The basic units of data storage are as follows:
1. Bit: Computer works with binary digits. These digits are in the form of 0’s and 1’s. A binary digit is called bit. One bit takes one storage location in memory. It is the smallest unit for data storage.
2. Byte: A collection of eight bits is called byte. It is used to store single character. The capacity of the memory or the storage is expressed in terms of bytes.
3. Kilobyte: A kilobyte consists of 1024 bytes. It is denoted by KB.
4. Megabyte: A megabyte consists of 1024 kilobytes. It is denoted by MB.
5. Gigabyte: A gigabyte consists of 1024 megabytes. It is denoted by GB.
6. Terabyte
A terabyte consists of 1024 gigabytes. It is denoted by TB.
The commonly used storage capacity terms are as follows:
7. Word
A computer word is the number of bytes in common unit of data defined by the computer system. It is normally the size of a register. The length if a word is different in different computers. The larger word indicates more powerful computer.
The following tables indicates different word sizes:
Ear of computer | No. of bits | No. of bytes |
Very early personal computer | 8 | One byte |
Traditional micro-computer | 16 | Two byte |
Mainframe, mini-computer and microcomputers | 32 | Single word |
Super computers and some micro computers | 64 | Double word |
Q. Convert 240MB of memory in bytes and kilobytes.
Solution
