Memory & StorageKey Facts

Image File Size Calculation

Part of Images & SoundGCSE Computer Science

This key facts covers Image File Size Calculation within Images & Sound for GCSE Computer Science. Revise Images & Sound in Memory & Storage for GCSE Computer Science with 18 exam-style questions and 16 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 5 of 11 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 5 of 11

Practice

18 questions

Recall

16 flashcards

Image File Size Calculation

Formula:

  File Size (bits) = Width × Height × Color Depth
  File Size (bytes) = (Width × Height × Color Depth) ÷ 8
  

Example 1: Simple Calculation

  Image: 800 × 600 pixels, 24-bit color depth
  
  Step 1: Calculate total pixels
  800 × 600 = 480,000 pixels
  
  Step 2: Calculate bits
  480,000 pixels × 24 bits = 11,520,000 bits
  
  Step 3: Convert to bytes
  11,520,000 bits ÷ 8 = 1,440,000 bytes
  
  Step 4: Convert to MB (optional)
  1,440,000 bytes ÷ 1,048,576 = 1.37 MB
  

Example 2: HD Photo

  Image: 1920 × 1080 pixels, 24-bit color depth
  
  1920 × 1080 = 2,073,600 pixels
  2,073,600 × 24 = 49,766,400 bits
  49,766,400 ÷ 8 = 6,220,800 bytes ≈ 6.2 MB
  

Example 3: Different Color Depths

  Same image (640 × 480 pixels) at different color depths:
  
  1-bit (B&W): 640 × 480 × 1 ÷ 8 = 38,400 bytes (37.5 KB)
  8-bit (256 colors): 640 × 480 × 8 ÷ 8 = 307,200 bytes (300 KB)
  24-bit (True Color): 640 × 480 × 24 ÷ 8 = 921,600 bytes (900 KB)
  
  24-bit is 24× larger than 1-bit!
  

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Images & Sound. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

Practice Questions for Images & Sound

What does colour depth refer to in a digital image?

  • A. The number of pixels in the image
  • B. The number of bits used to represent each pixel's colour
  • C. The physical dimensions of the image in centimetres
  • D. The number of samples taken per second
1 markfoundation

Explain the effect of increasing colour depth on a digital image. Refer to both file size and image quality in your answer.

3 marksstandard

Quick Recall Flashcards

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