Colour depth - GCSE Computer Science Definition

Colour depth, also known as bit depth, refers to the number of bits used to represent the colour of a single pixel in a digital image. It determines the range of distinct colours that can be displayed, with higher colour depths allowing for more colours. For example, an 8-bit colour depth supports 256 different colours, while 24-bit, often called true colour, can display over 16 million colours. Colour depth is crucial in digital imaging and graphics as it impacts both the visual quality and the file size of images. Understanding colour depth is important for GCSE Computer Science students as it links to topics like data representation, image processing, and how computers display graphics.