FCCS | Topic 1b

Topic 1b
Binary and Hexadecimal Integer Representations

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this topic students should be able to:

Convert a binary representation (unsigned integer) to its equivalent base ten value.
Convert a base ten value to its binary equivalent (unsigned integer).
Convert a length 4 binary representation (unsigned integer) to its equivalent hexadecimal value.
Convert a hexadecimal value to its binary equivalent (unsigned integer).
Calculate the sum of two bit-strings with the solution expressed as a bit string.
Calculate how many unique values can be stored in N bits.

Learning Materials

Readings

Binary representation of non-negative integers - pp 51-54
Hexadecimal - pp 32-33

Videos

Checking for Understanding

If you want to get some practice working with binary you can use the following resources

Some practice games I have coded up in Scratch
Cisco has a fun Binary Game where you have to race against the timer

Answer the following questions from your textbook. The answers to all Q&E questions are in the back of your book in Appendix F.

p56, #1
p56, #2
p56, #5 a and c (b&d are covered in the next topic)
p34, #5
p34, #6

Answers & Guidance

The answers to the CFU questions above are provided in the back of the book. The following videos explain how we would arrive at some of those answers.

From binary strings to integers
- CFU p56, #1
  - Note, we have a typo in the slides for 1e. There are only four 1s (which is 15) but the book has five 1s (which is 16+15 or 31).
From integers to binary strings
- CFU p56, #2
From binary strings to hexadecimal
- CFU p34, #5 and #6

Further Information

If you want to see someone else explain this material, you might use these resources. Again, this material is a supplement to this course and is completely optional.