Unit II
Number System
A number is a way to represent arithmetic value, count or
measure of a particular quantity. A number system can be considered as a
mathematical notation of numbers using a set of digits or symbols. In simpler
words the number system is a method of representing numbers. Every
number system is identified with the help of its base or radix.
Base or Radix of a Number System:
The base or radix of a number system can be referred as the
total number of different symbols which can be used in a particular number
system. Radix means “root” in Latin.
Base equals to 4 implies there are 4 different symbols in that number
system. Similarly, base equals to “x” implies there are “x” different symbols in
that number system.
Classification of Number System:
The number system can be classified in to two types namely:
Positional and Non-Positional number system
1. Positional (or Weighted) Number System:
A positional number system is also known as weighted number
system. As the name implies there will be a weight associated with
each digit.
According to its position of occurrence in the number, each digit is weighted.
Towards the left the weights increases by a constant factor equivalent to the
base or radix.
The value of a number is weighted sum of its digits.
Few examples of positional number system are decimal number system,
Binary number system, octal number system, hexadecimal number system,
BCD, etc.
2. Non-Positional (or Non-weighted) Number System:
Non-positional number system is also known as non-weighted number
system. Digit value is independent of its position. Non-positional
number system is used for shift position encodes and error detecting
purpose.
Few examples of non-weighted number system are gray code, roman code,
excess-3 code, etc.
Decimal Number System
The number system that we use in our day-to-day life is the decimal number system.
Decimal number system has base 10 as it uses 10 digits from 0 to 9. In decimal number
system, the successive positions to the left of the decimal point represent units, tens,
hundreds, thousands, and so on.
Each position represents a specific power of the base (10). For example, the decimal number
1234 consists of the digit 4 in the units position, 3 in the tens position, 2 in the hundreds
position, and 1 in the thousands position. Its value can be written as
(1 x 1000)+ (2 x 100)+ (3 x 10)+ (4 x l)
(1 x 103)+ (2 x 102)+ (3 x 101)+ (4 x l00)
1000 + 200 + 30 + 4
1234
S.No. Number System and Description
Binary Number System
1
Base 2. Digits used : 0, 1
Octal Number System
2
Base 8. Digits used : 0 to 7
Hexa Decimal Number System
3
Base 16. Digits used: 0 to 9, Letters used : A- F
Binary Number System
Characteristics of the binary number system are as follows −
Uses two digits, 0 and 1
Also called as base 2 number system
Example
Binary Number: 101012
Calculating Decimal Equivalent −
Step Binary Number Decimal Number
Step 1 101012 ((1 x 24) + (0 x 23) + (1 x 22) + (0 x 21) + (1 x 20))10
Step 2 101012 (16 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 1)10
Step 3 101012 2110
Note − 101012 is normally written as 10101.
Octal Number System
Characteristics of the octal number system are as follows −
Uses eight digits, 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7
Also called as base 8 number system
Example
Octal Number: 125708
Calculating Decimal Equivalent −
Step Octal Number Decimal Number
Step 1 125708 ((1 x 84) + (2 x 83) + (5 x 82) + (7 x 81) + (0 x 80))10
Step 2 125708 (4096 + 1024 + 320 + 56 + 0)10
Step 3 125708 549610
Hexadecimal Number System
Characteristics of hexadecimal number system are as follows −
Uses 10 digits and 6 letters, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F
Letters represent the numbers starting from 10. A = 10. B = 11, C = 12, D =
13, E = 14, F = 15
Also called as base 16 number system
Example
Hexadecimal Number: 19FDE16
Calculating Decimal Equivalent −
Step Binary Decimal Number
Number
Step 1 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (F x 162) + (D x 161) + (E x 160))10
Step 2 19FDE16 ((1 x 164) + (9 x 163) + (15 x 162) + (13 x 161) + (14 x 160))10
Step 3 19FDE16 (65536+ 36864 + 3840 + 208 + 14)10
Step 4 19FDE16 10646210
