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5.3. Units of Information - Concise

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7 views3 pages

5.3. Units of Information - Concise

Information

Uploaded by

Ahmed Bajwa
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© © All Rights Reserved
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AQA Computer Science A-Level

4.5.3 Units of information


Concise Notes

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Specification:

4.5.3.1 Bits and bytes:


Know that:
● the bit is the fundamental unit of information
● a byte is a group of 8 bits
Know that the 2​n​ different values can be represented with n bits.

4.5.3.2 Units:
Know that quantities of bytes can be described using binary prefixes
representing powers of 2 or using decimal prefixes representing powers of
10, eg one kibibyte is written as 1KiB = 2​10​ B and one kilobyte is written as
1kB = 10​3​ B.
Know the names, symbols and corresponding powers of 2 for the binary
prefixes:
● kibi, Ki - 2​10
● mebi, Mi - 2​20
● gibi, Gi - 2​30
● tebi, Ti - 2​40
Know the names, symbols and corresponding powers of 10 for the
decimal prefixes:
● kilo, k - 10​3
● mega, M - 10​6
● giga, G - 10​9
● tera, T - 10​12

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Bits and bytes

● A ​bit ​is the ​fundamental unit of information


● A bit can only take ​two values​, 1 and 0
● The ​value ​of a bit can be represented by a computer using ​high or low current
● 8 bits​ is called a ​byte
● 4 bits​ is called a ​nybble
● Bits are notated with a ​lowercase ​b
● Bytes use an ​uppercase​ B
● If ​more bits​ are assigned to a number, a ​greater number of values​ can be
represented
● 2​n​ ​different values can be represented with ​n ​bits

Units

● Quantities ​of bytes can be described using​ binary prefixes​ or ​decimal prefixes
● Binary prefixes​ go up in ​powers of two
● Decimal prefixes​ go up in ​powers of ten
● Binary prefixes and decimal prefixes have ​similar orders of magnitude

Binary Decimal

Prefix Value Prefix Value

Kibi (Ki) 2​
10 Kilo (K) 10​
3

= 1024 = 1000

Mebi (Mi) 2​
20 Mega (M) 10​
6

​
= 1048576 ​
= 1000000

Gibi (Gi) 2​
30 Giga (G) 10​
9

= 1073741824 = 1000000000

Tebi (Ti) 2​
40 Tera (T) 10​
12

≈ 1.0995×10​
12
= 1×10​
12

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