A megabyte is how many bytes?

A megabyte is commonly recognized as consisting of 1,000,000 bytes, which can be approximated as 1,000 kilobytes, since each kilobyte contains 1,000 bytes. This aligns with the decimal system of measurement that is often used in marketing and data storage contexts, where 1 megabyte is equal to 1,000 bytes raised to the power of two (10^6).

However, it's important to note that in certain computing contexts, particularly those that adhere to binary standards, a megabyte is sometimes considered to be 1,048,576 bytes, which is 1,024 kilobytes (where each kilobyte contains 1,024 bytes). This binary interpretation leads to confusion, but the most common definition in storage devices, like hard drives, is based on the decimal interpretation.

In this instance, the most widely accepted definition for practical purposes is that a megabyte equals 1,000,000 bytes, substantiating the choice of 1,000 as the correct response.