levo
Log inStart

Data, Information and Data Representation

Bits, bytes and units of storage

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2

Overview

The bit and the byte, the nibble, and the kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte as successive multiples of 1,024, together with the decimal figures manufacturers quote and why the two disagree.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Why is a kilobyte counted as 1,024 bytes rather than 1,000?

Numbers

How many bits make one byte?

Key term

What is a nibble?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What is a bit?

    Model answer

    A bit is a binary digit, the smallest unit of data a computer can hold, and it takes the value 0 or the value 1.

  2. 2

    Why do computers store all data as bits?

    Model answer

    The electronic components of a computer have two states that can be told apart reliably, on and off, so representing every value as a pattern of two symbols keeps the circuitry simple and the storage dependable.

  3. 3

    How many bits make one byte?

    Model answer

    One byte is made up of 8 bits.

  4. 4

    What is a nibble?

    Model answer

    A nibble is a group of 4 bits, or half of one byte.

  5. 5

    How many bytes are there in one kilobyte?

    Model answer

    One kilobyte is 1,024 bytes.

  6. 6

    Why is a kilobyte counted as 1,024 bytes rather than 1,000?

    Model answer

    Memory is addressed in binary, so the convenient round figure is a power of two, and 1,024 is the result of multiplying two by itself ten times.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Systems Analysis and Development Approaches
Design, Development and Testing
Implementation and System Security
Programming

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

A check requires a value.
presencerangeformat

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

ANormal data is 12, which should be accepted.
BBoundary data is 1 and 50, which should be accepted.
C0 and 51, just outside the limits, should be rejected.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

One byte is made up of 8 bits.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Data, Information and Data Representation, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Start revising, £5 a monthSee how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.