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Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers

Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers: IELTS Reading passage practice questions for Information Theory The Big Idea, sample answers, and faqs.
authorImagePorishmita Paul6 Mar, 2025
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Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers

Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers: In the IELTS Reading test, questions on “Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers” are very common. The questions in the IELTS Reading Passage generally cover aspects of reasons for “Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers” and more. Therefore, preparing through the IELTS Reading practice test Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers can help students get an idea of the actual question types for the IELTS Reading test .

The IELTS Reading practice test generally includes 14 questions divided into two sections: IELTS Matching Headings and Multiple Choice Questions. The article covers a sample reading passage along with their answers for IELTS exam 2025 aspirants.

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Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers Passage

Information Theory- The Big Idea

Information theory lies at the heart of everything - from DVD players and the genetic code of DNA to the physics of the universe at its most fundamental. It has been central to the development of the  science of  communication, which enables data to be sent electronically and has therefore had a major impact on our lives
Paragraph A.  In April 2002 an event took place which demonstrated one of the many applications of information theory. The space probe, Voyager I, launched in 1977, had sent back spectacular images of Jupiter and Saturn and then soared out of the Solar System on a one-way mission to the stars. After 25 years of exposure to the freezing temperatures of deep space, the probe was beginning to show its age. Sensors and circuits were on the brink of failing and NASA experts realised that they had to do something or lose contact with their probe forever. The solution was to get a message to Voyager I to instruct it to use spares to change the failing parts. With the probe 12 billion kilometres from Earth, this was not an easy task. By means of a radio dish belonging to NASA’s Deep Space Network, the message was sent out into the depths of space. Even travelling at the speed of light, it took over 11 hours to reach its target, far beyond the orbit of Pluto. Yet, incredibly, the little probe managed to hear the faint call from its home planet, and successfully made the switchover.
Paragraph B.  It was the longest-distance repair job in history, and a triumph for the NASA engineers. But it also highlighted the astonishing power of the techniques developed by American communications engineer Claude Shannon, who had died just a year earlier. Born in 1916 in Petoskey, Michigan, Shannon showed an early talent for maths and for building gadgets, and made breakthroughs in the foundations of computer technology when still a student. While at Bell Laboratories, Shannon developed information theory, but shunned the resulting acclaim. In the 1940s, he single-handedly created an entire science of communication which has since inveigled its way into a host of applications, from DVDs to satellite communications to bar codes - any area, in short, where data has to be conveyed rapidly yet accurately.
Paragraph C.  This all seems light years away from the down-to-earth uses Shannon originally had for his work, which began when he was a 22-year-old graduate engineering student at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1939. He set out with an apparently simple aim: to pin down the precise meaning of the concept of ‘information’. The most basic form of information, Shannon argued, is whether something is true or false - which can be captured in the binary unit, or ‘bit’, of the form 1 or 0. Having identified this fundamental unit, Shannon set about defining otherwise vague ideas about information and how to transmit it from place to place. In the process he discovered something surprising: it is always possible to guarantee information will get through random interference - ‘noise’ - intact.
Paragraph D.  Noise usually means unwanted sounds which interfere with genuine information. Information theory generalises this idea via theorems that capture the effects of noise with mathematical precision. In particular, Shannon showed that noise sets a limit on the rate at which information can pass along  communication channels while remaining error-free. This rate depends on the relative strengths of the signal and noise travelling down the communication channel, and on its capacity (its ‘bandwidth’). The resulting limit, given in units of bits per second, is the absolute maximum rate of error-free communication given signal strength and noise level. The trick, Shannon showed, is to find ways of packaging up - ‘coding’ - information to cope with the ravages of noise, while staying within the information-carrying capacity - ‘bandwidth’ - of the communication system being used.
Paragraph E.  Over the years scientists have devised many such coding methods, and they have proved crucial in many technological feats. The Voyager spacecraft transmitted data using codes which added one extra bit for every single bit of information; the result was an error rate of just one bit in 10,000 - and stunningly clear pictures of the planets. Other codes have become part of everyday life - such as the Universal Product Code, or bar code, which uses a simple error-detecting system that ensures supermarket check-out lasers can read the price even on, say, a crumpled bag of crisps. As recently as 1993, engineers made a major breakthrough by discovering so-called turbo codes - which come very close to Shannon’s ultimate limit for the maximum rate that data can be transmitted reliably, and now play a key role in the mobile videophone revolution.
Paragraph F.  Shannon also laid the foundations of more efficient ways of storing information, by stripping out superfluous (‘redundant’) bits from data which contributed little real information. As mobile phone text messages like ‘I CN C U’ show, it is often possible to leave out a lot of data without losing much meaning. As with error correction, however, there’s a limit beyond which messages become too ambiguous. Shannon showed how to calculate this limit, opening the way to the design of compression methods that cram maximum information into the minimum space.
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Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers Sample Questions

Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers: Questions 1-6

The reading passage has six paragraphs: A – F Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below. Write the correct numbers, i – x in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

List of Headings:
i. How Shannon’s ideas are used today 
ii. Shannon’s early influences and career 
iii. Repairing Voyager I from a distance 
iv. Protecting information from interference 
v. Shannon’s solution to noise problems 
vi. A simple goal that led to major discoveries 
vii. Shannon’s method of storing data efficiently 
viii. The impact of noise on communication 
ix. A space mission that relied on information theory 
x. The development of turbo codes 
  1. Paragraph A
  2. Paragraph B
  3. Paragraph C
  4. Paragraph D
  5. Paragraph E
  6. Paragraph F
Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers Questions 1-6
1. Paragraph A – iii. Repairing Voyager I from a distance

Explanation:  Paragraph A describes how NASA sent a repair message to Voyager I, emphasizing the challenge of communicating over 12 billion kilometers.

2. Paragraph B – ii. Shannon’s early influences and career

Explanation:  Paragraph B highlights Shannon’s life, his early math talent, and his communication science contributions.

3. Paragraph C – vi. A simple goal that led to major discoveries

Explanation:  Paragraph C explains Shannon’s initial goal to define 'information' and how this led to significant breakthroughs.

4. Paragraph D – viii. The impact of noise on communication

Explanation:  Paragraph D focuses on how noise affects communication and how Shannon measured this mathematically.

5. Paragraph E – i. How Shannon’s ideas are used today

Explanation  : Paragraph E illustrates the practical use of Shannon’s theories, such as in bar codes and space missions.

6. Paragraph F – vii. Shannon’s method of storing data efficiently

Explanation:  Paragraph F explains how Shannon's work influenced data compression, reducing message redundancy.

Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers: Questions 7-14

Choose the correct letter (A, B, C, or D).

7. Why was Voyager I’s repair considered significant?

A. It proved the spacecraft could continue for another decade. 

B. It was the longest-distance repair ever attempted.

C. The spacecraft had completely lost contact with Earth.

D. The repair was done by astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

8. What did Claude Shannon focus on when developing information theory?

A. Finding ways to increase internet speed 

B. Determining how much data can be sent through noise

C. Building better spacecraft communication tools

D. Creating the first modern telephone systems

9. What was Shannon’s initial goal when he began his work?

A. Understanding how to make faster computers 

B. Identifying the precise meaning of ‘information’

C. Developing technology for space missions 

D. Designing better storage devices 

10. How did Shannon define the most basic form of information?

A. A message sent in binary form 

B. Whether something is true or false

C. A combination of letters and numbers

D. Data stored in large databases

11. What does Shannon’s theory suggest about noise?

A. Noise cannot be avoided in any communication system. 

B. Noise only affects video transmissions.

C. It is possible to overcome noise and transmit data accurately.

D. Noise increases the cost of data transmission.

12. How do bar codes relate to Shannon’s work?

A. They show how data can be compressed. 

B. They are an example of error correction coding.

C. They prevent all errors in communication.

D. They increase the storage capacity of products.

13. What breakthrough in 1993 improved data transmission?

A. The invention of bar codes 

B. The use of satellites for communication

C. The discovery of turbo codes

D. The launch of Voyager I

14. What does mobile phone text messaging demonstrate about Shannon’s ideas?

A. Messages can be sent without needing all data. 

B. Mobile phones do not require strong signals.

C. Voice calls are more reliable than texts.

D. Text messages are always error-free.

Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers Questions 7-14

Question Answer Explanation
Why was Voyager I’s repair considered significant? B. It was the longest-distance repair ever attempted. Paragraph A mentions that the repair was "the longest-distance repair job in history."
What did Claude Shannon focus on when developing information theory? B. Determining how much data can be sent through noise Paragraph C highlights Shannon’s focus on defining ‘information’ and how to transmit it through noise.
What was Shannon’s initial goal when he began his work? B. Identifying the precise meaning of ‘information’ Paragraph C clearly states that Shannon aimed to pin down the concept of ‘information.’
How did Shannon define the most basic form of information? B. Whether something is true or false Paragraph C specifies that Shannon viewed information as true or false, represented by binary bits (1 or 0).
What does Shannon’s theory suggest about noise? C. It is possible to overcome noise and transmit data accurately. Paragraph D discusses how Shannon’s theory found ways to send data through noise without error.
How do bar codes relate to Shannon’s work? B. They are an example of error correction coding. Paragraph E links bar codes to error detection, ensuring accuracy even if the packaging is damaged.
What breakthrough in 1993 improved data transmission? C. The discovery of turbo codes Paragraph E mentions turbo codes as a major discovery close to Shannon’s limits.
What does mobile phone text messaging demonstrate about Shannon’s ideas? A. Messages can be sent without needing all data. Paragraph F explains how Shannon’s compression ideas minimize data without losing meaning.
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Information Theory The Big Idea Reading Answers FAQs

Q. What is information theory?

Ans. Information theory studies how data can be transmitted accurately through noisy communication channels. Developed by Claude Shannon, it underpins many modern technologies, from DVDs to mobile phones.

Q. How did Claude Shannon influence modern technology?

Ans. Shannon’s work created the foundation for digital communication, error correction, and data compression, influencing everything from satellites to mobile networks.

Q. Why was Voyager I’s repair important?

Ans. Voyager I’s repair demonstrated the effectiveness of information theory by enabling communication across 12 billion kilometers, marking the longest-distance repair ever.

Q. What are turbo codes?

Ans. Turbo codes are a data transmission method developed in 1993 that closely approaches the maximum rate of error-free communication, revolutionizing mobile and satellite communications.
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