Chapter Two

Number systems, operations

and codes
 1. Decimal Numbers

▪ Decimal digits are those count from 0 to 9 (i.e. 0,1,2,…,9)

▪ We can express different numbers by combining these ten digits
▪ The position of each digit in a weighted number system is assigned
a weight based on the base or radix of the system.
▪ The radix of decimal numbers is ten, because only ten symbols (0
through 9) are used to represent any number.
▪ The column weights of decimal numbers are powers of ten that
increase from right to left beginning with 100 =1:
…105 104 103 102 101 100.
▪ For fractional decimal numbers, the column weights are
negative powers of ten that decrease from left to right:
102 101 100. 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 …
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▪ Decimal numbers can be expressed as the sum of the products

of each digit times the column value for that digit. Thus, the
number 9240 can be expressed as

(9 x 103) + (2 x 102) + (4 x 101) + (0 x 100)

or
9 x 1,000 + 2 x 100 + 4 x 10 + 0 x 1

Express the number 480.52 as the sum of values of each

digit.

480.52 = (4 x 102) + (8 x 101) + (0 x 100) + (5 x 10-1) +(2 x 10-2)

 2. Binary Numbers

▪ For digital systems, the binary number system is used.

▪ Binary has a radix of two and uses the digits 0 and 1 to
represent quantities.
▪ The column weights of binary numbers are powers of two
that increase from right to left beginning with 20 =1:
…25 24 23 22 21 20.
▪ For fractional binary numbers, the column weights are
negative powers of two that decrease from left to right:

22 21 20. 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 …

 continued…
Decimal Binary
Number Number
▪ A binary counting sequence for 0 0000
numbers from zero to fifteen is shown. 1 0001
2 0010
▪ Notice the pattern of zeros and 3 0011
ones in each column. 4 0100
5 0101
▪ Digital counters frequently have this 6 0110
same pattern of digits: 7 0111
8 1000
9 1001
Counter 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 Decoder
10 1010
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
11 1011
12 1100
0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0
13 1101
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
14 1110
15 1111
 2.1 Binary Conversions

▪ The decimal equivalent of a binary number can be determined

by adding the column values of all of the bits that are 1 and
discarding all of the bits that are 0.

Convert the binary number 100101.01 to decimal.

Start by writing the column weights; then add the

weights that correspond to each 1 in the number.
25 24 23 22 21 20. 2-1 2-2
32 16 8 4 2 1 . ½ ¼
1 0 0 1 0 1. 0 1
32 +4 +1 +¼ = 37¼
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▪ You can convert a decimal whole number to binary by reversing

the procedure.
▪ Write the decimal weight of each column and place 1’s in the
columns that sum to the decimal number.
Convert the decimal number 49 to binary.

The column weights double in each position to the

right. Write down column weights until the last
number is larger than the one you want to convert.
26 25 24 23 22 2 1 20.
64 32 16 8 4 2 1.
0 1 1 0 0 0 1.
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▪ You can convert a decimal fraction to binary by repeatedly

multiplying the fractional results of successive multiplications
by 2.
▪ The carries generated forms the binary number.

Convert the decimal fraction 0.188 to binary by

repeatedly multiplying the fractional results by 2.

0.188 x 2 = 0.376 carry = 0 MSB

0.376 x 2 = 0.752 carry = 0
0.752 x 2 = 1.504 carry = 1
0.504 x 2 = 1.008 carry = 1
0.008 x 2 = 0.016 carry = 0
Answer = .00110 (for five significant digits)
 continued…

▪ You can convert decimal to any other base by repeatedly

dividing by the base. For binary, repeatedly divide by 2:
▪ The binary number is formed by the remainders generated
Convert the decimal number 49 to binary by
repeatedly dividing by 2.
You can do this by “reverse division” and the
answer will read from left to right. Put quotients to
the left and remainders on top.
Answer: 1 1 0 0 0 1 remainder
0 1 3 6 12 24 49 2
Continue until the Decimal
Quotient base
last quotient is 0 number
2.2 Binary Addition

The rules for binary addition are

0+0=0 Sum = 0, carry = 0
0+1=0 Sum = 1, carry = 0
1+0=0 Sum = 1, carry = 0
1 + 1 = 10 Sum = 0, carry = 1
When an input carry = 1 due to a previous result, the rules
are
1 + 0 + 0 = 01 Sum = 1, carry = 0
1 + 0 + 1 = 10 Sum = 0, carry = 1
1 + 1 + 0 = 10 Sum = 0, carry = 1
1 + 1 + 1 = 11 Sum = 1, carry = 1
continued…

Add the binary numbers 00111 and 10101 and show

the equivalent decimal addition.

0111
00111 7
10101 21
11100 = 28
2.3 Binary Subtraction

The rules for binary subtraction are

0-0=0
1-1=0
1-0=1
10 - 1 = 1 with a borrow of 1
Subtract the binary number 00111 from 10101 and
show the equivalent decimal subtraction.
111
10101
/ / / 21
00111 7
01110 = 14
 1’s Complement

▪ The 1’s complement of a binary number is just the inverse of the

digits.
▪ To form the 1’s complement, change all 0’s to 1’s and all 1’s to 0’s.

▪ For example, the 1’s complement of 11001010 is

00110101

▪ In digital circuits, the 1’s complement is formed by using

inverters:
1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0

0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
 2’s Complement

▪ The 2’s complement of a binary number is found by adding 1

to the LSB of the 1’s complement.

Recall that the 1’s complement of 11001010 is

00110101 (1’s complement)

To form the 2’s complement, add 1: +1

1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 00110110 (2’s complement)
1

0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1
Input bits
Carry
Adder
in (add 1)
Output bits (sum)

0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
 2.4 Signed Binary Numbers

▪ There are several ways to represent signed binary numbers.

▪ In all cases, the MSB in a signed number is the sign bit, that
tells you if the number is positive or negative.

✓ Computers use a modified 2’s complement for signed numbers.

✓ Positive numbers are stored in true form (with a 0 for the sign bit)
and negative numbers are stored in complement form (with a 1 for
the sign bit).
For example, the positive number 58 is written using 8-bits as
00111010 (true form).

Sign bit Magnitude bits

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▪ Negative numbers are written as the 2’s complement of

the corresponding positive number.

The negative number -58 is written as:

-58 = 11000110 (complement form)
Sign bit Magnitude bits
An easy way to read a signed number that uses this notation is to
assign the sign bit a column weight of -128 (for an 8-bit number).
Then add the column weights for the 1’s.
Assuming that the sign bit = -128, show that 11000110 = -58
as a 2’s complement signed number:
Column weights: -128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1.
1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
-128 +64 +4 +2 = -58
 2.5 Arithmetic Operations with Signed Numbers

▪ Using the signed number notation with negative numbers in

2’s complement form simplifies addition and subtraction of
signed numbers.
▪ Rules for addition: Add the two signed numbers. Discard
any final carries. The result is in signed form.

Examples:
00011110 = +30 00001110 = +14 11111111 = -1
00001111 = +15 11101111 = -17 11111000 = -8
00101101 = +45 11111101 = -3 1 11110111 = -9
Discard carry
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▪ Note that if the number of bits required for the answer is

exceeded, overflow will occur.
▪ This occurs only if both numbers have the same sign.
▪ The overflow will be indicated by an incorrect sign bit.

Two examples are:

01000000 = +128 10000001 = -127
01000001 = +129 10000001 = -127
10000001 = -126 Discard carry 100000010 = +2

Wrong! The answer is incorrect

and the sign bit has changed.
 continued…

▪ Rules for subtraction: 2’s complement the subtrahend and

add the numbers. Discard any final carries. The result is in
signed form.

Repeat the examples done previously, but subtract:

00011110 (+30) 00001110 (+14) 11111111 (-1)

- 00001111 –(+15) - 11101111 –(-17) - 11111000 –(-8)
2’s complement subtrahend and add:
00011110 = +30 00001110 = +14 11111111 = -1
11110001 = -15 00010001 = +17 00001000 = +8
1 00001111 = +15 00011111 = +31 1 00000111 = +7
Discard carry Discard carry
 3. Hexadecimal Numbers
Decimal Hexadecimal Binary
▪ Hexadecimal uses sixteen characters 0 0 0000
to represent numbers: the numbers 0 1 1 0001
through 9 and the alphabetic 2 2 0010
characters A through F. 3 3 0011
4 4 0100
5 5 0101
▪ Large binary number can easily be
6 6 0110
converted to hexadecimal by 7 7 0111
grouping bits 4 at a time and writing 8 8 1000
the equivalent hexadecimal 9 9 1001
character. 10 A 1010
11 B 1011
Express 1001 0110 0000 11102 in 12 C 1100
hexadecimal: 13 D 1101
Group the binary number by 4-bits 14 E 1110
starting from the right. Thus, 960E 15 F 1111
 continued…
Decimal Hexadecimal Binary
▪ Hexadecimal is a weighted number 0 0 0000
system. 1 1 0001
2 2 0010
▪ The column weights are powers of 3 3 0011
16, which increase from right to 4 4 0100
left. 5 5 0101
6 6 0110
7 7 0111
Column weights {4096
3 2 1
16 16 16 16 .
256 16 1 .
0

8 8 1000
9 9 1001
Express 1A2F16 in decimal. 10 A 1010
11 B 1011
Start by writing the column weights:
12 C 1100
4096 256 16 1
13 D 1101
1 A 2 F16
14 E 1110
1(4096) + 10(256) +2(16) +15(1) = 670310 15 F 1111
 4. Octal Numbers
Decimal Octal Binary
▪ Octal uses eight characters the
0 0 0000
numbers 0 through 7 to represent 1 1 0001
numbers. There is no 8 or 9 2 2 0010
character in octal. 3 3 0011
4 4 0100
▪ Binary number can easily be 5 5 0101
converted to octal by grouping bits 3 6 6 0110
at a time and writing the equivalent 7 7 0111
8 10 1000
octal character for each group.
9 11 1001
10 12 1010
Express 1 001 011 000 001 1102 in
11 13 1011
octal:
12 14 1100
Group the binary number by 3-bits 13 15 1101
starting from the right. Thus, 1130168 14 16 1110
15 17 1111
 continued…
Decimal Octal Binary
▪ Octal is also a weighted number 0 0 0000
system. 1 1 0001
2 2 0010
▪ The column weights are powers of 3 3 0011
8, which increase from right to left. 4 4 0100
5 5 0101
6 6 0110
7 7 0111
Column weights {5128
3 82
64
81
8
80 .
1 . 8 10 1000
9 11 1001
Express 37028 in decimal. 10 12 1010
11 13 1011
Start by writing the column weights:
12 14 1100
512 64 8 1
13 15 1101
3 7 0 28
14 16 1110
3(512) + 7(64) +0(8) +2(1) = 198610 15 17 1111
 5. BCD
Decimal Binary BCD
▪ Binary coded decimal (BCD) is 0 0000 0000
a weighted code that is 1 0001 0001
commonly used in digital 2 0010 0010
3 0011 0011
systems when it is necessary to
4 0100 0100
show decimal numbers such as 5 0101 0101
in clock displays. 6 0110 0110
7 0111 0111
• The table illustrates the difference 8 1000 1000
between straight binary and BCD. 9 1001 1001
BCD represents each decimal digit 10 1010 0001 0000
with a 4-bit code. 11 1011 0001 0001
12 1100 0001 0010
• Notice that the codes 1010 through
13 1101 0001 0011
1111 are not used in BCD.
14 1110 0001 0100
15 1111 0001 0101
 6. Gray code
Decimal Binary Gray code

▪ Gray code is an unweighted code 0 0000 0000

1 0001 0001
that has a single bit change 2 0010 0011
between one code word and the 3 0011 0010
next in a sequence. 4 0100 0110
5 0101 0111
▪ Gray code is used to avoid 6 0110 0101
problems in systems where an 7 0111 0100
error can occur if more than one 8 1000 1100
bit changes at a time. 9 1001 1101
10 1010 1111
11 1011 1110
12 1100 1010
13 1101 1011
14 1110 1001
15 1111 1000
 7. ASCII

▪ ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

is a code for alphanumeric characters and control characters.
▪ In its original form, ASCII encoded 128 characters and symbols
using 7-bits.
▪ The first 32 characters are control characters, that are based on
obsolete teletype requirements, so these characters are generally
assigned to other functions in modern usage.
▪ In 1981, IBM (International Business Machines) introduced
extended ASCII, which is an 8-bit code and increased the
character set to 256.
▪ Other extended sets (such as Unicode) have been introduced to
handle characters in languages other than English.