What is the fundamental building block of information in computing?

The fundamental building block of information in computing is the bit. A bit, which stands for binary digit, is the smallest unit of data in a computer and can hold a value of either 0 or 1. This binary system is the foundation upon which all computing processes are based, as all forms of data — whether text, images, or sound — are ultimately represented in binary format.

When bits are grouped together, they form larger units such as bytes, where a byte typically consists of 8 bits. Kilobytes and megabytes are further increments of data storage that scale up from bytes, but they are not the fundamental unit. Thus, focusing on bits provides insight into the very basic structure of data representation, making it crucial for understanding how computers store and process information.