How many bits equal a byte?

How many bits equal a byte?

• A. 4 bits
• B. 8 bits
• C. 16 bits
• D. 32 bits

Answer: (B)

A byte is eight bits long, which is the basic unit for storing a character or small data value in most modern computers. Each bit can be 0 or 1, so eight bits can represent 2^8, or 256, different patterns. That range is large enough to cover all common characters and many other small data values. Because of this, two hexadecimal digits (each hex digit encodes 4 bits) make up one byte. While there were times in history when byte sizes varied on some machines, today the standard is eight bits per byte.

A byte is eight bits long, which is the basic unit for storing a character or small data value in most modern computers. Each bit can be 0 or 1, so eight bits can represent 2^8, or 256, different patterns. That range is large enough to cover all common characters and many other small data values. Because of this, two hexadecimal digits (each hex digit encodes 4 bits) make up one byte. While there were times in history when byte sizes varied on some machines, today the standard is eight bits per byte.