In a DNS lookup, what is the significance of the IP address?

• A. It maps the domain to a hostname.
• B. It designates the port used for DNS.
• C. It identifies the network protocol.
• D. It allows the browser to connect to the physical location where the website is stored.

Answer: (D)

The IP address is the destination on the network. After a domain name is resolved, the browser uses the resulting IP to route packets and establish a connection to the server that actually hosts the website. In other words, the IP provides the address of the physical location on the Internet where the site lives, so the browser can reach it (typically over the appropriate port like 80 or 443).

Why the other ideas don’t fit: DNS resolution is about translating a domain name to an IP address, not mapping to a hostname in the reverse sense. The port isn’t determined by DNS and isn’t part of what the IP conveys, since the transport layer handles port numbers (and the protocol is chosen at the application layer, not by the IP address).