The internet is the largest network of computers in the world. It connects millions of computers and devices across the globe, allowing people to share information, send messages, and talk to each other no matter how far apart they are. Thanks to the internet, we can find any information in seconds, watch videos, play games, and learn new things from the comfort of our homes.
In this chapter, we will learn what the internet is and how it began. We will understand how networks work and what the World Wide Web is. We will also learn about browsers, URLs, search engines, email, and the many services the internet provides. By the end of this chapter, you will be able to explain how the internet works and use its basic services safely.
The internet is a worldwide network of computers. A network is a group of computers connected to each other so that they can share data and resources. When computers all over the world are connected to each other, the result is the internet.
The word "internet" comes from "interconnected networks". The internet allows us to:
The internet works by sending data in small packets. When we send a message or open a web page, the data is broken into small pieces called packets, sent across the network, and then joined back together at the destination.
The internet began in the late 1960s as a project called ARPANET, started by the United States Department of Defence. ARPANET was a network that connected a few university computers so that scientists could share information.
In 1989, a scientist named Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW) at CERN in Europe. The World Wide Web is a collection of web pages connected by links. It made the internet easy to use for everyone. Tim Berners-Lee is therefore called the Father of the World Wide Web.
Over the years, the internet grew very fast. Today, billions of people use the internet every day for work, study, entertainment, and communication.
Before the internet, we need to understand networks. A network is formed when two or more computers are connected. Networks can be of different sizes:
LAN (Local Area Network): A LAN connects computers within a small area like a school, an office, or a building. A school computer lab has a LAN.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network): A MAN connects computers within a city or a large campus.
WAN (Wide Area Network): A WAN connects computers over large distances, even across countries and continents. The internet is the largest WAN in the world.
Networks can also be arranged in different shapes called topologies, like the bus topology, star topology, and ring topology.
The World Wide Web, written as WWW, is the part of the internet that we see as web pages. A web page is a document that contains text, pictures, videos, and links. Many related web pages together form a website. The first page of a website is called the home page.
To view web pages, we need a web browser. A web browser is a software program that lets us open and view web pages. Examples of web browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
To open a website, we type its address in the address bar of the browser and press Enter. The browser then shows the web page. We can move from one page to another by clicking on hyperlinks, which are the clickable words or pictures on a page.
Every website has a unique address called a URL, which stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL tells the browser exactly where to find a page on the internet.
Let us look at the URL: https://www.example.com/school
The last part of a domain name is the extension, like .com, .org, .gov, or .in. These tell us the type of the website. For example, .com is used for companies, .org for organisations, and .gov for government websites.
The internet has billions of web pages, so finding the exact page we want is difficult. This is where a search engine helps. A search engine is a website that helps us find information on the internet. Google, Bing, and Yahoo are popular search engines.
To use a search engine, we type a few words about what we want, called keywords, in the search box and press Enter. The search engine then shows a list of web pages related to our keywords.
For example, if we type "solar system for class 6", the search engine lists many web pages, pictures, and videos about the solar system. We can then click on the most useful result. Using clear and specific keywords gives better search results.
The internet provides many useful services:
Email: Email, short for electronic mail, is a way to send messages and files through the internet. We need an email address like "student@example.com" to send and receive mail. Gmail and Yahoo Mail are popular email services.
Social media: Websites like Facebook and Instagram let people share photos, messages, and updates with friends.
Video calling: Apps like Zoom and Skype let us talk and see each other over the internet.
Online shopping: Websites like Amazon and Flipkart allow us to buy things from home.
Online education: We can attend online classes, watch educational videos, and read e-books on the internet.
Entertainment: We can watch movies, play online games, and listen to music.
The internet is used in almost every part of modern life. In schools, students use the internet for projects and online classes. In hospitals, doctors share reports and consult patients from far away. In banks, money moves electronically through the internet. In government offices, services are delivered online. Farmers check weather and market prices online. Travellers book tickets and hotels online. The internet has truly made the world a small place, connecting people, knowledge, and services together.
| Type of Network | Area Covered |
|---|---|
| LAN | Small area like a school or office |
| MAN | A city or large campus |
| WAN | Large distances, even across countries |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| WWW | World Wide Web, a collection of web pages |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator, the address of a website |
| Browser | Software to view web pages (Chrome, Firefox) |
| Search engine | Website to find information (Google, Bing) |
| Electronic mail for sending messages |
In this chapter, we learned that the internet is the largest network of computers in the world, connecting people and information everywhere. We studied its history, from ARPANET to the World Wide Web invented by Tim Berners-Lee. We learned about networks and their types, from a small LAN in a school to the giant WAN that is the internet. We understood the World Wide Web, web browsers, and the parts of a URL. We also learned how search engines help us find information and how services like email, video calling, and online education make our lives easier. The internet is a powerful tool that brings the whole world to our fingertips, and using it wisely helps us learn, connect, and grow.