Binary Number System

Computers use binary digits. And some puzzles can be solved using binary numbers. A Binary Number is made up of only 0s and 1s.

110100
Example of a Binary Number There is no 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 or 9 in Binary!

How do we Count using Binary? Binary 0 1 ???

We start at 0 Then 1 But then there is no symbol for 2 ... what do we do?

Decimal
Well how do we count in Decimal?

0 ... 9 10

Start at 0 Count 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, and then... This is the last digit in Decimal So we start back at 0 again, but add 1 on the left

The same thing is done in binary ...

Binary 0
Start at 0 Then 1 Now start back at 0 again, but add 1 on the left

1 10

11 ???

1 more But NOW what ... ?

Decimal
What happens in Decimal ... ?

99 100

When we run out of digits, we ... ... start back at 0 again, but add 1 on the left

And that is what we do in binary ...

Binary 0
Start at 0 Then 1 Start back at 0 again, but add 1 on the left

1 10 11 100 101 110 111 1000 1001

start back at 0 again, and add one to the number on the left... ... but that number is already at 1 so it also goes back to 0 ... ... and 1 is added to the next position on the left

Start back at 0 again (for all 3 digits), add 1 on the left And so on!

See how it is done in this little demonstration (press play):

Decimal vs Binary
Here are some equivalent values:

Decimal: Binary:

0 0

10

11

12

13

14

15

1 10 11 100 101 110 111 1000 1001 1010 1011 1100 1101 1110 1111

Here are some larger equivalent values:

Decimal: Binary:

20 10100

25 11001

30 11110

40 101000

50 110010

100 1100100

200 11001000

500 111110100

"Binary is as easy as 1, 10, 11." Position

In the Decimal System there are the Units, Tens, Hundreds, etc In Binary, there are Units, Twos, Fours, etc, like this:

This is 18 + 14 + 02 + 1

+ 1(1/2) + 0(1/4) + 1(1/8) = 13.625 in Decimal

Numbers can be placed to the left or right of the point, to indicate values greater than one or less than one.

10.1
The number to the left of the point is a whole number (10 for example) As we move further left, every number place gets 2 times bigger.

The first digit on the right means halves (1/2).

As we move further right, every number place gets 2 times smaller (half as big).

Example: 10.1
The "10" means 2 in decimal, The ".1" means half, So "10.1" in binary is 2.5 in decimal

You can do conversions at Binary to Decimal to Hexadecimal Converter.

Words
The word binary comes from "Bi-" meaning two. We see "bi-" in words such as "bicycle" (two wheels) or "binocular" (two eyes). When you say a binary number, pronounce each digit (example, the binary number "101" is spoken as "one zero one", or sometimes "one-oh-one"). This way people don't get confused with the decimal number. A single binary digit (like "0" or "1") is called a "bit". For example 11010 is five bits long. The word bit is made up from the words "binary digit"

How to Show that a Number is Binary

To show that a number is a binary number, follow it with a little 2 like this: 1012 This way people won't think it is the decimal number "101" (one hundred and one).

Examples
Example: What is 11112 in Decimal?
The "1" on the left is in the "222" position, so that means 1222 (=8) The next "1" is in the "22" position, so that means 122 (=4) The next "1" is in the "2" position, so that means 12 (=2) The last "1" is in the units position, so that means 1 Answer: 1111 = 8+4+2+1 = 15 in Decimal

Example: What is 10012 in Decimal?

The "1" on the left is in the "222" position, so that means 1222 (=8) The "0" is in the "22" position, so that means 022 (=0) The next "0" is in the "2" position, so that means 02 (=0) The last "1" is in the units position, so that means 1 Answer: 1001 = 8+0+0+1 = 9 in Decimal

Example: What is 1.12 in Decimal?

The "1" on the left side is in the units position, so that means 1. The 1 on the right side is in the "halves" position, so that means 1(1/2) So, 1.1 is "1 and 1 half" = 1.5 in Decimal

Example: What is 10.112 in Decimal?

The "1" is in the "2" position, so that means 12 (=2) The "0" is in the units position, so that means 0 The "1" on the right of the point is in the "halves" position, so that means 1(1/2) The last "1" on the right side is in the "quarters" position, so that means 1(1/4) So, 10.11 is 2+0+1/2+1/4 = 2.75 in Decimal

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who understand binary numbers, and those who don't."

Question 1
Convert the decimal number 76 to binary.

A
1010100

B
1001100

C
1001010

D
1001000

Answer to Question 2
Convert the decimal number 193 to binary.

A
10100001

B
11000000

C
11000001

D
11000010

Answer to Question 3
Convert the decimal number 18.25 to binary.

A
10010.01

B
10010.011

C
10010.1

D
10010.11

Decimals
A Decimal Number (based on the number 10) contains a Decimal Point.

Place Value
To understand decimal numbers you must first know about Place Value. When we write numbers, the position (or "place") of each number is important. In the number

327:

the "7" is in the Units position, meaning just 7 (or 7 "1"s), the "2" is in the Tens position meaning 2 tens (or twenty), and the "3" is in the Hundreds position, meaning 3 hundreds.

"Three Hundred Twenty Seven"

As we move left, each position is From Units, to Tens, to Hundreds

10 times bigger!

... and ...

As we move right, each position is

10 times smaller.

From Hundreds, to Tens, to Units

But what if we continue past Units? What is 10 times smaller than Units?

/10 ths (Tenths) are!

But we must first write a decimal point, so we know exactly where the Units position is:

"three hundred twenty seven and four tenths" but we usually just say "three hundred twenty seven point four"

And that is a Decimal Number!

Have a play with decimal numbers yourself:

View Larger

Decimal Point
The decimal point is the most important part of a Decimal Number. It is exactly to the right of the Units position. Without it, we would be lost ... and not know what each position meant. Now we can continue with smaller and smaller values, from tenths, to hundredths, and so on, like in this example:

Large and Small

So, our Decimal System lets us write numbers as large or as small as we want, using the decimal point. Numbers can be placed to the left or right of a decimal point, to indicate values greater than one or less than one.

17.591
The number to the left of the decimal point is a whole number (17 for example) As we move further left, every number place gets 10 times bigger.

The first digit on the right means tenths (1/10).

As we move further right, every number place gets 10 times smaller (one tenth as big).

Play with it ...

See decimals on the Zoomable Number Line

Definition of Decimal

The word "Decimal" really means "based on 10" (From Latin decima: a tenth part). We sometimes say "decimal" when we mean anything to do with our numbering system, but a "Decimal Number" usually means there is a Decimal Point.

Ways to think about Decimal Numbers ...

... as a Whole Number Plus Tenths, Hundredths, etc
You could think of a decimal number as a whole number plus tenths, hundredths, etc:

Example 1: What is 2.3 ?

On the left side is "2", that is the whole number part. The 3 is in the "tenths" position, meaning "3 tenths", or 3/10 So, 2.3 is "2 and 3 tenths"

Example 2: What is 13.76 ?

On the left side is "13", that is the whole number part. There are two digits on the right side, the 7 is in the "tenths" position, and the 6 is the "hundredths" position So, 13.76 is "13 and 7 tenths and 6 hundredths"

... as a Decimal Fraction

Or, you could think of a decimal number as a Decimal Fraction. A Decimal Fraction is a fraction where the denominator (the bottom number) is a number such as 10, 100, 1000, etc (in other words a power of ten)

So "2.3" would look like this:

23

10 1376 And "13.76" would look like this: 100

... as a Whole Number and Decimal Fraction

Or, you could think of a decimal number as a Whole Number plus a Decimal Fraction. 3 So "2.3" would look like this: 2 and 10 76 And "13.76" would look like this: 13 and 100 Those are all good ways to think of decimal numbers.

Hexadecimals
A Hexadecimal Number is based on the number 16

16 Different Values
There are 16 Hexadecimal digits. They are the same as the decimal digits up to 9, but then there are the letters A, B, C, D, E and F in place of the decimal numbers 10 to 15: Hexadecimal: Decimal: 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 A B C D E F

10 11 12 13 14 15

So a single Hexadecimal digit can show 16 different values instead of the normal 10.

Counting
Choose "Hexadecimal" below and watch it count:

When the "Units" position is filled up (when we reach "F"), the units start back at 0, and we add "1" to the next position on the left. When that position reaches "F", we do the same thing, and so on. As we move left, every number place is 16 times bigger.

Example: What is the decimal value of the hexadecimal number "D1CE"

= 53,248 + 256 + 192 + 14 = 53,710

The Point
Example: 2E6.A3

This is 21616 + 1416 + 6 + 10/16 + 3/(1616) Read below to find out why Numbers can be placed to the left or right of the point, to indicate values greater than one or less than one: The number just to the left of the point is a whole number, we call this place units. As we move left, every number place its 16 times bigger. The first digit on the right of the point means sixteenths (1/16). As we move further right, every number place its 16 times smaller (one sixteenth as big).

More Examples
Example 1: What is 2E6 (Hexadecimal)?
The "2" is in the "1616" position, so that means 21616 The "E" is in the "16" position, so that means 1416 The "6" is in the "Units" position so that means 6. Answer: 2E6 = 21616 + 1416 + 6 (=742 in Decimal)

Example 2: What is 2.3 (Hexadecimal)?

On the left side is "2", that is the whole number part. The 3 is in the "sixteenths" position, meaning "3 sixteenths", or 3/16

So, 2.3 is "2 and 3 sixteenths" (=2.1875 in Decimal)

The Word "Hexadecimal"

The word "Hexadecimal" means "based on 16" (From Greek hexa: "six" and Latin decima: "a tenth part").

Question 1
Numbers (Year 8, General)

Convert the decimal number 81 to a hexadecimal number

A
47

B
51

C
5B

D
129

Question 2
Convert the decimal number 30 to a hexadecimal number

A
1E

B
1G

C
28

D
48

Question 3
Numbers (Year 8, General)

Convert the decimal number 299 to a hexadecimal number

A
665

B
18F

C
12F

D
12B