
MedData’s web application connects to a backend database for patient information. Describe two benefits and one challenge of integrating a web page with a database for this application.
A public transportation system, CityTransit, uses an online portal to provide schedules, updates, and service alerts to users.
The website is accessible at http://citytransit.org. (i) Identify the protocol in this URL.
The website is accessible at http://citytransit.org. (ii) Explain why CityTransit might consider upgrading to HTTPS.
Describe two ways that CSS contributes to improving the user experience on the CityTransit website.
CityTransit allows users to search for routes using a search function that relies on JavaScript. Explain how JavaScript enhances the functionality of the search feature on the website.
A university stores its research data on a private cloud, which is accessible only by faculty and students.
Define cloud computing and outline its difference from traditional client-server architecture.
Explain two benefits of using a private cloud for the university’s research data.
Describe one disadvantage of a private cloud model for this university.
The internet and World Wide Web are often considered to be the same, or the terms are used in the wrong context.
Many organizations produce computer-based solutions that implement open standards.
A search engine is software that allows a user to search for information. The most commonly used search algorithms are the PageRank and HITS algorithms.
Outline why a search engine using the HITS algorithm might produce different page ranking from one using the PageRank algorithm.
Outline two advantages of using open standards.
Web crawlers browse the World Wide Web.
Explain how data stored in a meta-tag is used by a web crawler.
Distinguish between the internet and the World Wide Web.
An educational app for language learners uses natural language processing (NLP) to provide feedback on pronunciation and grammar.
Outline one way NLP can assist in language learning.
Explain two limitations NLP might face when providing language feedback.
Describe one ethical consideration in collecting voice data for NLP analysis.