Searching the Web How to Search Using Google

Use Likely Words Use words likely to appear on the pages you want. USE [ Australia Tim Hortons coffee ]Australia Tim Hortons coffee NOT [ Does Australia have Tim Hortons ]Does Australia have Tim Hortons USE [ Nelson Mandela born ]Nelson Mandela born NOT [ Nelson Mandela birthday ] nor [ Nelson Mandela age ]Nelson Mandela birthdayNelson Mandela age

Be Specific USE [ Java Indonesia ], [ java coffee ], or [ java programming language ]Java Indonesiajava coffeejava programming language NOT [ java ]java USE [ Tim Horton coffee ]Tim Horton coffee NOT [ Tim Horton ]Tim Horton ]

Be Brief USE [ quit smoking program ]quit smoking program NOT [ program on quitting tobacco cigarette smoking addiction ]program on quitting tobacco cigarette smoking addiction USE [ love me do lyrics ]love me do lyrics NOT [ which band sang the song love love me do],which band sang the song love love me do nor [ what are the lyrics to the song love love me do ]what are the lyrics to the song love love me do

All Search Terms Count Google returns only pages that match all your search terms. A search for [ compact fold-up bicycle ] finds pages containing the words “compact” and “fold- up” and “bicycle.”compact fold-up bicycle you can focus your query by adding more terms. [ compact lightweight fold-up bicycle ]compact lightweight fold-up bicycle

Google Scavenger Hunt, Round 1 When was the first Tupperware product ever marketed, and what was it? How many British pounds is a cash fare for Zone 1 of the London Underground? If it is 3:00 PM in Winnipeg, what time is it in Tokyo, Japan?

Not Case-Sensitive [ Red Cross ], [ red cross ], and [ RED CROSS ] return the same results.Red Crossred crossRED CROSS

OR For example, to find pages that include either “Tahiti” or “Hawaii” or both terms, use [ Tahiti OR Hawaii ]Tahiti OR Hawaii

OR find pages that contain any one, two, or all three of the terms “blouse,” “shirt,” and “chemise.” [ blouse OR shirt OR chemise ]blouse OR shirt OR chemise Note: If you write OR with a lowercase “o” or a lowercase “r” Google interprets the word as a search term instead of an operator.

The Minus Sign (-) A minus sign before the word in your query tells Google that you do not want to include it in your search. For example, if you want information on the jaguar, the jungle cat, Use [ jaguar –football –car –os ].jaguar –football –car –os Google will ignore results about the NFL Jaguars, the Jaguar car company, and the Jaguar operating system.

The Minus Sign (-) How would you search for Homer, but NOT Simpsons? homer -simpsons

The Plus Sign (+) + word finds exact words - no synonyms or plurals For example: +cat will not find “cats” or “feline” or “kitty”

Round 2 What did Nigeria celebrate on October 6th, 2006? Which wrestler has the most Wrestlemania wins? What is the botanical name of the local plant known as Kinnikinnick?

~Finding Synonyms~ Search Google…What’s a synonym? Find synonyms by preceding the term with a ~, which is known as…search Google… …the tilde. [ ~inexpensive ] matches “inexpensive,” “cheap,” “affordable,” and “low cost”~inexpensive [ ~run ] matches “run,” “runner’s,” “running,” as well as “marathon”~run

But… There are exceptions when Google finds pages that include synonyms of your search terms. If you search for … Google finds … NYC… New York City SF… San Francisco GNP… Gross National Product

Search Terms Match Exactly Google returns pages that match your search terms exactly. If you search for ___, Google won't find … Cheap… inexpensive Tv… television Effects… influences Children… kids Car… automobile Calif… OR CA… California

Google Finds Similar Words The query [ child bicycle helmet ] finds pages that contain words that are similar to your search terms, e.g.child bicycle helmet “child,” “children,” or “children's,” “bicycle,” “bicycles,” “bicycle's,” “bicycling,” or “bicyclists,” and “helmet” or “helmets.”

Short Words Some words like the, on, where, how generally get ignored in a search. Don’t bother using them. For example… [ what to read for a London tourist ] will ignore “what”, “to”, “for”, and “a” and only search “read”, “London”, and “tourist”what to read for a London tourist

Round 3 What is a question that Google would ask you at a job interview? In what country are all surviving “stave” churches found? How many decibels is the loudest sound produced by any animal, and what animal makes it?

Quotes Use quotes (“ ”) to group words and phrases together, e.g. "I have a dream" But, be careful… A search for [ "Alexander Bell" ] (with quotes) will miss the pages that refer to Alexander G. Bell.

Quotes To search for a phrase, a proper name, or a set of words in a specific order, put them in double quotes. [ “Rio de Janeiro“ ]“Rio de Janeiro“ [ “favorite movies“ ]“favorite movies“ USE [ “how to change oil“ ]“how to change oil“ NOT [ how to change oil ]how to change oil

Fill in the blanks (*) An asterisk is known as a wildcard Google treats the star as a placeholder for any unknown term(s) [ “Francis * Coppola“ ]“Francis * Coppola“ [ “old mcdonald had a *” ]“old mcdonald had a *”

Round 4 How long would it take Hans Solo of Star Wars to do a run to the Kessel system? How long did it take the first person to cross the United States by car and in what year was it first done? What are the recommended tours of the Hearst Castle?

Terms Nearby Google favors results that have your search terms near each other. [ snake grass ] returns results for a plantsnake grass [ snake in the grass ] tends to emphasize pages about sneaky people.snake in the grass While Google ignores the words “in” and “the,” Google gives higher priority to pages where “snake” and “grass” are separated by two words.

Order of Terms Google gives higher priority to pages that have the terms in the same order as your query. [ New York library ]New York library [ new library of York ]new library of York

Advanced! site: search only within a specific site site: filetype : find a type of file: PDF, DOC, TXT, PPT filetype:PDF define : find definitions for a word define:audacity

Advanced! intitle : find words in the title of the webpage intitle:inspirational.. get ranges of numbers, dates, or prices prime ministers

Google as Calculator Try and type: 152+3*8 12% of miles to km 100 lbs to kg

Extras Movies Sports scores & stats Weather Flights

Round 5 (Final round) How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet? What is the address of the Eiffel Tower? What is the significance of the phrase Seraphim Proudleduck?

Happy Searching!