Community resourceWorksheet

OCR H446 1.3.4 PageRank link graphs

Part 5 of 8 · H446 1.3.4 · Web technologies

PageRank is required at H446 1.3.4 only as a high-level link-graph idea, with no numeric iteration and no code. This worksheet keeps students on the reasoning that is actually examined: the direction of a link, the importance of the page it comes from, and why counting links is not enough.

Students will:

  • read arrow direction in a directed link graph before counting anything
  • compare pages whose incoming links differ in number and in source importance
  • explain why more incoming links is not a guaranteed advantage in the simplified model
  • separate index records and discovery from changes in the incoming-link graph
  • propose defensible actions for a poorly placed page without claiming an exact score or position

Inside: 5 explanation cells, 1 multiple-choice question, 2 fill-in-the-blanks cells and 2 written answers. 29 marks, about 40 to 50 minutes.

Series: H446 1.3.4 · Web technologies, part 5 of 8.

Shared by Coding PathwayVerified teacher

  • 10 cells
  • About 45 minutes
  • CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Shared 31 Aug 2026
  • Updated 3 Sept 2026

Preview

The whole resource, exactly as a class sees it. Answers and marking are held back.

PageRank at OCR's required level

PageRank is taught here as a simplified high-level link-graph model. Incoming links from important pages can support a page's score. OCR does not require you to code the algorithm or perform numeric iterations.

Read arrow direction before counting

High-level PageRank reasoning uses link direction and source importancePage Ptarget page Page Aimportant Page Blower weight Page C Page D Three arrows point into P. P's arrow points out to D.The important incoming link from A is not treated like a simple vote count.

Page P receives incoming links from A, B and C. P links outward to D. A's incoming link is represented as more important than the lower-weight sources. This is not a simple total-links vote and it is not the indexing process.

Worked comparison

Suppose Page X has one incoming link from an established high-importance reference page. Page Y has four incoming links from newly created low-importance pages. In the simplified model, it is not safe to conclude that Y must outrank X merely because four is greater than one.

If another important relevant page adds an incoming link to X, that can support X's PageRank. Changing words on X may affect indexing or other ranking considerations, but it is not itself an incoming PageRank link.

Multiple choice1 mark

In a directed graph, arrow R → T represents which PageRank-relevant relationship for T?

  • AR provides an incoming link to T
  • BT provides an incoming link to R
  • CR and T contain the same indexed words
  • DT has been crawled more recently than R
Fill in the blanks4 marks
PageRank uses a gap 1 link graph. For target P, A→P is an gap 2 link. The gap 3 of the source can matter, so link count alone is insufficient. Indexing and PageRank are gap 4 processes.
  • directed
  • incoming
  • importance
  • different
  • identical
Written answer8 marks

Page K receives links from important page A and low-importance page B. Page L receives links from low-importance pages C, D and E. Compare their likely PageRank position in the simplified model, explain why the evidence is not a guaranteed numerical result, and state one graph change that could support each page.

Use direction, number and source importance. Do not invent exact scores.

Students type their answer here.

Apply the model independently

The remaining tasks change the context or reduce the support. Complete them without copying the worked model, then check that each explanation connects a mechanism to its consequence.

Written answer12 marks

A new archive of local oral histories is indexed but appears low in results. Discuss how indexing and PageRank affect visibility and evaluate sensible actions. Distinguish page discovery/index records from incoming-link graph changes, then reach a qualified conclusion.

Develop both processes. Use actions such as clear relevant page information and genuine links from established local institutions, but do not promise a rank.

Students type their answer here.

Fill in the blanks4 marks
PageRank considers links in a checkpoint gap 1 graph. An arrow into a page is an checkpoint gap 2 link. The source page's checkpoint gap 3 can affect its contribution. OCR does not require algorithm checkpoint gap 4.

Review your understanding

Before submitting, check that you can explain the main distinction in your own words, apply it in an unfamiliar context and justify each consequence rather than only naming a feature.