The Internet Exam Questions

• B IP address (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is IP address.
• A is not correct because a domain name is a name that identifies a website, not the address of a device
• C is not correct because a packet is a small block of data with header information sent across a network
• D is not correct because a sequence number is used to put packets back into the correct order

• B 192.168.0.1 (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is 192.168.0.1.
• A is not correct because it has only three groups of numbers; an IPv4 address has four groups separated by dots
• C is not correct because it has five groups of numbers; an IPv4 address has four groups separated by dots
• D is not correct because 256 is outside the valid range for a group, which is 0 to 255

• C It forwards data packets towards their destination (1)
• The only correct answer is C. The correct answer is forwards data packets towards their destination.
• A is not correct because a router does not add the destination IP address to each data packet, the sending device does
• B is not correct because a router does not check each data packet for errors, the receiving device does
• D is not correct because a router does not put data packets back into the correct order, the receiving device does

• B 32 (1)
• The only correct answer is B. The correct answer is 32.
• A is not correct because 8 is the number of bits in one part of an IPv4 address, not the whole address
• C is not correct because 128 bits is the length of an IPv6 address
• D is not correct because 256 is the number of possible values in one 8-bit part of an IPv4 address

Award one mark for:

• 32 (1)

Allow 4 × 8 / 2^5 (working that gives 32)

Do not accept 4 (the number of sections in an IPv4 address), 8 (the number of bits in each section) or 128 (the number of bits in an IPv6 address)

Award one mark for:

• Router (1)

Allow routers (plural).

Allow minor spelling errors that are clearly router, e.g. rooter.

Do not accept switch, hub (these forward data within a network, not between networks), modem or server.

Do not accept gateway on its own.

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

• A unique identifier/address/number (1)
• Given to/identifies a device/computer on a network/the internet (1)
• Used to route/send data (packets) to the correct destination (1)
• Assigned to a device when it connects to a network/the internet (1)

Allow 'number' for 'identifier/address/number' when the answer also says it is given to/identifies a device on a network.

Do not accept a domain name/web address (e.g. bbc.co.uk) or a MAC address.

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

• A (global) collection/group of interconnected networks/a network of networks (1)
• Allows devices/computers to communicate/share data (1)
• A wide area network (WAN)/the largest WAN (1)

Do not accept the World Wide Web/a search engine

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

• (It is a unique address/number that) identifies the device on the internet (1) so data can be sent to the correct destination/device (1)
• (It allows) routers to forward data packets towards the device (1) by reading the destination IP address in each packet's header (1)
• (It is the) address that other devices use to contact it (1) so it can send and receive data over the internet (1)

Accept 'the packet contains the destination IP address' or 'routers read the destination IP address' as the linked development in the second bullet.

Do not accept 'a unique number/address' on its own without a linked development.

Do not accept 'to access/connect to the internet' on its own without a linked development.

Do not accept responses that describe an IP address as a MAC address.

Do not award responses that only say devices are given IP addresses by an ISP/DHCP without describing a purpose.

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

• It is a 32-bit number/address (1)
• It is made up of four 8-bit numbers/bytes/octets (1)
• Each of the four parts is a number in the range 0 to 255 (1)
• The four parts are separated by dots/full stops (1)

Award a maximum of one mark for describing the four parts, whether they are described as 8-bit numbers/bytes/octets or as numbers in the range 0 to 255.

Do not accept 'it has four numbers' on its own, with no reference to 8 bits/bytes/octets or to the range 0 to 255.

Do not accept 'decimal point', 'separated by commas', 'separated by colons' or 'a 32-digit number'.

Do not accept responses that describe IPv6 (128-bit/hexadecimal) addresses.

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

• Reads the destination IP address in each data packet (1) so it can forward the packet towards its destination (1)
• Forwards/sends data packets between the school network and the internet (1) using the destination IP address (1)
• Receives data packets from the internet (1) and sends them to the correct device on the school network (1)
• Chooses the best/least congested route for a packet (1) and sends it on to the next router/network (1)

Allow 'IP address' / 'internet protocol address' / 'destination address' / 'recipient's IP address' for IP address.

Do not award a mark for stating only that the router connects the school network to the internet, as this repeats the question.

Do not accept MAC address used to route/forward packets.

Do not accept responses that describe the router as a cable or say that it stores data.

The two marks must be a point plus its development; do not award both marks for the same idea worded twice.

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

• A collection of separate/individual networks (1) that are connected/linked together (1)
• It uses a backbone of high-speed/fibre-optic cables (1) to connect networks across the world (1)
• It is the largest WAN (1) made up of many smaller networks (1)

Do not accept responses that say the internet is the World Wide Web.

Do not accept responses that say the internet is a single network or one computer.

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

• Data/packets are delivered to the correct device (1) because the IP address identifies that device on the internet (1)
• A reply is sent back to the device that made a request (1) because the sender's IP address is used as the destination address for the reply (1)
• Routers can forward packets to the right device (1) because each packet's destination IP address matches only one device (1)
• A device can be contacted by other devices (1) because other devices use its IP address to send data to it (1)

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

Allow 'so the router knows where to send data' only when expanded to say the IP address identifies the destination device / is used by routers to forward the packet to that device.

Do not accept 'so it can connect to the internet' / 'so it can access the internet' without saying how the address is used to identify the device or deliver data to it.

Do not accept 'so the device can be identified' on its own without saying what the identification is used for, e.g. delivering data or returning a reply.

Do not award a mark for restating that an IP address is unique / every device has a different address.

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

• Routers can forward the packet towards its destination (1) because they read the destination IP address in the packet header (1)
• The packet is delivered to the correct device (1) because the receiving device compares the destination IP address with its own IP address (1)
• Each packet can take a different route (1) because routers use the destination IP address to choose the next router (1)
• The packet can be passed on by each router in turn (1) because the destination IP address shows which network the packet is for (1)

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

Statements such as 'so it reaches the right destination' or 'so routers know where to send it' earn the first mark only; do not award the second mark unless the reason says that the address is read from the packet header and used to forward the packet.

Do not accept 'so it knows where it came from' as this describes the source address, not the destination address.

Do not accept 'so it gets there faster' without a linked reason.

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

• All the devices can share one internet connection (1) because the router forwards data packets between the home network and the internet (1)
• Data can reach the correct device on the home network (1) because the router uses the destination IP address to forward each packet to that device (1)
• Each device does not need its own separate connection to the internet (1) because the router forwards data packets for all the devices between the home network and the internet (1)

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

Do not accept 'it provides Wi-Fi' because Wi-Fi is not why a router is needed to connect to the internet.

Do not accept 'it connects the home network/devices to the internet' or 'a router connects networks' without saying what the router does with the data, as this restates the question.

Do not accept 'it connects the cables' without saying what it does with the data.

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

• Data can avoid a busy/congested link (1) because the router can choose another path (1)
• Data can still arrive if a link fails (1) because the router sends it another way (1)
• Data can take the shortest/fastest path (1) because the router compares the routes and chooses the one with the fewest hops/least traffic (1)

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

Allow other valid benefits with a linked reason, e.g. traffic can be shared across routes/load balanced (1) because the router can send some packets by another path (1)

Do not accept 'the route is always the same' as this is not a benefit of choosing a route.

Do not accept 'routers are fast' or 'packets are sent faster' on its own: the reason must say how the route is chosen, e.g. avoiding congestion or using a routing table.