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Lecture 8

The smallest unit of data measurement is the bit, which can have a value of 0 or 1. Bits are grouped into bytes of 8 bits to represent things like characters. File sizes are typically measured in kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes as files get larger. Standard units of data storage measurement are defined from the bit up through yottabytes.

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56 views7 pages

Lecture 8

The smallest unit of data measurement is the bit, which can have a value of 0 or 1. Bits are grouped into bytes of 8 bits to represent things like characters. File sizes are typically measured in kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes and terabytes as files get larger. Standard units of data storage measurement are defined from the bit up through yottabytes.

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adeel khan
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Introduction to computing

What units of measurement are used for data storage?

• What units of measurement are used for data


storage?
Bit
• A bit is a binary digit, the smallest increment of
data on a computer. A bit can hold only one of
two values: 0 or 1, corresponding to the
electrical values of off or on, respectively.
The smallest unit of measurement used for
measuring data is a bit. A single bit can have a
value of either 0 or 1. It may contain a binary
 value (such as On/Off or True/False), but
nothing more.
Byte
•  Bits are usually assembled into a group of
eight to form a byte.  a byte, or eight bits, is
used as the fundamental unit of measurement
for data. A byte can store 28 or 256 different
values, which is sufficient to represent
standard ASCII characters, such as letters,
numbers and symbols.
• Since most files contain thousands of bytes, file sizes are
often measured in kilobytes. Larger files, such as images,
videos, and audio files, contain millions of bytes and
therefore are measured in megabytes. Modern 
storage devices can store thousands of these files, which is
why storage capacity is typically measured in gigabytes or
eventerabytes. Larger units of measurement are usually
reserved for measuring the sum of multiple storage
devices or the capacity of large data storage networks.
• Below is a list of all the standard units of measurement
used for data storage, from the smallest to the largest.
Unit Value Size

bit (b) 0 or 1 1/8 of a byte

byte (B) 8 bits 1 byte

kilobyte (KB) 10001 bytes 1,000 bytes

megabyte (MB) 10002 bytes 1,000,000 bytes

gigabyte (GB) 10003 bytes 1,000,000,000 bytes

terabyte (TB) 10004 bytes 1,000,000,000,000 bytes

petabyte (PB) 10005 bytes 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes

1,000,000,000,000,000,000
exabyte (EB) 10006 bytes
bytes

zettabyte (ZB) 10007 bytes 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000


bytes

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
yottabyte (YB) 10008 bytes
000 bytes
• NOTE: A lowercase "b" is used as an
abbreviation for bits, while an uppercase "B"
represents bytes. This is an important
distinction, since a byte is 8x as large as a bit.
• For example, 100 KB (kilobytes) = 800 Kb
(kilobits).

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