Number
System
Instructor: M.Emad Amjad
Email: [email protected]
Learning Objectives
Non-positional number system
Positional number system
Decimal number system
Binary number system
Octal number system
Hexadecimal number system
Number Systems
Two types of number systems are:
Non-positional number systems
Positional number systems
Non-positional Number
Systems
Characteristics
Use symbols such as I for 1, II for 2, III for 3, IIII for 4, IIIII for 5, etc
Each symbol represents the same value regardless of its position in the
number
The symbols are simply added to find out the value of a particular
number
Difficulty
It is difficult to perform arithmetic with such a number system
Positional Number Systems
Characteristics
Use only a few symbols called digits
These symbols represent different values depending on the position
they occupy in the number
The value of each digit is determined by:
1. The digit itself
2. The position of the digit in the number
3. The base of the number system
(base = total number of digits in the number system)
The maximum value of a single digit is always equal to one less than the
value of the base
Decimal Number System
Characteristics
A positional number system
Has 10 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9).Hence, its
base = 10
The maximum value of a single digit is 9 (one less than the
value of the base)
Each position of a digit represents a specific power of the
base (10)
We use this number system in our day-to-day life
Decimal Number System
Example
258610 = (2 x 103) + (5 x 102) + (8 x 101) + (6 x 100)
= 2000 + 500 + 80 + 6
Binary Number System
Characteristics
A positional number system
Has only 2 symbols or digits (0 and 1). base = 2
The maximum value of a single digit is 1 (one less than
the value of the base)
Each position of a digit represents a specific power of the
base (2)
This number system is used in computers
Binary Number System
Example
101012 = (1 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) x (1
x 20)= 16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1
= 2110
Representing Numbers in
Different Number Systems
In order to be specific about which number system we are
referring to, it is a common practice to indicate the base as a
subscript. Thus, we write:
101012 = 2110
Bit
Bit stands for binary digit
A bit in computer terminology
means either a 0 or a 1
A binary number consisting of n
bits is called an n-bit number
Octal Number System
Characteristics
A positional number system
Has total 8 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). Hence,
its base = 8
The maximum value of a single digit is 7 (one less than
the value of the base
Each position of a digit represents a specific power of the
base (8)
Since there are only 8 digits,3bits (23=8) are
sufficient to represent any octal number in binary
Octal Number System
• Example
• 20578 = (2 x 83) + (0 x 82) + (5 x 81) + (7
x 80 )
• = 1024 + 0 + 40 + 7
•= 107110
Hexadecimal Number System
Characteristics
A positional number system
Has total 16 symbols or digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A,
B, C, D, E, F).Hence its base = 16
The symbols A, B, C, D, E and F represent the decimal
values 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 respectively
The maximum value of a single digit is 15 (one less than
the value of the base)
Hexadecimal Number System
Each position of a digit represents a specific power of the base
(16)
Since there are only 16 digits, 4 bits (24 = 16) are sufficient to
represent any hexadecimal number in binary
Example
1AF16 = (1 x 162) + (A x 161) + (F x 160)
= 1 x 256 + 10 x 16 + 15 x 1
= 256 + 160 + 15
= 43110
