How many characters does a message written using a 256-character alphabet contain if its size is 1/32 of a MB?

1) Let us find the amount of information that one symbol carries by the formula for finding information N = 2i (where N is the power of the alphabet, i is the amount of information in bits that each character of the alphabet carries).

256 = 2 ^ 8

Each character carries 8 bits of information = 1 byte.

2) Find 1/32 MB. 1 MB = 1024 KB. 1024: 32 = 32 KB.

3) Let’s translate 32 Kbytes into bytes. 1 KB = 1024 bytes.

32 * 1024 = 32768 bytes.

4) Find the number of characters.

32769: 1 = 32769 characters in the whole message.