Comp Chap 7
  1. One megabyte is equal to approximately
Verified Answer
A. (a) 1000 bits
B. (b) 1000 bytes
C. (c) 1 million bytes
D. (d) 1 million bits
E. (e) 2000 bytes

Explanation:

To determine what one megabyte (MB) is approximately equal to, we need to understand the standard definitions of digital storage units: - A Megabyte (MB) is defined as $2^{20}$ bytes in binary terms, which equals $1,048,576$ bytes. This value is approximately $10^6$ bytes, or one million bytes. In the decimal system, a Megabyte is often defined as exactly $1,000,000$ bytes for simplicity, especially in storage device marketing. \nOption (c) 1 million bytes: This is the correct answer. As explained, $1 \text{ MB} \approx 1,000,000 \text{ bytes}$. \nOption (a) 1000 bits: This is incorrect. $1000 \text{ bits} = \frac{1000}{8} \text{ bytes} = 125 \text{ bytes}$. This is far too small for a Megabyte. \nOption (b) 1000 bytes: This is incorrect. $1000 \text{ bytes}$ is approximately $1 \text{ Kilobyte (KB)}$, not a Megabyte. A Megabyte is roughly $1000 \text{ Kilobytes}$. \nOption (d) 1 million bits: This is incorrect. $1 \text{ million bits} = 1,000,000 \text{ bits} = \frac{1,000,000}{8} \text{ bytes} = 125,000 \text{ bytes}$. This is $0.125 \text{ MB}$, not $1 \text{ MB}$. \nOption (e) 2000 bytes: This is incorrect. $2000 \text{ bytes}$ is approximately $2 \text{ Kilobytes}$, which is significantly smaller than a Megabyte. The mathematical relationship is $1 \text{ MB} = 2^{20} \text{ bytes} = 1,048,576 \text{ bytes} \approx 10^6 \text{ bytes}$.