My Web Browsing Adventure

A Project About “Searching” for the Correct Information.

By Lauren M.

March 18, 2016

Day Two, Block Three (Red)

This is a quiz that was found in the Sunday January 3 2010 Concord Monitor newspaper…. Answers are there, too.  You need to read the question, and… if you KNOW the correct answer, that’s good… but you must still VERIFY that correct answer.  And write out your source for that correct answer.  And, MOST importantly, I want to you also write out your thinking process- especially for the questions you do NOT know the answer to.  Can you eliminate any of the answers?  How?   And how did you search for the correct answer?  Did you search the QUESTION, or did you search the possible answers? 

Write it out!  Be complete.  A good paragraph per answer is what we are after here…

• Use Google AND  Bing and at least 2 other search engines... any search engine you desire.  In your paragraphs, write down which search engine you used. 

• Use Search Terms that make sense.  Do NOT just type/copy the entire question.  Use Search Terms.  Use search terms that make sense.  In your paragraph, write down what search terms you used.

• Use Advanced Search methods, or at least look for .edu sites,  .gov sites   and   .com sites.  At LEAST these 3 types of sites.  You can have others, such as   .org    and    .net.    In your paragraph, write down how you searched for different domains (such as .edu, .gov .com,   etc.   Those are called “domains”.)

• And... write down the correct answer in the paragraph.  Perhaps that is the last sentence in your paragraph.

ow

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1. What are the three places that make up the points of the Bermuda Triangle?

1. Bahamas, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico
2. Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and Tortola
3. Miami, Bermuda, Puerto Rico

I am going to use the search engine google. I am using this search engine because I have used it before, and I like the way that it works. I think the answer to this question is a, because these places are in the area where the Bermuda triangle is, and option c is also just a good letter and I am just guessing at random. I noticed that while I was typing, the search engine was guessing what I wanted to search, below the search box. Once I searched my keywords (Bermuda Triangle Points), I decided to use a .gov website, and skimmed through the article. This website contained the correct answer (c). The answer was Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. The link to the website is here: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/bermudatri.html

2. Recife is the popular, pretty capital of Pernambuco state in what country?

1. Italy
2. Spain
3. Brazil

For this search engine, I used dogpile. I decided to use dogpile because I love dogs and wanted to try it out. I think that the answer to this is Brazil. I don’t know why, probably just because Brazil has lots of trees and tropical forests and Pernambuco is  a tropical type of wood. My search terms were Recife and Pernambuco. While searching, like when I was using google, results were already popping up as I was typing in the searchbox. There were lots of results, and I scrolled through the first fifteen or so snippets, and found a .org website that looked trustworthy. http://www.brazil.org.za/pernambuco.html. The answer that I found was c. Brazil.

3. Historic Nara, Japan, celebrates a huge anniversary in 2010.  How old is the country’s first capital city?

1. 570 years  (in 2010)
2. 1,300 years   (in 2010)
3. 4,000 years   (in 2010)

I am going to use a different search engine this time. I am using ixquick.com, because Mr. Woolner said to, and because I think it is interesting how it doesn’t track your searches. I think that the answer is 1300, because 4000 seems much too long ago, in roughly 900 BC, which means it is one of the oldest cities in the world, and I don’t think it is a because it seems much too recent. My search terms will be Japan, Nara, capital, and age. I noticed that when I used ixquick, instead of recommendations while I was searching, like google or bing, and when I search, it didn’t tell me how many search results, but I did find many snippets available. I used a site about Japan, (the link is here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2165.html ) and it said that Nara was created in the year 710, and I did the math…2010 minus 710 is 1300, so I was right with my guess. The answer was b. 1,300 years (in 2010).

4. The Northern Pacific Gyre lies in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and the west coast of the United States. What does it contain?

1. A huge pod of an estimated 2,000 endangered gray whales
2. A giant debris field of garbage trapped in a spinning circle
3. An underground sea mountain 7 miles tall

For this question, I am using another search engine that I haven’t used yet. I decided to use DuckDuckGo for this question. I love the logo, which is part of the reason I like it, but like ixquick, DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your searches. I think that the answer to this question is a giant debris field of garbage trapped in a spinning circle (a). I think this because I know that there is a lot of trash in the oceans and it makes sense that there would be a large chunk of it somewhere. The Northern Pacific Gyre doesn’t really seem like the typical name for a mountain, and doesn’t seem like a name for a group of whales either. My search terms to find the answer were Northern Pacific Gyre. While typing in the searchbox, it was giving me recommended results under where I was typing. After scrolling through the search results, I chose the CBS news website (the link is here: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sailing-the-seas-of-trash/ ). I was correct with my initial guess, and the CBS website contained an article called Sailing the Seas of Trash, and I skimmed over the article and it said that the answer was b. A giant debris field of garbage trapped in a spinning cycle.

5. This year (in 2010)  a mosaic of an angel was discovered under the floor of the Hagia Sophia.  Where and what is the Hagia Sophia?

1. Istanbul, Turkey.  It’s a museum that previously was a Byzantine Christian Church and a mosque.
2. Luxembourg.  It’s a cathedral built to honor St. Sophia, the country’s patron saint.
3. Mexico City.  It’s a traditional market where the image of the angel is said to have healing powers.

I am going to do this question differently – I will use four search engines (Bing, Google, Dogpile, and DuckDuckGo). I think that the answer to this question is Luxembourg, because it seems like the way people would honor a saint, and I don’t really know, so I’m just going to guess b. While using google, as soon as I start typing, it gives be suggestions of what I have searched for and what others have searched for, before I press the enter key. It was the same situation with bing and dogpile. DuckDuckGo was the only search engine that didn’t give me suggestions, because it doesn’t keep track of your searches. I decided to find the actual answer with Bing. I typed Hagia Sophia where as my keywords, and found a .gov right away, which told me the answer (link to the website I used is here: http://ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/history ). I guessed wrong, and the actual answer was a. Istanbul, Turkey.  It’s a museum that previously was a Byzantine Christian Church and a mosque.

6. If you want to go whitewater rafting on the Kampar River, where do you have to go?

1. Wheeling, West Virginia.
2. Gopeng, Malaysia
3. Johannesburg, South Africa

For this question, I will be using google again, but this time using an advanced search. Mr. Woolner wanted the class to use google and I like google and know how to use it better than other search engines. I think that the answer to this question is Johannesburg, South Africa. I don’t know why, but I chose it anyway. I will use the search terms whitewater rafting Kampar River. I searched for the domain .edu (by adding :*.edu to the end of my search), so all of my search results were .edu sites. It narrowed down my search results. After scrolling through the various snippets, I found a nice-looking site and checked it. The link is here: http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/?f%5Bauthor_tesim%5D%5B%5D=Skeat%2C+Walter+William&f%5Bimage_format_tesim%5D%5B%5D=drawings&f%5Bimage_geo_tesim%5D%5B%5D=+Malaysia--West+Malaysia--Perak--Changat+Bertam+%7C+Malaysia--West+Malaysia--Perak--Kampar+River&page=5. The site was for Cornell University and the answer was not South Africa like I guessed, it was b. Gopeng, Malaysia.

7. Most tourists love Devonshire cream tea – scones, clotted cream and raspberry jam with tea.  But where in England is Devonshire?

1. In dairy country east of London
2. Southwest England
3. Near the Scottish border

For this question, I am going to use the browser infospace.com. I decided to use this search engine only because I hadn’t used it before and it sounded interesting. I think the answer to this question is southwest because I think that if Devonshire was close to the Scottish border, it would have more Scottish influences in the food. That narrows it down to Dairy County and Southwest England. The name dairy county makes me think that they would eat a lot of dairy but these foods don’t really contain a lot of dairy. Those are my reasons for thinking that the answer is b. While searching on infospace, I used the keywords Devonshire England and where. While I was typing in the search box, unlike google or bing it was not giving me any search recommendations and just let me type what I wanted to type. However, advertisements popped up before any actual sites that contained the information that I needed. After scrolling through the snippets, I found a site that looked trustworthy, (an encyclopedia; the link is here http://www.britannica.com/place/Devon ), and found that Devonshire, which is called Devon is indeed where I thought that it was in my initial guess and that the answer is b. Southwest England.

8. What and where are the Adirondacks?

1. The Amish region in Indiana where craftsmen make chairs
2. Mountain range in New York state
3. American Indian reservations in the Florida Everglades

I decided to use the search engine Ask.com because I have heard of it before and I hadn’t used it yet so I thought that it would be a good search engine to try. I think that the answer is b because I know that the Adirondacks are a mountain range from prior knowledge, but I didn’t know where it was. New York was the only mountainous option, so I figure it must be the correct one. While searching on ask, I used the keywords Adirondacks what and where, and it came up with a company, so I changed the keywords to Adirondacks mountains where and I found much better results for what I wanted. It must be a nice place for skiing because I found many ski resort websites that were the first snippets. I clicked on one of these, a travel website, (link is here http://visitadirondacks.com/attractions ) and found that the answer was what I thought it was and it was b. Mountain Range in New York state.

9. Most people just call the region the Caribbean, but what is its formal name?

1. The West Indies
2. The East Indies
3. The South Indies

For this question, I am going to use yet another search engine that I have not tried before. I am going to use webcrawler because I haven’t used it. I think that the answer to this question is The West Indies. I know that this is the correct answer because we have done homework on this area of the world before and also the Caribbean is a western place. I searched on webcrawler using the keywords Caribbean formal name. The first things that popped up were many advertisements for traveling, rather than information that I could use to answer this question. After scrolling through about a page, I concluded that these were all advertisements for either travel, home decoration or clothing. I clicked on a snippet (this is the link: http://wikitravel.org/en/Caribbean ) and read through it, and found that I was right with my initial guess and that the answer was indeed a. The West Indies.

10. Almost all tourists who visit the Galapagos Islands leave for their trip from what city?

1. Quito, Ecuador
2. Santiago, Chile
3. La Paz, Bolivia

I am going to use the search engine Yahoo to answer this question because I have not used it yet and I figured that I should try it. I think that the answer to this question is Quito Ecuador. I am not sure why I think this, but I am fairly sure that Ecuador is the closest of these three locations to the Galapagos Islands.

11. What was the United States’ first national park?

1. Great Smoky Mountain
2. Yellowstone
3. Yosemite

12. Of Hawaii’s six major islands, which is the smallest and least developed?

1. Lili’uokalani
2. Kauai
3. Lanai