Chapter 2: Number System

Q1: What is a number system?

Ans: A number system is a way to represent numbers using a set of symbols and rules. In
computing, number systems represent, store, and process data. Different number systems
include:

• Decimal system (Base-10): Uses digits 0–9; used in daily life.

• Binary system (Base-2): Uses digits 0 and 1; used by computers.

• Octal system (Base-8): Uses digits 0–7; each digit equals 3 binary bits.

• Hexadecimal system (Base-16): Uses digits 0–9 and letters A–F.

Q2: Define the Decimal system.

Ans: The decimal number system is a base-10 number system that consists of digits from 0
to 9, and we use it in everyday life. That's why each digit of the number represents a power
of 10, e.g., 829

Q3: Define a Binary system.

Ans: Binary is a base-2 number system that comprises only digits 0 and 1.

Each digit represents the power of 2. e.g., 10011.

Q4: Explain why computers use the binary number system and how different types of
data are represented using it.

Ans: Computers work in a binary system, especially because this method fits well with
electronics. Digital circuits have two states: They can be either on or off. These states are
easily represented by the binary digits: 1 represents ON, and 0 represents OFF. When
typing on the keyboard, the computer translates every letter into a binary. Similarly,
number, text, images, and sound are all, at their lowest level, reduced to binary.

Q5: How can a decimal number be converted into binary? Describe the algorithm

Ans: The following algorithm converts a decimal number to binary.

1. To convert a decimal number to binary form, divide the decimal number by 2.

2. Record the remainder.

3. Divide the number by 2 until the quotient, which is left after division, is 0.
4. Meaning it is represented by the remainders and it's read from the bottom to the top of
the binary number.

Example: Convert 83 to binary

83 / 2 = 41 remainder 1

41 / 2 = 20 remainder 1

20 / 2 = 10 remainder 0

10 / 2 = 5 remainder 0

5 / 2 = 2 remainder 1

2 / 2 = 1 remainder 0

1/ 2 = 0 remainder 1

If the remainders are read from bottom to top, it gives the required result in binary,
1010011.

Q6: Define an Octal Number System.

Ans: The Octal number system is another number system that has eight (8) as its base;
thus, it has eight digits, 0 to 7. Each digit represents a power of 8, this can be expressed as
8-digit

Q7: Why is each digit in the octal number system represented by precisely three bits?

Ans: Each octal digit represents three binary digits (bits) because the octal system is base-
8, while the binary system is base-2. This relationship arises from the fact that 8 is a power
of 2, specifically, 8 = 2^3 As a result, each octal digit can be precisely represented by a
group of three binary bits.

Q8: How can a decimal number be converted into Octal? Describe the algorithm

Ans: The algorithm converts a decimal number into an octal.

1. To convert the decimal number to an equivalent octal number, divide the number by 8.

2. Write down the remainder.

3. After that, divide the obtained quotient by 8.

4. Continue the divisions until one of the numbers results in 0.

5. Octal is a base-eight number, and the octal number is the remainder read from the
bottom up to the top.
Example: Convert 83 to octal

• 83 / 8 = 10 remainder 3

• 10 / 8 = 1 remainder 2

• 1 / 8 = 0 remainder 1

Now 123 is in the octal system.

Q9: Define the Hexadecimal Number System.

Ans: The Hexadecimal numbering system is another type of number system with a base of
16, where the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A-F are used.

Q10: Why is each digit in the Hexadecimal number system represented by precisely
four bits?

Ans: Each hexadecimal digit represents four binary digits (bits) because the hexadecimal
system is base-16, and the binary system is base-2. This means every single hexadecimal
digit is equal to a 4-bit binary value. This relationship exists because 16 is a power of 2 —
specifically, 16=2^4. Therefore, any hexadecimal number from 0 to 15 can be directly
converted into a 4-bit binary number.

Q11: How can a decimal number be converted into hexadecimal? Describe the
algorithm.

Ans: The following algorithm converts a decimal number to hexadecimal:

1. Convert the decimal number to an absolute value by dividing it by 16.

2. Record the quotient and the remainder.

3. Continue dividing the quotient by 16 and write down the remainder until the quotient is
zero.

4. The hexadecimal number, as you might have guessed, is the remainder read

from bottom to top.

Example: Convert 2297 to hexadecimal

2297 / 16 = 143 remainder 9

143 / 16 = 8 remainder F
8 / 16 = 0 remainder 8
Now 8F9 is in hexadecimal.

Q12: Define whole numbers.

Ans: Whole numbers are a set of non-negative integers. They include zero and all the
positive integers. Mathematically, the set of whole numbers is: W = {0,1,2, 3...}.

Q13: Define integer numbers.

Ans: Integers extend the concept of whole numbers to include negative numbers. In
computer programming, we call them signed integers. The set of integers is represented as:
Z = {..., -3, -2, -1,0,1,2, 3...}.

There are mainly two types of integers based on how they store values:

Signed integer: Signed integers can represent both positive and negative numbers.

Unsigned integer: Unsigned integers can only represent non-negative numbers (0 and
positive numbers).

Q14: Define a Bit.

Ans: A bit is the smallest piece of data a computer uses. It can only be a 0 or a 1, like a light
switch that is either off (0) or on (1).

Q15: Define a Byte.

Ans: A byte is a group of 8 bits. It’s used to store information in a computer, like a letter, a
number, or a symbol. For example, letter A is stored as 1 byte in memory.

Q16: What are the maximum and minimum values represented in a Byte?

Ans: A 1-byte integer has 8 bits to store a value.

• If all 8 bits are 1 (like this: 11111111), it shows the maximum value, which is 255.

• If all bits are 0 (like this: 00000000), it shows the minimum value, which is 0.

This is how computers use bits to count and store numbers.

Q17: What is the formula for calculating the maximum value of an unsigned integer
with n bits, and what are the maximum values for 1,2,3 byte integers?

Ans: The formula to calculate the maximum value for an unsigned integer with n bits is:

2n-1.

• 1-byte (8 bits): Maximum value = 28 −1=255.

 • 2-byte (16 bits): Maximum value =216-1=65,535.

• 4-byte (32 bits): Maximum value = 232-1=4,294,967,295.

Q18: How are signed integers stored in computer memory, and what is the formula for
calculating the maximum positive value in an n-bit signed integer?

Ans: When storing both positive and negative values in an integer, one bit is used as the
sign bit (usually the most significant bit, or MSB).

• If the sign bit is 1, the number is negative.

• If the sign bit is 0, the number is positive.

Example (1-byte signed integer):

• 8 bits (1 byte) are used for storing the value. The first bit is the sign bit.

• The remaining 7 bits are used to store the value.

• The maximum positive value that can be stored is when the sign bit is 0 and the rest
of the bits are all 1 (i.e., 01111111), which equals 127.

This is because with 7 bits left for the value, the maximum you can represent is 27−1=127.

General Formula for Maximum Signed Value:

For an n-bit signed integer, the maximum positive value can be calculated as:

2(n−1)-1

Examples:

• 1-byte (8 bits): Maximum positive value = 2(8−1)−1=127.

• 2-byte (16 bits): Maximum positive value = 2(16−1)−1=32,767.

• 4-byte (32 bits): Maximum positive value = 2(32−1)−1=2,147,483,647.

Q19: How do Computers Store Negative Values in computer Memory?

Ans: To store negative values, computers use a method called two's complement.

Steps to Find the Two's Complement:

1. Invert all bits (change 0s to 1s, and 1s to 0s).

2. Add 1 to the Least Significant Bit (LSB).

Example: Convert -5 to 8-bit Binary

 1. Start with the binary of +5: 00000101 (in binary)

2. Invert all bits (1's complement): 11111010.

3. Add 1 (to get 2's complement): 11111010 + 1 = 11111011.

-5 in 8-bit two's complement is 11111011₂.

Q20: Explain how the minimum value for an 8-bit signed integer is calculated using
two’s complements.

Ans: For an 8-bit signed integer (1 byte):

• An 8-bit number has values from 0 to 255 in unsigned form.

• In two’s complement, the most significant bit (MSB) is the sign bit:

o 0 = positive

o 1 = negative

To find the minimum value:

1. Turn ON the sign bit and set all other bits OFF:
Binary: 10000000

2. This represents the value: -27=128

Minimum value (8-bit signed integer) = -128

For a 16-bit signed integer (2 bytes):

• Use the same formula: Minimum value=-2n-1

Where n=16: −215=−32,768

For a 32-bit signed integer (4 bytes):

• Use the same formula: Minimum value=-2n-1

Where n=32: −231=−2,147,483,648

Q21: Define real values?

Ans: In computers, real values, also known as floating-point numbers, represent numbers
with fractions and/or decimals.

Q22: Explain how floating-point numbers are represented in a computer?

Ans: Floating-point numbers (real values) are represented in computers using a format like
scientific notation. The general structure is:

Floating-point number= sign × mantissa × 2exponent

Example: the decimal number 5.75 is represented as:

5.75=1.4375 × 22

Q23: Describe the process for converting the fractional part of a decimal number to
binary.

Ans: To convert the fractional part of a real number from decimal to binary (base-2):

1. Multiply the fractional part by 2

2. Write down the integer part (0 or 1)

3. Repeat the process with the new fractional part

4. Stop when the fractional part becomes 0 or when the required precision is reached

Example: Converting 4.625 to Binary

Step 1: Convert Integer Part (4)

4 ÷ 2 = 2 → remainder 0
2 ÷ 2 = 1 → remainder 0
1 ÷ 2 = 0 → remainder 1

Binary: 100

Step 2: Convert Fractional Part (0.625)

• 0.625 × 2 = 1.25 → 1

• 0.25 × 2 = 0.5 → 0

• 0.5 × 2 = 1.0 → 1

Binary: .101

Final Binary Result:

4.625₁₀ = 100.101₂

Example: Converting 0.375 to Binary

1. Identify the Fractional Part: Fractional part: 0.375

2. Convert the Fractional Part 0.375 to Binary:

0.375 x 2 = 0.75 (Integer part: 0)

0.75 x 2 = 1.5 (Integer part: 1)

0.5 x 2 = 1.0 (Integer part: 1)

The integer parts recorded are 0, 1, 1.

3. Combine the Results: Combine the binary representations of the integer parts

from top to bottom:

0.375 = 0.011 10 2

Q24: what are the two commonly used standards for binary representation of real
numbers?

Ans: The two commonly used standards for binary representation of real numbers in
computing are

• Single Precision (32-bit)

• Double Precision (64-bit).

These standards define the format for floating-point numbers used in computers.

Q25: How are the 32 bits organized in the standard for representing single-precision
floating-point numbers?

Ans: In this standard, 4 bytes (or 32 bits) are assigned where the 1st bit is the sign bit, and
the next 8 bits are for the exponent, and the remaining 23 bits are for the mantissa.

What is the purpose of the sign bit in the floating-point representation?

The sign bit determines whether the number is positive or negative.

• If the sign bit is 0, the number is positive.

• If the sign bit is 1, the number is negative.

Q26: How is the exponent stored and interpreted in a single precision format?
Ans: The exponent is stored using a method called "biased exponent".

• In the single-precision (32-bit) format, the exponent is 8 bits long.

• It uses a bias of 127, meaning the actual exponent value is calculated as:
 Actual exponent=Stored exponent−127

This allows for both positive and negative exponents.

Q27: What is the role of the mantissa, and how does it affect the precision of the
number?
Ans: The mantissa holds the actual digits of the number (after the decimal).
It decides how accurate or precise the number is. The more detail in the mantissa, the
more exact the number.

Q28: What is the range of exponents and value range in single precision?

Ans: The exponent ranges between 126 and +127 for single precision. The approximate
range of values from 1.4 x 10-45 to 3.4 x 1038

Q29: How are 32-bit floating point values represented in binary form?

Ans : Each floating-point value is broken down into three main components: the sign bit,
the exponent, and the mantissa. the bit allocation for the 32-bit floating point format: 1 bit
for the sign, 8 bits for the exponent, and 23 bits for the mantissa.

Example Decimal number: 5.75

Step 1: Convert to binary

5 = 101 5/2=2 remainder1

0.75 = 0.11
2/2-1 remainder 0
0.75 x 2= 1.5 integral 1 1/2=0 remainder 1

0.5 x 2 = 1.0 integral 1 5=101

As a fraction remains 0, stop it

So, 5.75 in binary = 101.11

Step 2: Normalize the binary

We write 101.11 as: 1.0111 × 2²

Representation in scientific notation: 1.0111 (binary) means:

• The first digit 1 is 1 × 2⁰ = 1

• The second digit 0 is 0 × 2⁻¹ = 0

• The third digit 1 is 1 × 2⁻² = 0.25

• The fourth digit 1 is 1 × 2⁻³ = 0.125

 • The fifth digit 1 is 1 × 2⁻⁴ = 0.0625

Now, we add up all these values:

1+0+0.25+0.125+0.0625=1.43751 =>1.4375 x22

Step 3: Sign bit

Since 5.75 is positive, the sign bit = 0

Step 4: Exponent

Exponent = 2
In single precision, we add a bias of 127
So:
2 + 127 = 129
129 in binary = 10000001

Step 5: Mantissa (23 bits)

We take the digits after the binary point in 1.0111, which are: 01110000000000000000000
(fill with 0s to make 23 bits).

Q30: What is the range of exponents and value range in Double precision?

In double precision, the exponent is represented using 11 bits. The exponent is

stored in a biased form, with a bias of 1023.

The range of the actual exponent values can be determined as follows:

• Bias: 1023

• Exponent range: The actual exponent values range from -1022 to +1023.

Therefore, the smallest and largest possible exponent values in double precision are:

• Minimum exponent: -1022

• Maximum exponent: +1023

Q31: Define a Binary Arithmetic operation:

Ans: Arithmetic operations mean addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division

performed on numbers in the given base. Binary arithmetic involves performing these
operations on numbers in binary form, or base 2.

Q32: How do you add two binary numbers?

Binary addition uses only two digits: 0 and 1.

Binary Addition Rules

Binary addition follows these simple rules:

1. 0 + 0 = 0

2. 0 + 1 = 1

3. 1 + 0 = 1

4. 1 + 1 = 0 (with a carry of 1 to the next higher bit)

Example of Binary Addition In this example:

Example 1: • 1 + 1 = 0 (carry 1)
1101 • 0 + 1 + 1 (carry) = 0 (carry 1)
+1011 • 1 + 0 + 1 (carry) = 0 (carry 1)
11000 • 1 + 1 + 1 (carry) = 1 (carry 1)

Q33: How to subtract two binary numbers?

Ans: In binary arithmetic, subtraction can also be done by adding the two complements.

Example: Subtract 6 from 9 in Binary

Minuend = 9 = 10012

Subtrahend = 6 = 01102

Step 1: Find the Two's Complement of the Subtrahend

• Invert the bits of 0110 2

Inversion: 10012

• Add 1 to the inverted number:

10012 + 12 = 10102 = -610

Step 2: Add the Minuend and the Two's Complement of the Subtrahend

10012 +10102 = 100112

Step 3: Discard the Carry Bit

100112 Discard carry 00112 = 310

So, 9 - 6 = 3.

Q34: How do you multiply two binary numbers?

Ans: Binary numbers are base-2, consisting of only 0s and 1s.

Steps to Multiply Binary Numbers

1. Write down the binary numbers, aligning them by the least significant bit (rightmost bit).

2. Multiply each bit of the second number by each bit of the first number, similar

to the long multiplication method in decimal.

3. Shift the partial results one place to the left for each

new row, starting from the second row.

4. Add all the partial results to get the final product

Example

Let's multiply two binary numbers: 1012 and 112

Q35: How to divide two binary numbers?

Ans: Binary division is similar to decimal division, but only involves two digits: 0 and 1.

Steps of Binary Division

1. Compare: Compare the divisor with the current portion of the dividend.

2. Subtract: Subtract the divisor from the dividend portion if the divisor is less

than or equal to the dividend.

3. Shift: Shift the next binary digit from the dividend down to the remainder.

4. Repeat: Repeat the process until all dividend digits have been used.

Example: Divide 1100₂ by 10₂

Step 1: Compare 10 with the first two digits (11), subtract 10

from 11
Step 2: Bring down the next digit (0)
Step 3: Compare 10 with 10, subtract 10 from 10
Step 4: Bring down the next digit (0), no more digits left
Result: 1100₂ ÷ 10₂ = 110₂

Q36: What are Text Encoding Schemes? Write its types.

Ans: Text encoding schemes are essential for representing characters from various
languages and symbols in a format that computers can understand and process.

Types of Text Encoding Schemes

• ASCII
• Extended ASCII
• Unicode
• UTF-8
• UTF-16
• UTF-32

Q37: What does the ASCII stand for, and how is it used in computers and similar
devices?

Ans: ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a
character encoding standard used to represent text in devices like computers and similar
systems. In ASCII, each letter, number, or symbol is assigned a unique code number
ranging from 0 to 127.

Q38: What is the purpose of using the ASCII code?

Ans: ASCII is used to help computers understand letters, numbers, and symbols by giving
each one a number. This helps different devices talk to each other using text.

Q39: What is Extended ASCII, and how does it differ from the standard ASCII table?

Ans: Extended ASCII is an 8-bit version of the standard ASCII table, expanding it to 256
characters. It includes additional symbols, accented letters, and other characters, while
the original 128 characters are the most used for text representation.

Q40: What is Unicode, and how does it differ from ASCII in terms of character
representation and encoding formats?

Ans: Unicode is a system for encoding all graphical characters from different writing
systems worldwide. Unlike ASCII's 128 characters, Unicode can represent over a million. It
uses formats like UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 for efficient character storage and display.
UTF stands for Unicode Transformation Format.

Q41: What is UTF-8, and how is it compatible with ASCII?

Ans: UTF-8 is a variable-length encoding scheme that can use 1 to 4 bytes to represent a
character. It is backward compatible with ASCII, meaning it can read and use ASCII-
encoded text without any issues. This allows text files written in ASCII to work perfectly with
UTF-8, supporting both old and new text formats.

Q42: How are characters like 'A' and the Urdu letter '‫ 'ب‬represented in UTF-8?

Ans: In UTF-8, the letter 'A' (Unicode U+0041) is represented in binary as 01000001, which
occupies 8 bits or 1 byte.

The Urdu letter '‫( 'ب‬Unicode U+0628) is represented in binary as 11011000 10101000,
which takes 2 bytes in UTF-8.

Q43: What is UTF-16, and how is it compatible with ASCII?

Ans: UTF-16 is another variable character encoding mechanism, although it uses either 2
or 4 bytes for each character. Unlike UTF-8, it is not compatible with ASCII, meaning it
cannot translate ASCII code.

Q44: How are characters like 'A' and the Urdu letter '‫ 'ب‬represented in UTF-8?

Ans: The letter ‘A’ in UTF-16 is represented as 00000000 01000001 in binary, which is 65 in
decimal and takes 2 bytes.

For Urdu: The letter ‘‫ ’ب‬is stored as 00000110 00101000 in binary, also using 2 bytes of
memory.

Q45: What is UTF-32?

Ans: UTF-32 is a method of encoding that uses a fixed length, with all characters stored in 4
bytes per character.

Q46: What are the main advantages and disadvantages of using UTF-32 for encoding
text?

Ans: Advantage: Fixed-length encoding makes processing simple, as each character is

exactly 4 bytes.

Disadvantage: It is inefficient in terms of space usage, especially for characters that could
be represented with fewer bytes.

Q47: How is the letter ‘A’ represented in UTF-32?

Ans: Representation of ‘A’ in UTF-32:

00000000 00000000 00000000 01000001
Q48: What are pixels in a digital image, and how do computers store the colors of
these pixels?

Ans: Pixels are the tiny dots that make up a digital image. each pixel has a specific color.

Computers store these images by using numbers to represent the colors of each pixel.

Q50: How is color represented in a digital image?

Ans: Each pixel in a digital image is colored using RGB values: Red, Green, and Blue. each
ranging from 0 to 255. The combination of these values creates different colors. For
example, (255, 0, 0) represents bright red.

Q51: What are the commonly used image file formats?

Ans: The commonly used image file formats are:

• JPEG: Compresses images to save space, but may lose some quality.
• PNG: Maintains high quality and supports transparency without data loss.
• GIF: Used for simple animations and images with limited colors.

Q52: How are audio files stored digitally, and what roles do sampling and quantization
play in this process?

Ans: Audio files are stored by capturing sound waves and converting them into digital data.
The process involves sampling and quantization.

Sampling records the sound wave at regular intervals; the sampling rate is the number of
samples per second, with higher rates giving better quality.

Quantization converts each sample into a number, and more bits per sample mean more
accurate sound representation.

Q53: What are some common audio file formats?

Ans: The commonly used audio file formats are:

• MP3: A common format that compresses audio to save space but may lose some
quality.
• WAV (Wave Audio File Format): Uncompressed format that maintains high quality.
• AAC (Advanced Audio Coding): Used by many streaming services for high-quality
audio with efficient compression

Q54: Define video?

Ans: Videos are made up of many images shown rapidly in sequence, along with audio.
Q55: Define Frame and Frame Rate?

Ans: Each image in a video is called a frame.

Frame rate means how many pictures (frames) are shown each second in a video. It is
measured in FPS (Frames Per Second).

• 24 FPS is used in movies.

• 30 FPS is used on TV.

More FPS makes the video look smoother.

Q56: What are some common video file formats?

Ans: The commonly used video file formats are:

MP4: A widely used format that efficiently compresses video while maintaining quality.

AVI: An older format that may result in larger file sizes.

MKV: Supports high-quality video and multiple audio tracks or subtitles

Q57: How are all types of files stored in a computer?

Ans: All types of files (images, audio, and video) are stored as binary data, which means
they are represented by sequences of 0s and 1s in computer memory.

Q58: What are the main types of storage devices?

Ans: The commonly used types of storage devices are:

HDD: Uses spinning disks, large storage, and slower speed.

SSD: Uses flash memory, offers faster performance.

Cloud Storage: Stores data online, accessible from anywhere, good for backups.