What happens when you click on an application's launch icon?

Question

 What happens when you click on an app\'s launch icon?

1. Is a new intent always sent, or is the result sometimes the same as resuming a task from recent tasks?

Answer 1

Your best bet is to read through the Developer docs here: http://developer.android.com/training/basics/activity-lifecycle/index.html

There is a flow chart in the first lesson(http://developer.android.com/images/training/basics/basic-lifecycle.png) which provides an excellent graphical representation of the Android activity life-cycle.