KiloByte (KB)

You would probably think that since kilo refers to 1000, 1 Kilobyte = 1000 bytes. While that is somewhat true, a more accurate value of 1 kilobyte would be 1024 bytes.

This is because computers follow a binary system that is based on the powers of 2. Therefore, we search for the power of 2 which is closest to 1000. This is 2¹⁰ = 1024. Thus, 1 KiloByte = 1024 Bytes. If we express in terms of bits, 1 kilobyte = 8 bits x 1000 bytes = 8000 bits. Here we approximate the value of 1 kilobyte as 1000 rather than 1024.

Small files (such as low-quality images or text documents) are represented in kilobytes.