Why computer system might decide to use two bytes to store every number.?

Question

What would be the reason for doing this?

I'm doing computing at college and am learning about 8 bit binary so would like some help on this question!

Thanks.

Answer 1

There are multiple possible answers for this but they all have to do with numerical precision or range. The simplest example is for non-negative integers (the "cardinal numbers") . A byte (8 bits) can store numbers from 0 to [(2**8)-1] i.e. 0 to 255. Suppose you need numbers larger than 255. If you use two bytes (16 bits) you can store from 0 to [(2**16)-1] = 65535. This can be important for addressing memory locations because the number of bits in the standard word size determines how much memory can be addressed directly. For example a machine with a "32-bit architecture" can address up to 2**32 (roughly 4.3 billion) memory locations.

Answer 2

In an 8 bit storage system it would be 1 byte, in a 32 bit storage system it would be 4 bytes... It's the smallest "unit" of storage that a particular system can use