Flip-flop storage capability: How many bits of information can a single flip-flop store?

Introduction / Context:
A flip-flop is a basic bistable storage element used throughout sequential logic, registers, counters, and memory structures. Understanding its capacity clarifies how larger storage elements (like registers of width N) are built from multiple flip-flops working in parallel.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The device under discussion is a standard bistable flip-flop (e.g., SR, JK, D, T types).
• No special encoding or compression schemes are considered.
• We refer to fundamental, hardware-level storage.

Concept / Approach:
A flip-flop has two stable states representing logical 0 and logical 1. It can therefore store exactly one binary digit (one bit). Wider storage elements are built by combining multiple flip-flops—e.g., an 8-bit register contains 8 flip-flops clocked together to capture a byte of data.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Recognize that a flip-flop's output Q can be either 0 or 1 at any time.Two stable states → capacity is one bit.Therefore, a single flip-flop stores one bit of data.

Verification / Alternative check:
Practical designs: N-bit counters or registers are consistently implemented using N flip-flops, one per bit position, confirming the one-bit-per-flip-flop rule.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Two or three bits require 4 or 8 stable states, which a single flip-flop does not provide. “Any number of bits” is impossible for a single bistable element.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing a latch/flip-flop with a memory cell array or register file that aggregates many flip-flops; conflating a flip-flop's control inputs (set, reset, clock) with stored information width.

Final Answer:
one bit of data