How many bits make up one byte?

How many bits make up one byte?

• A. 4
• B. 8
• C. 16
• D. 1

Answer: (B)

Eight bits make up one byte. Each bit can be 0 or 1, and with eight of them you can form 2^8 = 256 different patterns, which is the typical range used to encode a character in common schemes like ASCII when stored in a byte. That’s why the byte is the standard unit of storage for a character and basic data. A nibble is four bits, representing 16 values; sixteen bits equals two bytes; one bit is not enough to hold a full byte.

Eight bits make up one byte. Each bit can be 0 or 1, and with eight of them you can form 2^8 = 256 different patterns, which is the typical range used to encode a character in common schemes like ASCII when stored in a byte. That’s why the byte is the standard unit of storage for a character and basic data. A nibble is four bits, representing 16 values; sixteen bits equals two bytes; one bit is not enough to hold a full byte.