Practice IB Computer Science (CS) Topic C. Web Science with authentic exam-style questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank focuses on the exact syllabus content for C. Web Science and mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 style where relevant.
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The effectiveness of web search and the speed of content delivery depend on technical standards and optimization strategies. Website administrators use various tools to guide search engines, while modern image formats help maintain a balance between visual quality and network performance.
Outline the specific role of each of the following in optimizing a website for search engines: Robots.txt files, XML Sitemaps, and meta tags (e.g., title and description).
Explain how a search engine can use a web crawler and an index to retrieve relevant pages for a user’s query.
Explain how 'personalized search' can create a 'filter bubble' for a user, and describe the impact this has on the variety of information retrieved.
Evaluate the use of SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) versus WebP image formats in enhancing a website's performance and user experience.
The following information relates to ScholarSearch, an online academic repository that allows researchers to browse and download journals.
Users access the repository through the following URL:
http://scholarsearch.net/archive/search.php
When a user submits a search, the following PHP script processes the request to filter the library's catalog:
<?php if ($_SERVER["REQUEST_METHOD"] == "POST") { $vol_id = $_POST['volume_number']; $dept = $_POST['department_code']; <span class="katex"><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6944em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0278em;">r</span><span class="mord mathnormal">es</span><span class="mord mathnormal">u</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0197em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">=</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">se</span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0278em;">r</span><span class="mord mathnormal">c</span><span class="mord"><span class="mord mathnormal">h</span><span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t vlist-t2"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist" style="height:0.1514em;"><span style="top:-2.55em;margin-left:0em;margin-right:0.05em;"><span class="pstrut" style="height:2.7em;"></span><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mathnormal mtight">c</span></span></span></span><span class="vlist-s"></span></span><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist" style="height:0.15em;"><span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0197em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0359em;">g</span><span class="mopen">(</span></span></span></span>vol_id, $dept); }?>The repository uses a standard template for its headers to maintain a professional appearance across the portal. The web server handles thousands of requests daily for both static documents (PDFs) and dynamic search results.
A user fills out a search form on the ScholarSearch website to find specific journals. Based on the provided PHP code, identify the two specific items of information that the user has submitted to the server.
Outline the role of the <head> section within the HTML structure of the ScholarSearch web pages.
The ScholarSearch developers have included a robots.txt file in the root directory of the server. Describe how this file affects the behavior of web crawlers.
Consider the following fragment of code used to generate the site's navigation menu dynamically:
$sections = ["Archive", "Submit", "Contact"];foreach ($sections as $title) { <span class="katex"><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.8889em;vertical-align:-0.1944em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0197em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0359em;">ug</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">=</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0278em;">r</span><span class="mord mathnormal">t</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0197em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">o</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0269em;">w</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0278em;">er</span><span class="mopen">(</span></span></span></span>title) . ".php"; echo "<a href='<span class="katex"><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.9463em;vertical-align:-0.1944em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">s</span><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0197em;">l</span><span class="mord mathnormal">u</span><span class="mord"><span class="mord mathnormal" style="margin-right:0.0359em;">g</span><span class="msupsub"><span class="vlist-t"><span class="vlist-r"><span class="vlist" style="height:0.7519em;"><span style="top:-3.063em;margin-right:0.05em;"><span class="pstrut" style="height:2.7em;"></span><span class="sizing reset-size6 size3 mtight"><span class="mord mtight"><span class="mord mtight">′</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">></span></span></span></span>title</a> ";}Explain the function of this code fragment in the context of generating a web page.
Identify the steps involved in the standard HTTP request-response cycle when a browser requests a static file, such as logo.png, from the ScholarSearch server.
Laptops that only use cloud computing for all services and applications are now being marketed.
Identify two features of this type of laptop relating to cloud computing.
Outline two possible disadvantages to the user of this type of laptop.
By looking at one positive and one negative aspect, discuss the effect of the lack of central control of the web.
For one example of intellectual property, evaluate one measure that has been taken for its protection on the web.
With reference to the bowtie model of the web, consider the following graph. It represents a snapshot of popular sites about a specific topic.
After two months, the graph has evolved into the one shown below.
We can interpret the graph as follows:
Each node represents a document and each outgoing arrow represents a hyperlink in the document.
Unless stated otherwise, answer the questions with reference to the evolved graph (after two months).
Identify the set of OUT nodes in the evolved graph (after two months).
Identify two reasons why an edge may disappear in the new graph, for example the edge between node 5 and node 4.
Outline why the edge between node 2 and node 1 is a tendril.
State how many hyperlinks are in the document corresponding to node 6.
Power laws are often used to model phenomena occurring in very large networks and predict their evolution. Power laws may be suitably applied in different cases, in the context of the World Wide Web.
With reference to the relation between the number of documents in the web and the number of hyperlinks in each of them, suggest how power laws may help to explain the shape of the World Wide Web.
Identify the nodes in the strongly connected core in the evolved graph (after two months).
An international organization, OBI, has three offices in Europe, see Figure 7.
Figure 7: The location of OBI’s offices in Europe
Office A and Office B report to Office C, the head office.
Office A and Office B collaborate on many projects. Office C is not involved in the collaboration between Office A and Office B.
OBI has projects that involve large numbers of contributors from all over the world. These projects are managed by OBI staff in Office A.
The contributors often include non-text based information.
Draw a directed graph based on the scenario.
Describe the role of graph theory in determining the connectivity of the World Wide Web.
Outline two issues that may arise from using a non-text based search.
OBI has decided to gather information for one project by utilizing collective intelligence.
Evaluate this decision.