Question

How many host bits are in the subnet mask 255.255.255.224?
Group of answer choices

27

5

Not enough information given

24

Answer 1

To determine how many host bits are in the subnet mask 255.255.255.224, we can first convert the subnet mask into binary.

The subnet mask 255.255.255.224 in binary is:
- 255 = 11111111
- 255 = 11111111
- 255 = 11111111
- 224 = 11100000

So, the full binary representation of the subnet mask is:
```
11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000
```

Counting the number of '1' bits gives us the number of network bits:
- There are 27 bits that are ‘1’.

Since the total number of bits in an IPv4 address is 32 bits, the number of host bits can be calculated as:
```
32 - number of network bits = 32 - 27 = 5
```

Therefore, the number of host bits in the subnet mask 255.255.255.224 is **5**.

The correct answer is:
**5**