How many bytes are in a kilobyte?

A kilobyte is defined as 1024 bytes in computing terms. This is based on the binary system, where the base unit is 2. In this context, a kilobyte represents (2^{10}) bytes, which equals 1024. This definition is particularly prevalent in computer memory and data storage contexts.

The other choices reflect incorrect values for a kilobyte. For example, 512 bytes is half of 1024 and is associated with data storage sizes, particularly with sectors on disk drives, but it does not meet the definition of a kilobyte. Similarly, 2048 bytes would represent 2 kilobytes (since 2048 is (2 \times 1024)), while 256 bytes is related to smaller data structures or memory fragmentation but is not significant in the context of kilobytes. The definitive and widely accepted measurement for a kilobyte remains 1024 bytes.