Key words Learning Objective: To convert the Numbers have positional importance

Number given number from one number

System , system to another such as Binary,
Radix , Decimal, octal, Hexadecimal.
Decimal ,
Binary ,
Hexadecimal
, Octal
Key Concept Map
Questions

Do You
know the
importance
of Number
System?

Name the
number Number Systems: Key Definitions
system used The number system is a way to represent Number Systems:
in or express numbers. It is the The number system is a way to represent or
Computers.
Solved word mathematical notation for representing express numbers
Problem numbers of a given set by using digits or
other symbols in a consistent manner. A Radix: The number of values that a digit can
Give the digital system can understand positional have is equal to the base or Radix of the
radix of the number system only when there are few system
four number digits and symbols that represents
systems different values depending on the
position they occupy in the number.
The radix for Hence Number system provides a
Decimal unique representation of every number
number and represents
Application the Systems
of Number arithmetic and Link to YouTube/ OER/ video
system is 10, algebraic structure of the figures.
 Computers
for Binary https://www.mathsisfun.com/binary-
 Mathematical algorithm and
number number-system.html
system is 2, (Cont.calculations
on next page)
 Digital Systems
for
Hexadecimal  Microprocessors
number
system is 16
and Octal
number
system is 8.
The value of any digit in a number can be determined by:
• The digit
• Position of digit in the number before and after decimal point
• The base of the number system
RADIX or BASE:
In a positional numeral system, the radix or base is the number of unique digits, including
the digit zero, used to represent numbers. For example, for decimal system (the most
common system in use today) the radix (base number) is 10, because it uses ten digits i.e.
from 0 to 9 in which every digit can have 10 distinct values (0, 1, 2…….9).
The largest value of a digit is always one less than the base: For example, the largest digit in
a decimal system is 9 (one less than the base 10).
The position (place) of every digit represents a different multiple of base i.e. the number

have positional importance: For example, consider the decimal number (349.25)10 shown in
Figure below:
Hence, we can implement a common rule for all the numbering systems, for a general
number we have to multiply each of digit by some power of base or radix as show in figure :

TYPES OF NUMBER SYSTEM

There are various types of the number system, the four most common number system types
are:
1. Decimal number system (Base-10)
2. Binary number system (Base-2)
3. Octal number system (Base-8)
4. Hexadecimal number system (Base-16)
These number systems are explained below in detail.

Decimal Number System

The number system having digit from 0, 1, 2……9 is known as a decimal number system
because total ten digits are involved. The base of the decimal number system is 10.

Characteristics of a Decimal Number System

 The base or radix of Decimal number system is 10.

 The part of the number that lies to the left of the decimal point is known as integer
part. Similarly, the part of the number that lies to the right of the decimal point is
known as fractional part.

 In this number system each place of a digit represents a different multiple of 10. These
multiples are called as weighted values.
 The digits having successive position to the left side of the decimal point have weights
of 100, 101, 102, 103 and so on. Similarly, the digits having successive position to the
right side of the decimal point have weights of 10-1, 10-2, 10-3 and so on. That means,
each position has specific weight, which is power of base 10.
 The weighted values for different positions of a digit in decimal number system is

shown in figure:

Most Significant Digit (MSD): The leftmost digit having the highest weight is called as the most
significant digit of a number.
Least Significant Digit (LSD): The rightmost digit having the lowest weight is called as the least
significant digit of a number.
Example
1) Represent the decimal number 1358.246 in terms of power of 10.
Solution: Integer part of this number is 1358 and fractional part of this number is 0.246. The
digits 8, 5, 3 and 1 have weights of 100, 101, 102 and 103 respectively. Similarly, the digits 2, 4
and 6 have weights of 10-1, 10-2 and 10-3 respectively.

Hence, we write it as

1358.246 = (1 × 103) + (3 × 102) + (5 × 101) + (8 × 100) + (2 × 10-1) +(4 × 10-2) + (6 × 10-3).

Binary Number System

The modern digital systems do not process decimal number rather they work with another
number system known as a binary number system whose radix or base is 2 and its elements
or digits will be 0 & 1 only. This system is known as binary number system as its radix is 2. The
digits 0 & 1 of this system are known as bits. This number system finds extensive use in digital
electronics.

Characteristics of Binary Numbers System

 The base or radix of this number system is 2.

 The part of the number, which lies to the left of the binary point is known as integer
part. Similarly, the part of the number, which lies to the right of the binary point is
known as fractional part.
 In this number system, the digits having successive position to the left side of the binary
point have weights of 20, 21, 22, 23 and so on. Similarly, the digit having successive
positions to the right of the binary point have weights of 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 and so on, means
each position has specific weight, which is power of base 2.
 The weighted values for different positions of a digit in binary number system is shown

in figure:
 The left most bit in a given binary number with the highest weight is called as Most
significant bit (MSB) whereas the right most bit in a given binary number with lowest
weight is called as least significant bit (LSB).
 The binary number system requires a very long string of 1’s and 0’s to represent a
decimal number hence it is a drawback of binary number system.
The table below illustrates the counting from 0 to 15 in binary system with their decimal
equivalents

Binary number Decimal equivalent

0000 0
0001 1
0010 2
0011 3
0100 4
0101 5
0110 6
0111 7
1000 8
1001 9
1010 10
1011 11
1100 12
1101 13
1110 14
1111 15
Example
1) Represent the binary number1101.011 in terms of power of 2.
Solution: Integer part of this number is 1101 and fractional part of this number is 0.011. The
digits 1, 0, 1 and 1 of integer part have weights of 20, 21, 22, 23 respectively. Similarly, the digits
0, 1 and 1 of fractional part have weights of 2-1, 2-2, 2-3 respectively.
Hence, we write it as
1101.011 = (1 × 23) + (1 × 22) + (0 × 21) + (1 × 20) + (0 × 2-1) +
(1 × 2-2) + (1 × 2-3)

Octal Number System

In the octal number system, the base is 8 and it uses digits from 0 to 7 to represent numbers.
Octal number systems are used to reduce the size of large binary numbers and are
commonly used in computer applications. It is important to note that, digital circuits and
computers internally work strictly with the binary structure, and not with octal structure. The
octal structure is used only as the convenience of the user.

Characteristics of Octal Number System

 The base or radix of this number system is 8.

 The largest value of a digit in octal system is 7.
 The part of the number, which lies to the left of the octal point is known as integer
part. Similarly, the part of the number, which lies to the right of the binary point is
known as fractional part.
  In this number system, the digits having successive position to the left side of the
octal point have weights of 80, 81, 82, 83 and so on. Similarly, the digit having
successive positions to the right of the octal point have weights of 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 and so
on, means each position has specific weight, which is power of base 8.
 The weighted values for different positions of a digit in octal number system is shown
in figure:

Example
3) Represent the octal number 1457.236 in terms of power of 8.
Solution: Integer part of this number is 1457 and fractional part of this number is 0.236. The
digits 7, 5, 4 and 1 have weights of 80, 81, 82 and 83 respectively. Similarly, the digits 2, 3 and
6 have weights of 8-1, 8-2, 8-3 respectively.
Hence, we write it as
1457.236 = (1 × 83) + (4 × 82) + (5 × 81) + (7 × 80) + (2 × 8-1) +(3 × 8-2) + (6 × 8-3)

Hexadecimal Number System

In the hexadecimal system, numbers are written or represented with base 16. In the hex
system, the numbers are first represented just like in decimal system i.e. from 0 to 9. Then,
the numbers are represented using the alphabets from A to F. The size of the hexadecimal
number is much shorter than the binary number which makes them easy to write and
remember. These numbers are used extensively in microprocessor/micro-controller work.
The below-given table shows the representation of numbers in the hexadecimal number
system.
Hexadecimal
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C
D E F
Decimal
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15
Characteristics of Hexadecimal Number System
The base or radix of this number system is 16.
The largest value of a digit in hexadecimal system is 15 and it is represented by F.
The part of the number, which lies to the left of the hexadecimal point is known as integer
part. Similarly, the part of the number, which lies to the right of the binary point is known as
fractional part.
In this number system, the digits having successive position to the left side of the
hexadecimal point have weights of 160, 161, 162, 163 and so on. Similarly, the digit having
successive positions to the right of the hexadecimal point have weights of 16-1, 16-2, 16-3
and so on, means each position has specific weight, which is power of base 16.
The weighted values for different positions of a digit in hexadecimal number system is

shown in figure:

Example
4) Represent the Hexadecimal number 6DE in terms of power of 16.
Solution: Integer part of this number is 6DE and there is no fractional part. Therefore digits
E, D and 6 have weights of 160, 161, and 162 respectively.
Hence, we write it as
6DE = (6 × 162) + (13 × 161) + (14 × 160)
RELATION BETWEEN BINARY, DECIMAL, OCTAL AND HEXADECIMAL

Decimal Binary Hexadecimal Octal

(base 10) (base 2) (base 16) (base 8)

0 0000 0 0

1 0001 1 1

2 0010 2 2

3 0011 3 3

4 0100 4 4

5 0101 5 5

6 0110 6 6
The 7 0111 7 7 table
below shows
8 1000 8 10

9 1001 9 11

10 1010 A 12

11 1011 B 13

12 1100 C 14

13 1101 D 15

14 1110 E 16

15 1111 F 17
relationship between decimal, binary, octal, and hexadecimal numbers from 0 to 15.

CONVERSION OF NUMBER SYSTEMS

The conversion of a number from one number system to another is achieved by

expanding the given number to its power series and adding all the terms.

If the given number includes the radix point, then it is necessary to separate the number
into an integer part and a fraction part and then each part should be converted
separately.

Conversion from Radix “r” to Decimal System

The general procedure for conversion of a number system to decimal system is given
below:

Steps to Follow:

1. Note down the given Number.

2. Write down the weights corresponding to different positions.
3. Multiply each digit in the given number with the corresponding weight to obtain
product numbers.
4. Add all the product numbers to get the decimal equivalent.

The following examples demonstrate the conversion of binary, octal and hexadecimal
number system to its decimal equivalent:

Ex 1: Convert the binary number 1011.01 to its decimal equivalent.

 Solution: 1011.01

= (1 x 23) + (0 x 22) + (1 x 21) + (1 x 20) + (0 x 2-1) + (1 x 2-2)

= 8 + 0 + 2 + 1 + 0 + 1/4

Ans: = (11.25)10

Ex 2: Convert the octal number (314)8 to its decimal equivalent.

Solution: 314

= (3 x 82) + (1 x 81) + (4 x 80)

= 192 + 8 + 4

Ans: = (204)10

Conversion from Decimal to Other Number System (Binary, octal and Hexadecimal

The general procedure for conversion of a decimal number system to any other system is
given below:
Steps to Follow:

1. Note down the given Number. Divide the number by the base ‘r’ until there is nothing left,
noting the remainder from each step. List the remainder values in reverse order from
bottom to top to find the equivalent.
2. If the given decimal number consists a decimal point, then we have to first separate out
the integer and fractional part. Then convert them separately to the desired radix and
combine the converted parts to obtain the complete converted number.

3. For Integer part:

Divide integer part of the decimal number by base ‘r’ and note down the remainder,
continue to divide the quotient until there is nothing left, noting the remainder from each
step. List the remainder values in reverse order from bottom to top to find the equivalent.

4. For Fractional part:

i. Multiply the fractional part of decimal number by the base ‘r’. Note down the carry
generated in the multiplication as MSD.
ii. Now multiply only the fractional number of the product from previous step by the
base ‘r’ and note down the carry as the next bit to MSD.
iii. Repeat above steps upto the end, the last carry represents LSD now list the values
from top to bottom to get converted number.

The following examples demonstrate the conversion of decimal number system to other
system
Ex 1Convert (35)10 to binary

Ex 2 Convert (965.125)10 to Octal