Number Systems Topic 1 Notes

Number Systems
The number system is a way to represent or express numbers. You have heard of various types of
number systems such as the whole numbers and the real numbers. But in the context of computers, we
define other types of number systems. They are:
 The decimal number system
 The binary number system
 The octal number system and
 The hexadecimal number system
Let us discuss them in detail.
Binary Number System (Base 2)
A computer can understand only the “on” and “off” state of a switch. These two states are represented
by 1 and 0. The combination of 1 and 0 form binary numbers. These numbers represent various data. As
two digits are used to represent numbers, it is called a binary or base 2 number system.
The binary number system uses positional notation. But in this case, each digit is multiplied by the
appropriate power of two based on its position.
For example, (101101)2 in decimal is
= 1 x 25 + 0 x 24 + 1 x 23 + 1 x 2 2 + 0 x 21 + 1 x 20
= 1 x 32 + 0 x 16 + 1 x 8 + 1 x 4 + 0 x 2 + 1 x 1
= 32 + 8 + 4 + 1
= (45)10
Octal Number System (Base 8)
This system uses digits 0 to 7 (i.e. 8 digits) to represent a number and the numbers are as a base of 8.
For example, (24)8 in decimal is
= 2×81+4×80
= (20)10
Decimal Number System (Base 10)
In this number system, the digits 0 to 9 represents numbers. As it uses 10 digits to represent a number,
it is also called the base 10 number system. Each digit has a value based on its position called place
value. The value of the position increases by 10 times as we move from right to left in the number.
For example, the value of 786 is
= 7 x 102 + 8 x 101 + 6 x 100
= 700 + 80 + 6
Hexadecimal Number System (Base 16)
In this system, 16 digits used to represent a given number. Thus it is also known as the base 16 number
system. Each digit position represents a power of 16. As the base is greater than 10, the number
system is supplemented by letters. Following are the hexadecimal symbols: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B,
C, D, E, F
To take A, B, C, D, E, and F as part of the number system is conventional and has no logical or deductive
reason.
Decimal To Binary
In the decimal system, the base is 10 and every number is written as a combination of the powers of 10.
Any integral number in the decimal system when divided by 2, will either leave a remainder of 0 or 1.
Thus division by zero is a way to represent such numbers as a series of 0’s and 1’s. Therefore, to convert
from decimal to binary, we keep dividing by 2 and go on recording the remainders. Let us see an
example.
Example 1: Convert the number 22 from decimal to binary.
Let us start dividing by 2 and noting the remainders.
Example: Convert the number 22 from decimal to binary.
Let us start dividing by 2 and noting the remainders.
2 22 0
2 11 1
2 5 1
2 2 0
1
Starting from the 1 at the bottom, we can write a series of 1’s and 0’s as 1, 0, 1, 1, 0. This gives the
binary equivalent of the number 22. Therefore, we write the binary equivalent of 22 as 10110. If done in
this way, the remainder of the first step becomes the LSD (least significant digit) whereas the remainder
of the last step becomes the MSD (Most Significant Digit).
In short, if you have to convert from decimal to any number system, you should divide the number by
the given base (e.g. 16 or 8 etc.).
Units of measurement of data
Machine language is binary. And so it is necessary to discuss how to measure the data stored in a
computer. Bit and Byte are the units to measure data.
Bit
The term ‘bit’ is a contraction of the words ‘binary’ and ‘digit’. It is the smallest unit of memory or
instruction that can be given or stored on a computer. A bit is either a 0 or a 1. The number in the above
example is a 6-bit number as it has 6 binary digits (0s and 1s).
Byte
A group of 8 bits like 01100001 is a byte. Combination of bytes comes with various names like the
kilobyte. One kilobyte is a collection of 1000 bytes. A word or letter like ‘A’ or ‘G’ is worth 8 bits or one
byte. One thousand bytes make up a kilobyte (one thousand letters approximately). 1024 kilobytes form
a Megabyte (Mb) and so on.

Number Systems Topic 1 Notes

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Number Systems Topic 1 Notes

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Number Systems

 The decimal number system

 The binary number system

 The octal number system and

 The hexadecimal number system

Let us discuss them in detail.

Binary Number System (Base 2)

For example, (101101)2 in decimal is

Octal Number System (Base 8)

For example, (24)8 in decimal is

Decimal Number System (Base 10)

= 7 x 102 + 8 x 101 + 6 x 100

Hexadecimal Number System (Base 16)

Example 1: Convert the number 22 from decimal to binary.

Let us start dividing by 2 and noting the remainders.

Example: Convert the number 22 from decimal to binary.

Let us start dividing by 2 and noting the remainders.

Units of measurement of data

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