Network Speed Exam Questions

• B 1000 (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is 1000.
• A is not correct because 8 is the number of bits in one byte, not in one kilobit
• C is not correct because 1024 is the number of bits in one kibibit, not in one kilobit
• D is not correct because 8000 is the number of bits in one kilobyte (1000 bytes), not in one kilobit

Award one mark for any of the following:

• Bits per second (bps) (1)
• Kilobits per second (kbps) (1)
• Megabits per second (Mbps) (1)
• Gigabits per second (Gbps) (1)

Allow bits/second, b/s, bit per second, bits per sec.

Do not accept bits on its own.

Do not accept bytes per second.

Award one mark for any of the following up to a maximum of two marks:

• The size of the file / amount of data to be transmitted (1)
• The file size in bits/bytes/MB/GB (1)
• The transmission rate / speed of the network (1)
• The bit rate / number of bits per second (1)
• The network speed / connection speed (1)

Award a maximum of one mark for the file size/amount of data and a maximum of one mark for the transmission rate/speed/bit rate.

Do not accept bandwidth on its own.

Do not accept the time taken, as this is what is being calculated.

Do not accept latency (it is a delay, not a transmission rate).

Do not accept a conversion factor such as 8 bits per byte as one of the two pieces.

Award up to two marks for a linked description such as:

• 300 million bits (1) are transferred/downloaded every second (1)
• 300 megabits of data (1) are received each second (1)
• Each second (1) 300,000,000 bits arrive at the device (1)
• The connection can receive (1) 300 megabits of data in one second (1)

Allow '300 million bits per second' (2) as it states both the quantity and the time.

Accept 'megabits', 'Mb' or 'Mbps' as the unit of bits.

Do not accept 'megabytes'/'MB' or answers that give no unit of bits, e.g. '300 units of data per second'.

Do not award marks for simply repeating the question, e.g. '300 megabits per second' or 'it has a speed of 300 Mbps', with no statement of the data transferred/received and the time.

Do not accept answers that only say the connection is fast.

Award up to two marks for a linked explanation such as:

• The time taken (to transmit the file) is reduced (1) because the compressed file is smaller/has fewer bits to send (1)
• The file is sent in less time (1) because fewer bits need to be sent at the same transmission rate (1)
• The time taken is halved (1) if compression halves the file size, because the number of bits sent each second stays the same (1)
• The time taken is reduced (1) because the smaller file takes fewer seconds to send at the same number of bits per second (1)

For both marks, the expansion must follow/associate with the statement.

Allow the two parts in the reverse order, e.g. 'the compressed file has fewer bits (1) so it takes less time to send at the same rate (1)'.

Allow 'quicker/faster to send' where it means less time, but not where it means a higher transmission rate.

Do not accept 'the file is smaller/compression reduces the file size' on its own without saying that the time taken is reduced.

Do not accept 'the transmission rate/speed increases' because the transmission rate stays the same.