7.1.1 Pixels and Resolution

Imagine a giant LEGO board. Each individual LEGO brick is like a pixel (short for "picture element"). A digital image is made up of millions of these tiny square dots, arranged in a grid. Each pixel is a single point of color.

Pixels: If you zoom in really close on a digital photo, you'll eventually see these individual squares. The more pixels an image has, the more detail it can show, and the smoother it will look.
Resolution: This term describes how many pixels an image has, usually by its width and height. For example, a picture might have a resolution of "1920times1080 pixels." This means it has 1920 pixels across and 1080 pixels down. A higher resolution means more pixels, which usually means a sharper, more detailed image, but also a larger file size. When you talk about a "4K TV," you're talking about its high pixel resolution!

Bibliography:

A Definitive Guide to Pixels (Plus Types and Tips) (2025, March 26). Indeed. Retrieved July 11, 2025, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/define-pixel
Creatopy. (2024, February 18). Creatopy. Retrieved July 11, 2025, from https://www.creatopy.com/blog/what-is-resolution/

Further Reading:

What do you mean by a Digital Image?. (2024, July 26). GeeksForGeeks.org. Retrieved from https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/computer-vision/what-do-you-mean-by-digital-image/#