Data Representation

Number Systems
Denary Number System
• The denary number system, also known as the decimal system, is the number system
we use in our day-to-day life.

• It is a base-10 system, which means it uses ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Binary Number System

• The binary number system is a base-2 system that uses only two digits: 0 and 1.

• Example: 1110 (binary) represents 14 in denary.

Why Do Computers Use Binary?

• Computers use electrical circuits, which have two states: on and off.

• These two states can easily represent the binary digits 1 and 0.

• Binary is less prone to errors because it only has two distinct states.

• Processing and storage are more efficient with binary as it matches the fundamental
operations of logic circuits.

Hexa-decimal number system

• The hexadecimal number system is a base-16 system that uses sixteen symbols: the
digits 0-9 and the letters A-F.

• Example: 1A3F (hex) represents 6719 in denary.

• Hexadecimal provides a more compact representation of binary numbers (1 Hexa-

decimal digit represents 4 binary digits), reducing the length of binary strings.

• It is easier to convert to and from binary compared to denary, simplifying the process.
Converting between number systems

10

2 16
S E E N OT E BO O K F O R R EF E R E N C E.

Uses of Hexa-decimal system

 Error codes
 MAC addresses
 IPv6 addresses
 Colour codes
 Memory addresses

Binary addition
See notebook for reference.

Two’s complement
• Two's complement is a system used in computers to represent both positive and
negative numbers in binary.

• Since computers can't directly handle negative signs, they use two's complement to
manage negative numbers.

• This method makes arithmetic operations simpler.

• The most significant bit (the leftmost bit) indicates the sign: 0 for positive and 1 for
negative.

Converting positive denary numbers in 8 bit 2’s complement binary

• Converting positive denary numbers to 8-bit two's complement binary is straight
forward.

• Simply write the binary representation of the number in an 8-bit format.

• Example: For the denary number 5:

• Binary: 00000101 (8 bits)

S E E N OT E BO O K F O R R EF E R E N C E.
Measurement of data storage
• Bit: The most basic unit of data, representing a binary value (0 or 1).

• Byte: The smallest unit of data storage, consisting of 8 bits.

For your information…

• There are two systems for measuring data storage: the SI unit system and the IEC unit
system.

• The SI unit system is based on powers of 10. However, this system cannot accurately
represent the way computers process and store data, which is based on powers of 2.
Therefore, another system, the IEC unit system, was created to align with binary
calculations used in computing.

• The IEC system uses binary prefixes (like KiB, MiB, GiB) that match the binary nature of
digital data storage, providing clarity and avoiding confusion that arises when using
decimal-based SI units for measurements in computing.

SI System

8 bits (b) = 1 Byte (B)

1000 B = 1 Kilobyte (KB)

1000 KB = 1 Megabyte (MB)

1000 MB = 1 Gigabyte (GB)

1000 GB = 1 Terabyte (TB)

IEC System

8 bits (b) = 1 Byte (B)

1024 B (210 B) = 1 Kibibyte (KiB)

1024 KiB = 1 Mebibyte (MiB)

1024 MiB = 1 Gibibyte (GiB)

1024 GiB = 1 Tebibyte (TiB)

Text, Sound and Images
Representation of Text in Computers
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)
• Originally, ASCII uses 7 bits per character.

• Represents 128 characters (including control characters and printable characters).

• Simple and easy to use. Sufficient for basic English text and control characters.

• Limited character set (only 128 characters). Cannot represent characters from other
languages or additional symbols.

Extended ASCII
• Uses 8 bits per character.

• Represents 256 characters.

• Includes additional characters and symbols not available in standard ASCII. Useful for
basic European languages and some symbols.

• Still limited in representing global languages and diverse symbols. Different extended
ASCII versions for different platforms.

Unicode
• Variable length (8, 16, or 32 bits per character).

• Represents over 143,000 characters from multiple languages and symbol sets.

• Comprehensive character set covering almost all written languages. Supports emojis,
mathematical symbols, and more.

• Larger memory usage due to variable-length encoding. More complex than ASCII or
Extended ASCII.

Refer note for activities.

Representation of Sound in Computers
• Sound is originally an analog signal, a continuous wave.

• Computers convert this analog signal to a digital format using an Analog-to-Digital

Converter (ADC).

Sampling
• The process of measuring the amplitude of
the sound wave at regular intervals.

• Sample Rate:

• Number of samples taken per second,

measured in Hertz (Hz).

• More samples per second capture

more detail of the sound wave.

Bit Depth
• The number of bits used to represent each
sample.

• Common Bit Depths: 16-bit (CD quality), 24-bit

(professional audio).

• Higher bit depth allows for more precise

representation of sound amplitude.

Refer note for activities.

Representation of Images in Computers
Pixels

• The smallest unit of a digital image.

• Each pixel represents a single point in the image and has its own colour value.

Resolution
• The number of pixels in an image, typically described in width x height (e.g., 1920x1080).

• Higher resolution means more pixels and more detail.

Colour Depth
• The number of bits used to represent the colour of each pixel.

• Higher colour depth allows for more precise colour representation.

Refer note for activities.

Data Compression
• Data compression is the process of reducing the size of a to save storage space and
speed up data transmission.

• There are two types of compression:

• Lossless Compression

• Lossy Compression

Why do we need data compression?

• Storage Efficiency: Saves space on devices like hard drives and phones.

• Faster Transmission: Uses less bandwidth, speeding up internet and data transfers.

• Cost Savings: Reduces storage and bandwidth costs.

• Improved Performance: Quicker load times for websites and apps.

• Backup and Archiving: Easier to manage with less space needed.

Lossless compression
• Reduces file size by permanently removing some data, which slightly reduces quality.

• How: Eliminates less noticeable data, using algorithms like JPEG for images and MP3
for audio.

• When: Used for media files (images, audio, video) where small file size is more
important than perfect quality.

Lossy compression
• Reduces file size by permanently removing some data, which slightly reduces quality.

• How: Eliminates less noticeable data, using algorithms like JPEG for images and MP3
for audio.

• When: Used for media files (images, audio, video) where small file size is more
important than perfect quality.