A network on the internet has a subnet mask of 255.255.240.0. What is themaximum number of hosts it can handle?

The subnet mask 255.255.240.0 corresponds to a /20 prefix, meaning there are 12 bits available for host addresses.

The maximum number of hosts a subnet can support is determined by the number of bits available in the host portion of the address. This is calculated as 2^n - 2, where n is the number of bits in the host portion of the address. The subtraction of 2 accounts for the network address and broadcast address, which cannot be assigned to hosts.

So, for a /20 prefix (which leaves 12 bits for hosts):

2^12 - 2 = 4096 - 2 = 4094

Therefore, a network with a subnet mask of 255.255.240.0 can support a maximum of 4094 hosts.