Number Systems

The Denary, Binary & Hexadecimal Number Systems

 In Computer Science there are 3 numbering systems used to represent data:

o Denary
o Binary
o Hexadecimal

The Denary Number System

 The denary number system, also known as the decimal system, is a base-
10 numbering system that uses 10 digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9
 Denary numbers can be used to represent any quantity, including whole
numbers, fractions, and decimals
 Each digit in a denary number represents a power of 10, with the rightmost digit
representing 100, the next representing 101, and so on
 It is necessary to convert data from one number system to another eg. denary to
binary or denary to hexadecimal
 It is much easier to do conversions with a table:
o The number 3268 (three thousand two hundred and sixty-eight) can be
represented in the following table:

 (3 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (6 x 10) + (8 x 1) = 3268

The Binary Number System

 The binary number system is a base-2 numbering system that uses only two
digits: 0 and 1
 Each digit in a binary number represents a power of 2, with the rightmost digit
representing 20, the next representing 21, and so on.
 Eg: the number 12 represented in binary is 1100:

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  We know this as (1 x 8) + (1 x 4) + (0 x 2) + (0 x 1) =12

The Hexadecimal Number System:

 The hexadecimal number system is a base-16 numbering system that uses 16

digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F where 10 is represented by
A, 11 by B and so on up to 15 represented by F
 Each digit in a hexadecimal number represents a power of 16, with the rightmost
digit representing 160, the next representing 161, and so on
 E.g. the number 146 represented in hexadecimal is 92

 (0 x 4096) + (0 x 256) + (9 x 16) + (2 x 1) = 146

Exam Tipof 4 bits if you’re not sure)

 You need to be able to make conversions in both directions, e.g. denary to binary
or binary to denary. Make sure you write the table the correct way round (with 1 in
the right hand column) & use the correct number of bits in your answer (the
question should tell you but use multiples of 4 bits if you’re not sure)

Converting Between Binary & Denary

Converting Denary to Binary Walkthrough:

 Write down the powers of 2 in binary from right to left, starting with 20 (1), 21 (2),
22 (4), 23 (8), and so on, until you reach 128 (as answers must be given in 8 bits)

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 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1

 Starting from the leftmost column, write a 1 if the corresponding power of 2 is

less than or equal to the number you’re converting, 171 in this example,
otherwise write a 0.

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1

 Check your working by adding together all column headings with a 1

underneath (128+32+8+2+1=171)
 Read the binary digits from left to right to get the binary equivalent of 171.
10101011

Converting Binary to Denary Walkthrough:

 Write down the powers of 2 in decimal from right to left, starting with 20 (1),
21 (2), 22 (4), 23 (8), and so on, until you reach 128 (as answers must be given in
8 bits)

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

 Starting from the leftmost column, write the binary digit in the column if it is a 1
write 1, and write 0 if it is a 0.

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0

 Add up the values in each column where the binary digit is 1.

64 + 32 + 4 + 2 = 102

Exam Tip

 If the question tells you to show your working you will get a mark for this so don't
forget to write down yours

Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary

Converting Binary to Hexadecimal Walkthrough:

 Group the binary digits into groups of 4, starting from the rightmost digit. If
there are not enough digits to make a group of 4, add leading zeros as needed.

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 0110 1110

 Add column headings to work out the value of each nibble

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0

4+2 = 6 8+4+2=14 = E in hex

 Replace each group of 4 bits with its corresponding hexadecimal value:

0110 1110
6 E
 Write down the resulting hexadecimal values to get the final answer:
6E

Converting Hexadecimal to Binary Walkthrough:

 To convert a Hex number like A2 into binary write each hex digit in 4-bit binary

 A=10

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

 The binary representation is the numbers altogether: 10100010

Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary

Converting Denary to Hexadecimal Walkthrough:

1. Divide the decimal number (in this example 57) by 16 and write down the answer
including the remainder:
57 ÷ 16 = 3 remainder 9
2. If the remainder is above 9, replace this with the corresponding letter
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the number you’re dividing is zero:
3 ÷ 16 = 0 remainder 3
4. Write the hexadecimal values from step 3 to step 1 in reverse order:
39

Alternatively, you can turn your denary number into binary, and then turn
the binary number into hexadecimal:

1. Work out 57 in binary

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 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

2. Split it into 2 nibbles

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

3. Turn each nibble into its hex value

2+1=3 8+1=9

Answer is 39

Converting Hexadecimal to Denary Walkthrough:

 Write down the place value of each digit in the number, starting from the right and
increasing by a power of 16:

161 160

16 1

 If the hex digit is a letter, convert it to its denary equivalent (Using the following table to
help you):

Hexadecimal Decimal

A 10

B 11

C 12

D 13

E 14

F 15

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  The hexadecimal value of the leftmost digit E has a decimal value of 14. The
hexadecimal value of the rightmost digit is 5, which has a decimal value of 5

16 1
E 5

 Multiply each decimal value by its corresponding place value, and sum the products:

(14 x 16) + (5 x 1) = 224 + 5 = 229

Therefore, the denary equivalent of E5 is 229.

Alternatively, you can turn your hexadecimal number into binary, and then turn
the binary number into denary:

1. Write each hex digit in binary

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1

2. Convert the binary to denary

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1

128+64+32+4+1=229
Exam Tip

 When doing conversions don’t remove any 0s on the right hand side of your answer as
this will cost you marks. E.g. B0 isn’t the same as B, just like 30 isn’t the same as 3.

Hexadecimal
Why Use Hexadecimal?

 Hexadecimal numbers are often used as a beneficial method of data

representation in computer science
 It takes fewer digits to represent a given value in hexadecimal than in binary
 One hexadecimal digit can represent four bits of binary data
 It is beneficial to use hexadecimal over binary because:
o The more bits there are in a binary number, the harder it is to read
o Numbers with more bits are more prone to errors when being copied

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Worked example
The following binary number has 24 bits: 101110110011101011101010. Write
the number in hexadecimal and explain why it is better to write the number in
hexadecimal rather than in binary.

 This number can be represented with only 6 digits in hexadecimal:

 B B 3 A E A Mark for each character [6]
 This number is:
o Much shorter and a more efficient way of representing numbers [1]
o Easier to spot any errors in [1]

How is Hexadecimal used in Computers?

 Using hexadecimal allows computer scientists to represent large amounts of

binary data in a more manageable and readable format

 There are many uses of hexadecimal in computers:

o Memory addresses and other hardware related values
o Representation of colour values
o Error messages
o Memory dump
o Debugging
o IP addresses
o ASCII / Unicode
o Assembly language
o URLs

 Representation of colour values in HTML/CSS and in computer graphics: eg.

RGB (red-green-blue) colour values can be represented in a compact and
readable format. E.g. #FF0000
 Error messages & debugging: eg. 0x80070643 to give technicians/developers
information about what the error is in relation to

 Memory dump: this is a record of what happened in the computer's memory at

the time of an error. These are often difficult to read because they contain a lot of
technical information, but computers can use hexadecimal values in memory
dumps to identify specific memory locations and values.
o Eg. A video game on a computer crashes and a memory dump is created.
A technician analyses the memory dump and looks for hexadecimal
values to identify the cause of the crash. They might look for specific
memory addresses and values that relate to the game being played or the
graphics card in the computer.

 IP addresses:
o Hexadecimal values can be used to represent each set of numbers in an
IP address

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 o Each set of numbers can be converted into a two-digit hexadecimal
value, giving a total of eight digits in the IP address
o Eg. the IP address "192.168.0.1" could be represented in hexadecimal as
"C0A80001"
o The hexadecimal values can make IP addresses easier to work with in
some cases, such as when configuring network devices or writing scripts
that interact with IP addresses, however, they are not commonly used in
everyday applications or browsing the internet

 ASCII / Unicode: eg. The letter "A" is represented in ASCII as the decimal
value 65, which is equivalent to the binary value 01000001. This binary value
can also be represented in hexadecimal as the value 41

 Assembly language:
o Hexadecimal values are used in assembly language to represent the
binary code for the instructions and data
o Each instruction or data value is represented by a specific sequence of
hexadecimal digits, which can make it easier for programmers to read and
understand the code
o Eg. "MOV AX, 5" instruction is represented by the hexadecimal value
"B805", which tells the computer to move the value 5 into register AX

 URLs:
o To encode a space in a URL using hexadecimal, the space character is
replaced by a percent sign ("%") followed by the hexadecimal value of
the space character. In ASCII, the space character has a decimal value
of 32, which can be represented in hexadecimal as "20".
o So, to encode the URL "my website.com/page one" using hexadecimal,
it would look like this: my%20website.com/page%20one

Exam Tip

 When a question is asked which asks you to name a certain number of uses of
hexadecimal, ensure you write the number asked for and no more. E.g. name 3
uses of hexadecimal - if you write more than 3, the last ones will be ignored by
the examiner, even if they’re correct
 If you're asked to name any uses of hexadecimal, don't write down any given in
the question as you won't get marks for this

BS Chemistry By: Prof. Khuram Chattha