Final answer:
The Domain Name Service (DNS) returns an A. IP address when a domain is looked up. The DNS translates domain names into IP addresses so browsers can connect to the appropriate server hosting the desired website.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Domain Name Service (DNS) is responsible for translating human-friendly domain names to machine-friendly IP addresses. When you look up a domain, what the DNS returns is an A. IP address. Essentially, when you type a web address into your browser, the DNS system queries servers which then respond with the IP address associated with that domain name. This allows your browser to connect to the server hosting the website you're trying to reach.
The process of DNS resolution involves several steps. The user's computer contacts a recursive DNS server, which then queries authoritative DNS servers to find the IP address for the domain. If the recursive server does not have the information cached, it will further contact the root name servers and continue the query process until it obtains the IP address. Finally, the recursive server caches this information and returns the IP address to the user's computer.