How many bits are there in a byte?

A byte consists of 8 bits. This is a fundamental concept in computer science and digital electronics, as bytes are the basic unit of storage used in computer systems. Each bit is a binary digit, which can be either a 0 or a 1, and 8 bits together make up a byte.

The significance of a byte also extends to how data is represented in computing; for example, one byte can represent 256 different values (from 0 to 255) because (2^8 = 256). This ability to represent a wide range of values is vital for encoding characters in systems like ASCII.

Understanding that a byte is composed of 8 bits is essential for grasping more complex topics in data processing, file sizes, and memory addressing.