How many bits would be needed to count all of the students in class today? There are 42 students

6 bits

Explanation:

Given

Students = 42

Required

Get the number of bits

First, we need to represent 42 as a factor of 2;

Since, 42 is not a direct factor of 2, we look for the closest factor of 2 greater than 42

In this case, the number is 64

The number of bits is then calculated using;

Where n is the number of bits and

Substitute 64 for N

Represent 64 as a factor of 2

2 on both sides cancel out;

Hence, the number of bits is 6