Which property defines the number of colors available for each pixel?

Which property defines the number of colors available for each pixel?

• A. Pixel
• B. Bit Depth
• C. File Formats
• D. Image File Size

Answer: (B)

Bit depth is the number of bits used to represent the color information for each pixel. More bits per pixel mean more possible color values. For example, an image with 8 bits per channel in RGB uses 8 bits for red, 8 for green, and 8 for blue, totaling 24 bits per pixel and about 16.7 million possible colors. If you reduce the bit depth, the number of colors per pixel drops accordingly (1-bit yields 2 shades, 4-bit yields 16 colors, etc.). Some formats use a color palette (indexed color), where the pixel stores a color index rather than the actual color; the palette size still ultimately limits how many colors can be shown. But the fundamental property that determines the number of colors available for each pixel is bit depth.

Bit depth is the number of bits used to represent the color information for each pixel. More bits per pixel mean more possible color values. For example, an image with 8 bits per channel in RGB uses 8 bits for red, 8 for green, and 8 for blue, totaling 24 bits per pixel and about 16.7 million possible colors. If you reduce the bit depth, the number of colors per pixel drops accordingly (1-bit yields 2 shades, 4-bit yields 16 colors, etc.). Some formats use a color palette (indexed color), where the pixel stores a color index rather than the actual color; the palette size still ultimately limits how many colors can be shown. But the fundamental property that determines the number of colors available for each pixel is bit depth.