How many states does a 3-bit binary counter have?

In digital logic, a single binary digit (bit) can hold one of two possible states: a 0 or a 1. When combining multiple bits, the total number of possible states increases exponentially. To calculate the number of states for a multi-bit binary counter, you use the formula 2^n, where 'n' is the number of bits. For a 3-bit binary counter, the math is 2 raised to the power of 3 (2 x 2 x 2). This results in exactly 8 distinct states. If you count them out in binary, they are 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, and 111 (representing the decimal numbers 0 through 7).