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YOUR NOTES
IGCSE Computer Science CIE 

1. Data Representation

CONTENTS
1.1 Number Systems
Computers & Binary
Number Systems
Converting Between Binary & Denary
Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary
Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary
Hexadecimal
Binary Addition
Binary Shifts
Two's Complement
1.2 Text, Sound and Images
Character Sets
Representing Sound
Representing Images
1.3 Data Storage and Compression
Data Storage
Compression

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1.1 Number Systems YOUR NOTES


Computers & Binary

Why Computers Use Binary

All data needs to be converted to binary to be processed by a computer
Binary is a numbering system that uses only 0s (off) and 1s (on)
A computer uses binary data for all of its operations
The 0’s and 1’s are called bits. “Bits” is short for binary digits
A bit is the smallest unit of data a computer can use (a single 0 or 1)
Bits can be grouped to form larger units of data, such as bytes, kilobytes, etc.
By using binary, computers can process and store data using electronic switches that can
be either on or off
Millions or billions of switches fit onto a microchip
Any form of data, including text, images, and sound, needs to be converted to binary
before it can be processed by a computer
This conversion process involves assigning a binary code to each character, pixel, or
sample in the data
The resulting binary code can then be processed using logic gates and stored in registers
Logic Gates
Logic gates are electronic devices that perform logical operations on binary data
The most common types of logic gates are AND, OR, and NOT gates, which can be
combined to perform more complex operations

AND and OR gates both have 2 inputs (A and B) whereas a NOT gate only has 1 input (A)
X is the output from the logic gate
Logic gates are used to process binary data by applying Boolean logic to the input values
and producing a binary output
Registers are temporary storage areas in a computer's CPU (central processing unit) that
hold binary data during processing
Registers are used to store data that needs to be accessed quickly, such as variables in a
program or data being manipulated by logic gates
The size of a register determines the maximum amount of binary data that can be stored in it
at one time

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Number Systems YOUR NOTES


The Denary, Binary & Hexadecimal Number Systems
In Computer Science there are 3 numbering systems used to represent data:
Denary
Binary
Hexadecimal
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:
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 YOUR NOTES


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 Tip
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)

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Converting Between Binary & Denary YOUR NOTES


Converting Between Binary & Denary
Converting Denary to Binary Walkthrough:
Write down the powers of 2 in binary from right to left, starting with 2^0 (1), 2^1 (2), 2^2 (4),
2^3 (8), and so on, until you reach 128 (as answers must be given in 8 bits)
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 2^0 (1), 2^1 (2), 2^2
(4), 2^3 (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

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Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary YOUR NOTES


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.
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

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Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary YOUR NOTES


Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary
Converting Denary to Hexadecimal Walkthrough:
Divide the decimal number (in this example 57) by 16 and write down the answer including
the remainder:
57 ÷ 16 = 3 remainder 9
If the remainder is above 9, replace this with the corresponding letter
Repeat steps 1 and 2 until the number you’re dividing is zero:
3 ÷ 16 = 0 remainder 3
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
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

The hexadecimal value of the leftmost digit is E, which has a decimal value of 14. The
hexadecimal value of the rightmost digit is 5, which has a decimal value of 5.
Multiply each decimal value by its corresponding place value, and sum the products:
16a 1

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E 5 YOUR NOTES

(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

 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.

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Hexadecimal YOUR NOTES


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:
The more bits there are in a binary number, the harder it is to read
Numbers with more bits are more prone to errors when being copied

 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 [1 mark] B
[1 mark] 3 [1 mark] A [1 mark] D [1 mark] 2 [1 mark] .
This number is:
Much shorter and a more efficient way of representing numbers [1 mark]
Easier to spot any errors in [1 mark]

Uses of Hexadecimal 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:
Memory addresses and other hardware related values
Representation of colour values
Error messages
Memory dump
Debugging
IP addresses
ASCII / Unicode
Assembly language
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.
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
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the crash. They might look for specific memory addresses and values that relate to the YOUR NOTES
game being played or the graphics card in the computer. 
IP addresses:
Hexadecimal values can be used to represent each set of numbers in an IP address
Each set of numbers can be converted into a two-digit hexadecimal value, giving a
total of eight digits in the IP address
Eg. the IP address "192.168.0.1" could be represented in hexadecimal as "C0A80001"
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:
Hexadecimal values are used in assembly language to represent the binary code for
the instructions and data
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
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:
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".
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

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Binary Addition YOUR NOTES


Binary Addition
Adding binary numbers follows a similar process to adding denary numbers

The binary adding rules are:

0+0=0
0+1=1
1+1=10 (The 1 is carried into the next column on the left)
1+1+1=11 (The 1 is carried into the next column on the left)
Adding binary steps:
Step 1:
Start by writing the two binary numbers you want to add underneath each other, with the
least significant bit (LSB) on the right.

Step 2:
Begin by adding the LSBs together. If the sum is less than or equal to 1, write it down in the
sum column. If the sum is 2 or greater, write the remainder of the sum (i.e., the sum minus 2)
in the sum column and carry over the quotient (i.e., 1) to the next column

Step 3:
Repeat this process for the next column to the left, adding the two bits and any carryover
from the previous column. Again, if the sum is less than or equal to 1, write it down in the sum
column; if the sum is 2 or greater, write the remainder of the sum in the sum column and
carry over the quotient to the next column.

Step 4:
Continue this process for each subsequent column until you have added all the bits.

Step 5:
If the sum of the last two bits produces a carryover, add an additional bit to the left of the
sum to represent the carryover.

Step 6:
Check the sum to make sure it fits within 8 bits. If it doesn't, you will need to use more bits to
represent the sum.

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Adding binary walkthrough: YOUR NOTES



In this example, we start by adding the two LSBs: 0 + 0 = 0, which we write down in the sum
column. We then move to the next column to the left and add the two bits and the carryover
from the previous column: 1 + 1 + 0 = 10. We write down the remainder of the sum (i.e., 0) in the
sum column and carry over the quotient (i.e., 1) to the next column. We repeat this process for
the next two columns, and end up with the sum 101110000.
Overflow
An overflow error occurs when the result of a binary addition exceeds the maximum value
that can be represented. In the case of 8-bits, the maximum value is 255
Overflow occurs when the addition of two numbers results in a carry bit that cannot be
accommodated
To avoid overflow errors, it's important to check the result of binary addition to ensure that
it doesn't exceed the maximum value that can be represented
Overflow errors can also occur in other operations besides addition, such as
multiplication or division

 Exam Tip
You can convert your binary numbers to denary, then perform the calculation and
then convert them back to check you’ve got the right answer. Label this as checking
to make sure that the examiner knows this is a check and not part of your working
out

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Binary Shifts YOUR NOTES


Binary Shifts
A binary shift is the term used for multiplying or dividing in binary
A binary shift moves all the bits in a binary number a certain number of positions to the left or
right
When performing a logical binary shift to the left, the bits shifted from the end of the
register are lost, and zeros are shifted in at the opposite end
When performing a logical binary shift to the right, the bits shifted from the beginning of the
register are lost, and zeros are shifted in at the opposite end
When performing a logical binary shift, the positive binary integer is multiplied or divided
according to the shift performed. A shift to the left is equivalent to multiplication by a
power of 2, while a shift to the right is equivalent to division by a power of 2
When performing a logical binary shift, the most significant bit(s) or least significant bit(s)
are lost, depending on the direction of the shift
Binary shift walkthrough:
E.g. shifting the binary number 11001100 to the left by two positions gives 00110000. The
two bits shifted from the end are lost, and two zeros are shifted in at the opposite end
E.g. shifting the binary number 11001100 to the right by two positions gives 00110011. The
two bits shifted from the beginning are lost, and two zeros are shifted in at the opposite end
E.g. shifting 11001100 to the left by two positions, is multiplying it by 2^2, or 4. The result is
00110000, which is equal to 4 times the original value
Shifting the binary number 11001100 to the right by two positions, is dividing it by 2^2, or 4.
The result is 00110011, which is equal to the original value divided by 4

 Exam Tip
Make sure you’ve got the same number of bits in your answer as there were in the
question. Check your answer by converting the binary number to denary, working
out your answer and converting it back again. Make sure to label this checking so the
examiner knows it isn’t part of your working out

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Two's Complement YOUR NOTES


Two's Complement
Two's complement is a method of representing signed integers in binary form, where the
leftmost bit represents the sign (0 for positive and 1 for negative)
To convert a positive number to a two's complement 8-bit integer, first represent the
number in binary form with leading zeros until it is 8 bits long. If the number is positive, the
leftmost bit should be 0
To convert a negative number to a two's complement 8-bit integer, first invert all the bits in
the binary representation of the positive equivalent of the number (i.e., flip all the 1's to
0's and all the 0's to 1's). Then, add 1 to the result to obtain the two's complement
representation
Two's complement walkthrough:
The binary number 00101011 represents the positive integer 43 in 8-bit binary form
E.g. to represent the negative integer -43 in two's complement 8-bit form, start by
representing the positive equivalent of 43 in binary form: 00101011. Then invert all the bits to
get 11010100, and add 1 to get 11010101

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1.2 Text, Sound and Images YOUR NOTES


Character Sets

Character Sets
Text is a collection of characters that can be represented in binary, which is the language
that computers use to process information
To represent text in binary, a computer uses a character set, which is a collection of
characters and the corresponding binary codes that represent them
One of the most commonly used character sets is the American Standard Code for
Information Interchange (ASCII), which assigns a unique 7-bit binary code to each
character, including uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, punctuation marks, and
control characters
E.g. The ASCII code for the uppercase letter 'A' is 01000001, while the code for the
character '?' is 00111111
ASCII has limitations in terms of the number of characters it can represent, and it does not
support characters from languages other than English
To address these limitations, Unicode was developed as a character encoding standard
that allows for a greater range of characters and symbols than ASCII, including different
languages and emojis
Unicode uses a variable-length encoding scheme that assigns a unique code to each
character, which can be represented in binary form using multiple bytes
E.g. The Unicode code for the heart symbol is U+2665, which can be represented in binary
form as 11100110 10011000 10100101
As Unicode requires more bits per character than ASCII, it can result in larger file sizes and
slower processing times when working with text-based data

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Representing Sound YOUR NOTES


Representing Sound
Sound is a type of analog signal that is captured and converted into digital form to be
processed by a computer.
To convert sound into digital form, a process called sampling is used. This involves taking
measurements of the sound wave at regular intervals and converting these
measurements into binary data
The quality of the digital sound depends on the sample rate, which is the number of
samples taken per second. A higher sample rate results in a more accurate
representation of the original sound wave, but also increases the file size of the digital
sound
E.g. A typical CD-quality digital sound has a sample rate of 44.1 kHz, which means that
44,100 samples are taken per second
The sample resolution is another factor that affects the quality of the digital sound. This
refers to the number of bits per sample, which determines the level of detail and
accuracy of each sample
A higher sample resolution results in a more accurate representation of the sound wave,
but also increases the file size of the digital sound
E.g. A CD-quality digital sound typically has a sample resolution of 16 bits, which means
that each sample is represented by a 16-bit binary number
It's important to choose the appropriate sample rate and resolution based on the specific
requirements of the digital sound application. E.g. A high-quality music recording may
require a higher sample rate and resolution than a voice recording for a podcast
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (file)
Stores a set of instructions (for how the sound should be played)
It does not store the actual sounds
Data in the file has been recorded using digital instruments
Specifies the note to be played
Specifies when each note plays and stops playing
Specifies the duration of the note
Specifies the volume of the note
Specifies the tempo
Specifies the type of instrument
Individual notes can be edited
MP3
MP3 is a format for digital audio
MP3 is an actual recording of the sound
MP3 is a (lossy) compression format
It is recorded using a microphone

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Representing Images YOUR NOTES


Representing Images
A bitmap image is made up of a series of pixels, which are small dots of colour that are
arranged in a grid. Each pixel can be represented by a binary code, which is processed by a
computer
The resolution of an image refers to the number of pixels in the image. A higher resolution
image has more pixels and is, therefore, sharper and more detailed but also requires more
storage space
The colour depth of an image refers to the number of bits used to represent each colour.
A higher colour depth means that more colours can be represented, resulting in a more
realistic image but also requires more storage space
E.g. an 8-bit colour depth allows for 256 different colours to be represented (28=256),
while a 24-bit colour depth allows for over 16 million different colours to be represented
(224=16,777,216)
The file size of an image increases as the resolution and colour depth increase. This is
because more pixels and colours require more binary data to represent them
The quality of an image also increases as the resolution and colour depth increase.
However, it's important to balance the desired quality with the practical limitations of
storage space

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1.3 Data Storage and Compression YOUR NOTES


Data Storage

Data Storage
Data storage is measured in a variety of units, each representing a different size of storage
capacity. The smallest unit of measurement is the bit, which represents a single binary digit
(either 0 or 1)
A nibble is a group of 4 bits, while a byte is a group of 8 bits
Kibibyte (KiB), mebibyte (MiB), gibibyte (GiB), tebibyte (TiB), pebibyte (PiB), and
exbibyte (EiB) are all larger units of measurement
Specifically, 1 KiB is equal to 2^10 bytes, 1 MiB is equal to 2^20 bytes, 1 GiB is equal to 2^30
bytes, 1 TiB is equal to 2^40 bytes, 1 PiB is equal to 2^50 bytes, and 1 EiB is equal to 2^60
bytes
To calculate the file size of an image file:
Determine the resolution of the image in pixels (width x height)
Determine the colour depth in bits (e.g. 8 bits for 256 colours)
Multiply the number of pixels by the colour depth to get the total number of bits
Divide the total number of bits by 8 to get the file size in bytes
If necessary, convert to larger units like kibibytes, mebibytes, etc

 Worked Example
Calculating image file size walkthrough:
An image measures 100 by 80 pixels and has 128 colours (so this must use 7 bits)
100 x 80 x 7 = 56000 bits ÷ 8 = 7000 bytes ÷ 1024 = 6.84 kibibytes

To calculate the file size of a sound file:

Determine the sample rate in Hz (e.g. 44,100 Hz)
Determine the sample resolution in bits (e.g. 16 bits)
Determine the length of the track in seconds
Multiply the sample rate by the sample resolution to get the number of bits per second
Multiply the number of bits per second by the length of the track to get the total number of
bits
Divide the total number of bits by 8 to get the file size in bytes
If necessary, convert to larger units like kibibytes, mebibytes, etc

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YOUR NOTES
 Worked Example

Calculating sound file size walkthrough:
A sound clip uses 48KHz sample rate, 24 bit resolution and is 30 seconds long.
48000 x 24 = 1152000 bits per second x 30 = 34560000 bits for the whole clip
34560000 ÷ 8 = 4320000 bytes ÷ 1024 = 4218.75 kibibytes ÷ 1024 = 4.12
mebibytes

 Exam Tip
Remember to always use the units specified in the question when giving the final
answer.

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Compression YOUR NOTES


Compression
Lossless Compression:
A compression algorithm is used to reduces the file size without permanently
removing any data
Repeated patterns in the file are identified and indexed
Techniques like run-length encoding (RLE) and Huffman encoding are used
RLE replaces sequences of repeated characters with a code that represents the
character and the number of times it is repeated
Huffman encoding replaces frequently used characters with shorter codes and less
frequently used characters with longer codes

Lossy Compression:
Lossy compression reduces the file size by permanently removing some data from
the file
This method is often used for images and audio files where minor details or data can
be removed without significantly impacting the quality
Techniques like downsampling, reducing resolution or colour depth, and reducing
the sample rate or resolution are used for lossy compression
The amount of data removed depends on the level of compression selected and can
impact the quality of the final file

Overall:
Compression is necessary to reduce the size of large files for storage, transmission,
and faster processing
The choice between lossy and lossless compression methods depends on the type of
file and its intended use
Lossy compression is generally used for media files where minor data loss is
acceptable while lossless compression is used for text, code, and archival purposes

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