Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
View my library
0
Teachers
Pupils
New
New
Year 10
OCR

Measurements of storage

I can define different storage units and convert between them.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils
New
New
Year 10
OCR

Measurements of storage

I can define different storage units and convert between them.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

View new resources

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Data in computer systems is represented and stored as binary (0s and 1s).
  2. Storage units can be converted.
  3. Different files take up different amounts of storage.
  4. Knowing file sizes helps manage storage space efficiently.

Keywords

  • Bit - the smallest unit of digital information

  • Byte - a group of 8 bits

  • Number prefixes - a word used in front of a number to represent a multiple of that number

Common misconception

Bits and bytes are the same thing. They all refer to binary numbers.

A bit is the smallest unit of data. A byte is a group of 8 bits and is used to summarise larger sequences of bits in a more convenient way.


To help you plan your year 10 computer science lesson on: Measurements of storage, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Get students to think about the devices and technology they use every day. Ask them what units of storage are referred to and why. For example, why are megabyte units used for photos and terabytes for hard drives etc. They need to appreciate waht these values mean and how they compare.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What does the term 'data' refer to in computing?
Correct answer: information stored and processed by computers
the speed of a program
the resolution of an image
the frequency of a sound
Q2.
What is ASCII used for?
converting sound to decimal
measuring file size
storing images
Correct answer: storing text as binary data
Q3.
What does hertz measure?
the size of a file
Correct answer: the frequency of a sound wave
the resolution of an image
the amount of data stored
Q4.
What is the smallest unit of data in computing?
Correct Answer: bit
Q5.
How many bits are in a byte?
Correct Answer: 8, eight
Q6.
Match the terms to their examples.
Correct Answer:bit,0 or 1

0 or 1

Correct Answer:byte,10101010

10101010

Correct Answer:hertz,44 100 Hz in audio files

44 100 Hz in audio files

Correct Answer:resolution,1920 x 1080 pixels

1920 x 1080 pixels

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is binary used for in computing?
compressing files
Correct answer: storing and representing data
converting file formats
measuring sound waves
Q2.
What does a number prefix represent in computing?
a type of file format
a method of compressing data
Correct answer: a multiple of a unit
a way to measure sound frequency
Q3.
Arrange the storage units in order of increasing size.
1 - bit
2 - byte
3 - kilobyte
4 - megabyte
5 - gigabyte
6 - terabyte
7 - petabyte
Q4.
What does a kilobyte represent in computing?
Correct Answer: 1000 bytes, 8000 bits, 1000
Q5.
A sound file lasts 2 minutes, has a sample rate of 44100 Hz, a bit depth of 16 bits and is recorded in stereo. Calculate the file size in megabytes (MB).
Correct Answer: 21.168 MB, 21.17 MB, 21.16 MB
Q6.
What is the purpose of knowing file sizes?
to compress data
to improve file formats
to measure sound frequency
Correct answer: to manage storage space efficiently