Answers to Quiz 2—Advanced Web Searching

1. What is the monetary unit of Indonesia?

Answer: Rupiah.
Search strategy: Look for world facts, such as with the CIA World Fact Book, or a currency exchange site, or an encyclopedia, such as Encylopedia Britannica.

2. What is the population of Sri Lanka?

Answer: 19,408,635 (July 2001 est.)
Search strategy: Same as #1 above.

3. Where is the world headquarters of the Coca Cola (Coke) company located?

Answer: Atlanta, Georgia.
Search strategy: Go directly to the source, www.coke.com. Look for information about the company (there's often an "About" button on commercial or institutional sites). "Our Company" > "Contact Us" > "Ask Coca Cola."

4. What’s the full name of the American writer e.e. cummings?

Answer: Edward Estlin Cummings (he used lowercase purposely).
Search strategy: This is biographical information, so go to a site about people, such as A&E's Biography site, or, again, an encyclopedia (this time the Colombia Encyclopedia).

5. Here are some questions about the FedEx company:

• On what market is the stock traded?
  
• What is the stock symbol for FedEx?
  
• What is the stock price today?
  

  Answers: NYSE, FDX, 52.02 (10/2/2002)
  Search strategy: Look for a respected investment or finance portal, such as E*Trade or Fidelity, a news site, such as CNNfn ("Enter stock ticker name" field), or a search engine with a stock quote option, such as Yahoo. Or look at the sites of the major stock exchanges, NYSE, American, and NASDAQ and do a search by company name. Or go to the company itself and look for "Investor Relations" or "Investment Opportunities" or the like.

6. What are the symptoms of glaucoma?

Answer: "At first, open-angle glaucoma has no symptoms. Vision stays normal, and there is no pain. As glaucoma remains untreated, people may notice that although they see things clearly in front of them, they miss objects to the side and out of the corner of their eye."
Search strategy: Look for a medical information site designed for the layperson, that is, not technical information for medical professionals. DrKoop.com, run by a former Surgeon General of the U.S., is one such site. Also, look at the medical news section of Nexis and the Health/Fitness section of the About.com portal.

7. Does New York University offer a degree in architecture?

Answer: No.
Search strategy: You could go to the source, www.nyu.edu, and see if architecture is among the programs of study. A college search site, such as Embark.com or Peterson's, will allow you to search for all schools that offer a specific program of study or if a particular school offers a program.

8. What is the final serial comma and should you use it in your writing?

Answer: "In a series of three or more terms with a single conjunction, use a comma after each term except the last. Thus write,

red, white, and blue
honest, energetic, but headstrong
He opened the letter, read it, and made a note of its contents.

This is also the usage of the Government Printing Office and of the Oxford University Press. In the names of business firms the last comma is omitted, as Brown, Shipley and Company The abbreviation etc., even if only a single term comes before it, is always preceded by a comma." (from Elements of Style, below)
Search strategy: This is a question of English usage. There are several usage sites, but one of the classics of English usage is the thin book Elements of Style, by William Strunk, all of which is online. Also check another online English usage guide.

9. What is the approximate student enrollment at Boston University? What American states do they come from? How many countries do they come from?

Answers: "With more than 30,000 students from all 50 states and 135 countries, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States." [BU Visitor Center]
Search strategy: Similar to questions #3, 5, and 7 above, go directly to the source, www.bu.edu. The "About" button is the first one on the home page.

10. What’s the best price you can find for a hardbound copy of Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Answer: (examples) Amazon.com online bookstore: Scribner Classics edition, hardcover (June 1996). $19.25 Save: $8.25 (30%). Barnes and Noble online bookstore: Simon & Schuster Trade, hardcover, May 1996. $19.25. Save 30%.
Search strategy: Search for the book at one of the big online bookstores and compare prices and shipping information.

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