Which of the following sequences lists common computer storage units in order from smallest to largest?

Introduction / Context:
Digital information in computers is measured using standard units of storage. These units form a hierarchy from very small (a single byte) to very large (terabytes and beyond). Understanding the correct order of these units is important when comparing file sizes, storage capacities, and memory specifications. This question asks you to select the sequence that lists common storage units from smallest to largest.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The units involved are Byte, Kilobyte (KB), Megabyte (MB), Gigabyte (GB), and Terabyte (TB).
• We are concerned with relative size, not exact byte counts.
• All options contain the same units but in different orders.
• We assume standard binary based approximations used in computing (1 KB ≈ 1024 bytes, 1 MB ≈ 1024 KB, etc.).

Concept / Approach:
The basic unit of storage is the byte, which can store one character of text in many encodings. Higher units are formed by grouping many bytes together. A kilobyte is roughly one thousand bytes, a megabyte is roughly one million bytes, a gigabyte is roughly one billion bytes, and a terabyte is roughly one trillion bytes. Therefore, the correct ascending order of these units is: Byte < Kilobyte < Megabyte < Gigabyte < Terabyte. Any option that deviates from this progression is incorrect.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Start from the smallest unit, which is the byte. Step 2: Recognise that 1 kilobyte (KB) is larger than a byte, so KB comes after byte. Step 3: Recall that 1 megabyte (MB) is larger than a kilobyte, so MB follows KB. Step 4: Note that 1 gigabyte (GB) is larger than a megabyte, so GB comes after MB. Step 5: Understand that 1 terabyte (TB) is larger than a gigabyte, so TB appears last as the largest unit in this list. Step 6: Match this sequence—Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte—with the options and choose the one that exactly follows this order.

Verification / Alternative check:
If you examine file sizes in an operating system, a small text file might be a few kilobytes, a song might be several megabytes, a movie might be gigabytes, and an entire hard disk might be hundreds of gigabytes or several terabytes. This real world experience supports the idea that KB is bigger than bytes but smaller than MB, MB is smaller than GB, and GB is smaller than TB. Technical documentation similarly defines these units as powers of 1024 bytes, reinforcing the ordering from byte up to terabyte.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Kilobyte, Byte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte: Incorrect because byte should come before kilobyte, not after it. Megabyte, Kilobyte, Byte, Gigabyte, Terabyte: Incorrect because it places megabyte before kilobyte and byte, reversing part of the correct order. Byte, Megabyte, Kilobyte, Terabyte, Gigabyte: Incorrect because it places megabyte before kilobyte and swaps the positions of gigabyte and terabyte.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to mix up the prefixes kilo, mega, giga, and tera, or to assume they are in alphabetical order rather than by size. Another pitfall is to forget that byte is the smallest unit in this group and must appear first. To avoid confusion, remember the progression B, KB, MB, GB, TB as a simple mnemonic and associate each step up with roughly 1000 times more storage than the previous unit.

Final Answer:
The correct sequence from smallest to largest is Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte, Gigabyte, Terabyte.