Units of Data

Bits n bobs (Units of data)

In this lesson, students explore different units of data.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the terms bit, nibble, byte, megabyte, gigabyte, terabyte

Suggested time: 50 mins

​Curriculum Mapping:

National Curriculum England

KS3:​​

• Understand how data of various types (including text, sounds and pictures) can be represented and manipulated digitally, in the form of binary digits

 

ISTE Standards

COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATORS:

​​1a: Demonstrate knowledge of and proficiency in data representation and abstraction

1. Effectively use primitive data types
2. Demonstrate an understanding of static and dynamic data structures
3. Effectively use, manipulate and explain various external data stores: various types (text, images, sound, etc.), various locations (local, server, cloud), etc.
4. Effectively use modeling and simulation to solve real-world problems

 

CSTA

CSTA K–12 CS Standards:

• 2-DA-07: Represent data using multiple encoding schemes.
• 3A-DA-09: Translate between different bit representations of real-world phenomena, such as characters, numbers, and images.

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Starter:

Ask students to watch the video “Units of Data Measurement” from 60secondmindmeld.com. After watching the video, ask students to complete the following worksheet: Units of Data Worksheet 

​
Main:

Ask students to investigate different units of data and to create a revision resource which explains the terms bit, nibble, byte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte.


Resources:

PWN ICT – Units of Data.pptx

Teach-ICT - Representing Data

OCR - Representation of data in computer systems 

Cambridge GCSE Computing Online - Definitions of units