Inside a digital computer, information is stored and processed in which fundamental form?

Introduction / Context:
Although computers can work with images, sound, text and video, internally they handle all this information in a standardised form. Understanding whether this internal representation is analog or digital is a key basic concept in computer science. This question asks you to identify the fundamental form in which information is stored inside a digital computer so that it can be processed reliably by electronic circuits.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• We are dealing with modern digital computers, not purely analog machines.
• The question refers to how information is stored internally.
• Options include analog data, digital data and some nonstandard terms.
• We assume basic knowledge of binary representation.

Concept / Approach:
Digital computers represent all information using discrete symbols, most commonly binary digits or bits (0 and 1). Whether the original source is text, images, or analog sound, it is eventually converted into digital data for storage and processing. Bits are grouped into bytes and larger units to encode characters, numbers and other structures. Analog data, by contrast, varies continuously and is used in traditional audio signals or analog instruments, but not as the internal working format of digital computers. The silly terms modem data and watts data do not describe standard data representations. Therefore, the correct answer is digital data represented in binary form.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:
Introductory computing texts state that all data in a digital computer is ultimately stored as binary patterns. Encoding schemes such as ASCII, Unicode and various image formats all rely on binary representations. Hardware descriptions of memory chips and processors refer to bits, bytes and words stored as charges or states in transistors. Analog to digital converters are used at the edges of the system to convert external analog signals into digital data, confirming that digital is the internal form. The other options lack support in standard references.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Analog data with continuously varying values: This describes real world signals like temperature or sound before conversion, not the internal representation in a digital computer.
• Modem data that exists only while online: Modem is a communication device; modem data is not a standard term for stored information.
• Watts data measured as electrical power: Watts measure power consumption, not the form in which information is stored.
• Sound waves stored directly without conversion: In digital systems, sound is converted to digital samples before storage; raw sound waves are analog.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse the nature of the original information with its representation inside the computer. For example, they may think that because music sounds analog, it is stored as a wave inside the machine. In reality, microphones convert sound into electrical signals, which are then sampled and quantised into digital data. Remember that digital computers always work with digital data; any analog input must be converted first. Keeping this distinction clear will help in many basic computer questions.

Final Answer:
Information inside a digital computer is stored and processed as digital data represented in binary form.