Answer: C

For over 20 years, most of the world's computers have used a 32-bit word, particularly in the Intel IA-32 architecture.

The word size is important, because it is:

• the width of the communication path between the memory and CPU
• the number of bits that the CPU does an operation on at one time
• 32 bits is also enshrined as the size of int and Integer in Java.

The Intel Core i5 and similar processors have a 64-bit word, but also have a 32-bit compatibility mode; even if you have one of these more modern processors, it is likely that much of what you do is running in 32-bit mode.

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