The amount of RAM is 1 MB and it contains 524288 words. How many bits does each machine word contain?

Step one.

Let’s translate the amount of RAM, which is presented in the condition of our task, their megabytes to bits:

1 megabyte is the same as 1024 kilobytes;

1 kilobyte is the same as 1024 bytes;

1 byte is the same as 8 bits:

1 * 1024 * 1024 * 8 = 8388608.

Step two.

Let us determine how many bits the volume will be equal to, which takes one machine word, if from the condition of our problem we know for sure that there are 524288 of them in total:

8388608: 524288 = 16.

Answer: One word = 16 bits.