How many pixels are in a megapixel?

• A. 1,000,000
• B. 10,000
• C. 100,000
• D. 1,000,000,000

Answer: (A)

A megapixel equals one million pixels. The term combines "mega," meaning one million, with pixel, so one megapixel is 1,000,000 individual picture elements. For example, an image that is 1,000 by 1,000 pixels has 1,000 × 1,000 = 1,000,000 pixels, which is one megapixel. The other numbers are either much smaller (10,000 or 100,000 pixels) or much larger (1,000,000,000 pixels, which is 1,000 megapixels). In cameras, megapixels describe the total pixel count of the sensor, not a single dimension.