A school's computers are connected to the network using Ethernet cables.
Define the term 'latency'.
Mark scheme
Award one mark for:
- A (time) delay between data/a signal being sent and being received (1)
Allow 'the time taken for data to travel from source to destination'
Allow 'the time taken for data to arrive at its destination after it is sent'
Allow 'time lag/time delay'
Do not accept the amount of data that can be transferred per second (this is bandwidth)
Do not accept the speed of the connection/how fast data travels (this is speed, not latency)
Example answers and how they were marked
The time delay between data being sent and arriving at its destination.
Why: Gives a delay between data being sent and being received, which is the creditworthy point (1).
How much data the cable can carry each second.
Why: Describes bandwidth, which the mark scheme says not to accept, so no mark.
How fast data travels along the Ethernet cable.
Why: Describes speed rather than a delay; the mark scheme does not accept 'how fast data travels', so no mark.