EDUCBA

EDUCBA

MENUMENU
  • Free Tutorials
  • Free Courses
  • Certification Courses
  • 600+ Courses All in One Bundle
  • Login

Memory Units

Home » Software Development » Software Development Tutorials » Computer Tutorial » Memory Units

Memory Units

Definition of Memory Units

Memory units can be defined as a way to measure the quantity of data collected together under a single memory location, which is termed as the ‘storage unit’. These memory units are used to indicate the number or amount of data that are picked and used for individual computation processes performed in a computing device. A group of binary digits is used in every operation or command sent back and forth to the processor of the computer system. These binary digits, that is, 0’s and 1’s, take up different terms for probing the processes carried out inside the computer processor units.

Top 12 Memory Units

The memory units of the data in the storage systems are classified into the below different types,

Start Your Free Software Development Course

Web development, programming languages, Software testing & others

1. Bit

The bit is a term shortly used instead of the word ‘Binary digit’, which is nothing but the 0’s and 1’s that are used for the indication of passive or active states of any component involved in an electric system. This is the least of the memory units that is used for representative the storage occupancy of the data in the memory space, that is, the data shown either in 0 or in 1.

2. Nibble

Nibble can be defined as the collection of four bits, which is characterized as a hexadecimal number to store the data in the memory. It takes up the same space as a hexadecimal number or a group of four bits of data. It is sometimes called as ‘Nybble’ or ‘Nyble’ or ‘hex digit’. There are also memory units called as ‘low nibble’ and ‘high nibble’ that are used to denote the contents of the nibble memory unit, where the low nibble shows the lesser momentous bit and the high nibble shows the highly momentous bit inside the memory unit.

3. Byte

A byte can be defined as the group of eight binary digits, which generally corresponds to the other compounds of 8 bits. This is the commonly used unit terminology, as it comes with the prefixes for the multiples of bytes, such as the prefixes as kilo-, mega-, giga-, tera-, peta-, etc.

4. Word

A word typically means indicates the memory unit occupied by a specific chunk of data, which comes as a fixed size and not alterable during the process execution. The word memory units are of different types and are termed as the fixed point numbers, floating numbers, addresses, registers etc., with respect to the number of data occupied in the memory unit shown as the word. When the word is called by the processor for performing any operation and completing the process, the size of the data remains the same throughout the process until completion.

Popular Course in this category
All in One Software Development Bundle (600+ Courses, 50+ projects)600+ Online Courses | 3000+ Hours | Verifiable Certificates | Lifetime Access
4.6 (3,144 ratings)
Course Price

View Course

Related Courses
Windows 10 Training (4 Courses, 4+ Projects)JWS Java Web Services Training (4 Courses, 11 Projects)Java Training (40 Courses, 29 Projects, 4 Quizzes)

5. Kilobyte

Kilobyte can be defined as one of the many multiples of the byte memory units. The prefix kilo- , normally, represents the unit to be ‘Kilo’ and it comes in multiples of ‘1000’. Though in terms of international standards kilo means 1000, in a typical memory unit, the binary digit are seen as Base 2 and so the ‘Kilo’ here means 1024 of binary digits or bits. In short, 1Kilobyte or 1KB is equal to the 1024 bits or binary digits.

6. Megabyte

Similar to the Kilobyte memory unit, the megabyte memory unit is used when the bits are large in number and when it makes it easy to say it the number to be in lesser length. That is, in international standards the prefix ‘mega-‘ is used for showing the 10^6 or the 1000000. This also means that a typical MB is shown with Base 2, and so the 1MB or the 1 Megabyte equals to the 1048576 bytes of the memory unit. It can also be calculated as (1024)^2bytes or the 2^20 bytes.

7. Gigabyte

The Gigabytes are used to represent the data to be in multiples of 10^9 or 1000000000 binary digits, and when the memory unit is in terms of Base 2 then the storage space is calculated as 2^30 bytes or as 1024^3 bytes. In other words, the memory units used by the processor that runs on the Base 2 are termed as the Gigabytes and is equal to the 1073741824 bytes.

8. Terabyte

Terabyte are applied when the memory requirement is as high as the 2^40, that is the binary digits exponential to the number 40. It can also be seen as an equal to the 1024 terabytes and is represented as TB. Or other words equals to 10^12 bytes in international standards and that can also be termed as the trillion bytes.

9. Petabyte

Petabyte can be defined as a memory unit that represents the higher multiples of bytes, next to the Terabyte that comes in PB units. It is equal to the 10^15 bytes in terms of the international standards, or the 1024^5 bytes when the bytes come with the Base 2.

1o. Exabyte

Exabyte is a memory unit that is equal to the 10^18 equivalent in the international standards scale, and the same is equal to the 1024^6 for the memory units that come in the form of Base 2. The unit terms of the Exabyte are EB, and this EB is the same as the 1 million TB or the 1 billion GB or the 1 thousand PB.

11. Zettabyte

Similar to other byte sized memory units, Zettabyte can be seen as an equivalent to 10^21, according to the ‘zetta’ representation in terms of the international standards. The Zettabyte or the ZB also can be seen as 1 thousand of the EB, 1 million PB, 1 billion TB, 1 trillion GB, etc.

12. Yottabyte

As the name says, the Yottabyte unit or the YB represents another memory unit for the bytes to be in multiples of the other lower byte units or even the bytes. In international standards, it is equal to the 10^24, and for base 2 byte units the YB is also equal to 1024^8, 1 thousand ZB, 1 trillion TB, etc.

Conclusion

The memory units are the terms used for data storage representations, which can be used for indicating the capacity of the respective systems and connected devices. The units start from a bit, byte to the multiples of bytes, where the prefixes correspond to the international systems of units that goes up until the extent to cover all the finite numbers.

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to Memory Units. Here we also discuss the introduction and top 12 memory units which include. bit, nibble, byte, and kilobyte, etc. you may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

  1. Android Architecture 
  2. What is Register?
  3. What is Buffer Overflow?
  4. Software Maintenance Types

All in One Software Development Bundle (600+ Courses, 50+ projects)

600+ Online Courses

3000+ Hours

Verifiable Certificates

Lifetime Access

Learn More

0 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share
Primary Sidebar
Computer Tutorial
  • Computer Basics
    • New Technologies of Computer
    • Application of Computer Graphics
    • Types of Computer Architecture
    • Types of Computer Software
    • Line Drawing Algorithm
    • SOAP Web Services Interview Questions
    • Web Services Interview Questions
    • Microservices Interview Questions
    • What is Windows 10?
    • Windows 10 Desktop Mode
    • Windows Commands  
    • Windows Interview Questions
    • Windows Networking Commands
    • Windows Operators
    • Windows Server Interview Questions
    • Introduction to Windows
    • Top Windows Phone Apps
    • Windows Monitoring Tool
    • Productivity tricks for Windows 10
    • Computer Network Advantages and Disadvantages
    • Computer Network Interview Questions
    • Introduction To Computer Network
    • What is Embedded Systems
    • Components of Embedded System
    • Embedded Systems Security
    • Types of Computer Network
    • Types of Computer Operating System
    • Evolution of Operating System
    • NAS Storage Device
    • Windows Administrator Interview
    • Types of Communication Network
    • What is Automata
    • Types of Mainframe Computers
    • Types of Computer Hardware
    • Types of Sensors
    • What is Server
    • What is RPC
    • What is Microservices
    • Types of Computer Virus
    • Types of Computer Keyboard
    • Types of Motherboard
    • Sensor Device
    • What is Computer Graphic Design
    • Computer Architecture Interview
    • What is Computer Science?
    • What is Bluetooth?
    • What is VLAN?
    • Types of VLAN
    • Types of LAN
    • How does LAN switches work
    • What is VLAN Network?
    • What is Native VLAN?
    • How does LAN Switches work?
    • Switching Modes
    • What is Storage?
    • What is Object Storage?
    • What is Block Storage?
    • Block Level Storage
    • Cordova Local Storage
    • Threads in Operating System
    • What is Gateway?
    • What is Ethernet?
    • What is Virtual Machine?
    • What is a Trunk Port?
    • VPN Applications for Android
    • What is a NAS Drive?
    • What is Ring Topology?
    • Point to Point Topology
    • What is Mesh Topology?
    • Extended Star Topology
    • Token Ring Topology
    • Physical Topology
    • What is a Hybrid Topology?
    • Hybrid Network Topology
    • Star Network Topology
    • Star Bus Topology
    • Zariski Topology
    • Ethernet Topology
    • Logical Topology
    • Partial Mesh Topology
    • Types of Computer Cables
    • Types of Computer Language
    • Features of Operating System
    • Functions of Operating System
    • Multithreading in Operating System
    • Ethernet Frame Format
    • Types of Memory in Computer
    • What is Heap Memory?
    • What is Register?
    • Types of Registers
    • What is Arduino?
    • Arduino Operators
    • What is iSCSI?
    • Computer Science Interview Questions
    • Types of USB Ports
    • What is Port
    • Daisy Chain Network
    • What is a Monitor?
    • What is Printer?
    • Types of Printers
    • What is WPS
    • What is Mouse?
    • Types of Socket
    • Transmission Modes
    • Computers Output Devices
    • Memory Units
    • Secondary Memory
    • What is Memory Card?
    • Types of Memory Cards
    • What is Intranet?
    • Central Processing Unit
    • Computer Ports
    • What is CPU Register
    • Types of CPU
    • Types of Compact Disc
    • Cache Memory Types
    • What is a Motherboard?
    • Types of LED
    • Types of Processor
    • Types of Primary Memory
    • Helpdesk Tool
    • What is Optical Fiber?

Related Courses

Windows 10 Training Course

Java Web Services Training Course

Java Training Course

Footer
About Us
  • Blog
  • Who is EDUCBA?
  • Sign Up
  • Corporate Training
  • Certificate from Top Institutions
  • Contact Us
  • Verifiable Certificate
  • Reviews
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  •  
Apps
  • iPhone & iPad
  • Android
Resources
  • Free Courses
  • Java Tutorials
  • Python Tutorials
  • All Tutorials
Certification Courses
  • All Courses
  • Software Development Course - All in One Bundle
  • Become a Python Developer
  • Java Course
  • Become a Selenium Automation Tester
  • Become an IoT Developer
  • ASP.NET Course
  • VB.NET Course
  • PHP Course

© 2020 - EDUCBA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE CERTIFICATION NAMES ARE THE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

EDUCBA
Free Software Development Course

Web development, programming languages, Software testing & others

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
Book Your One Instructor : One Learner Free Class

Let’s Get Started

This website or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary to its functioning and required to achieve the purposes illustrated in the cookie policy. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link or continuing to browse otherwise, you agree to our Privacy Policy

EDUCBA

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you
EDUCBA Login

Forgot Password?

EDUCBA
Free Software Development Course

Web development, programming languages, Software testing & others

*Please provide your correct email id. Login details for this Free course will be emailed to you

Special Offer - All in One Software Development Bundle (600+ Courses, 50+ projects) Learn More