"A Linux container is a way to run multiple distros on the same kernel at once." Then define distro to be all of the user-space stuff in a Linux system: The in

"A Linux container is a way to run multiple distros on the same kernel at once." Then define distro to be all of the user-space stuff in a Linux system: The init system, the libraries, the user-visible applications, and the data. Then get into how it works, which is all namespaces: A namespace for the filesystem, a namespace for the networking stuff, and so on, including a namespace for RAM... which we don't usually think of as a namespace, but it's what the MMU does, and the kernel uses the MMU. In short, separate what from how, and ensure they understand the what first.