Arrange the following memory units in ascending order of their capacities.
Giga Byte, Kilo Byte, Mega Byte, Tera Byte

Correct option is B

Memory units scale by powers of 1024 (binary) in most computing contexts. A Kilobyte (KB) is smaller than a Megabyte (MB), which is smaller than a Gigabyte (GB), which is smaller than a Terabyte (TB). Thus, the correct ascending order of capacity is KB < MB < GB < TB. In binary prefixes: 1 KB = 1024 B, 1 MB = 1024 KB, 1 GB = 1024 MB, 1 TB = 1024 GB. Decimal (SI) marketing sometimes uses powers of 1000, but the relative order remains the same. Therefore, option (b) is correct.
Important Key Points
1. Binary vs Decimal:
· Binary (IEC): KiB (1024 B), MiB, GiB, TiB—precise for OS/file systems.
· Decimal (SI): KB (1000 B), MB, GB, TB—often used by drive manufacturers.
2. Typical Usage: Operating systems commonly report in binary (KiB/MiB/GiB), but labels may still show KB/MB/GB.
3. Applications: Capacity planning, storage procurement, and data transfer calculations rely on understanding these magnitudes.
4. Advantages of IEC Prefixes: Avoid ambiguity—e.g., 1 GiB = 1,073,741,824 B vs 1 GB = 1,000,000,000 B.
5. Order is Invariant: Regardless of base (1000 vs 1024), the ascending sequence KB < MB < GB < TB never changes.
6. Rule of Thumb: Each step up is roughly 1000× (decimal) or 1024× (binary) larger than the previous.
Knowledge Booster
· Why (a) is wrong: Places GB before KB, reversing the scales drastically.
· Why (c) is wrong: Puts GB before MB, which is incorrect; MB is smaller than GB.
· Why (d) is wrong: Swaps GB and TB; TB is larger than GB, not smaller.
· Network speeds often use decimal (Mbps), while memory modules/storage inside OS tools often appear binary—know the context.