Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: All of the above, represented internally in binary form
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Modern computers can handle many different kinds of information, including numbers, letters, pictures, and sound. From the user's point of view, these look very different, but inside the machine they are all reduced to patterns of bits. Understanding that computers can store multiple types of content, and that all of them are encoded in binary, is a fundamental concept in computer science and digital electronics. This question asks which types of data computers can store, given common categories like numbers, text, audio, and images.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Digital computers operate on binary data. Any type of information that can be encoded as a sequence of bits can be stored and processed. Numbers are represented using binary number systems. Text is stored using character encoding schemes such as ASCII or Unicode, which assign numeric codes to letters and symbols. Audio is sampled and represented as numerical values corresponding to sound wave amplitudes. Images are stored as arrays of pixels, each pixel having numeric values for colours. Therefore, numbers, text, audio, and images are all storable in computer memory, and all of them are encoded internally in binary form.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Consider numbers.
Computers were originally built to perform numerical calculations, so numbers are certainly stored and processed using binary or related formats.
Step 2: Consider text.
Text is encoded using character sets where each letter, digit, or symbol corresponds to a numeric code stored in memory.
Step 3: Consider audio.
Digital audio is created by sampling sound waves at regular intervals and storing each sample as a numeric value.
Step 4: Consider images.
Images are represented as grids of pixels, with each pixel stored as numbers representing colours or intensities.
Step 5: Recognise that all these forms of content can be encoded as binary sequences.
Therefore, all the types listed in options A to D can be stored in computer memory.
Verification / Alternative check:
File formats illustrate how varied data types are stored. Text files store character codes, image files like JPEG or PNG store pixel data and metadata, and audio files such as MP3 or WAV store audio samples. Programming languages provide data types and libraries to manipulate all of these, and operating systems maintain file systems that can store all types together. Underneath, disks and memory chips do not differentiate between text or images; they simply hold bits. This confirms that all the listed forms are valid and that the comprehensive option describing all of the above is correct.
Why Other Options Are Incomplete:
Option A (Numbers): Correct but incomplete, because computers handle more than just numerical data.
Option B (Text): Also correct but does not acknowledge audio and images.
Option C (Audio): A valid data type, but not the only one.
Option D (Images and graphics): Important, but again only one category among many.
Common Pitfalls:
Some learners think computers are only for numeric calculations, while others focus only on multimedia capabilities and forget the underlying numerical representation. Exam setters may list individual data types as options to see if you recognise that computers are general purpose devices. The key idea is that any information that can be converted into a digital format can be stored as bits. Choosing all of the above acknowledges the full range of data types that computers can store and process.
Final Answer:
A computer can store numbers, text, audio, and images, because all of these are represented internally in binary form, so the correct choice is all of the above.
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