One gigabyte is equal to

[amp_mcq option1=”2³⁰ bytes” option2=”1024 bytes” option3=”2²⁰ bytes” option4=”2⁴⁰ bytes” correct=”option1″]

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UPSC CBI DSP LDCE – 2023

In computing, prefixes like kilo, mega, giga, etc., are often based on powers of 2 (specifically 1024, which is 2^10) rather than powers of 1000, especially when referring to memory capacities.
1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1024 bytes = 2^10 bytes
1 Megabyte (MB) = 1024 KB = 1024 * 1024 bytes = 2^10 * 2^10 bytes = 2^20 bytes
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1024 MB = 1024 * 1024 * 1024 bytes = 2^10 * 2^10 * 2^10 bytes = 2^30 bytes

Understanding the powers of 2 used in computer memory measurements is key. While 1 GB can also be defined as 10^9 bytes (decimal prefix), the 2^30 definition is standard for memory and is often used in computer science contexts.

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) introduced binary prefixes (kibi, mebi, gibi, etc.) to distinguish from decimal prefixes (kilo, mega, giga). So, 1 Gibibyte (GiB) = 2^30 bytes, and 1 Gigabyte (GB) = 10^9 bytes. However, in common usage, especially referring to RAM or file sizes, ‘gigabyte’ often implicitly refers to 2^30 bytes. Given the options, 2^30 bytes is the intended answer.

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