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Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Computer Science
Number Systems
Contents
Computers & Binary
Number Systems
Converting Between Binary & Denary
Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary
Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary
Uses of Hexadecimal
Binary Addition
Binary Shifts
Two's Complement

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Computers & Binary

Your notes
Why Computers Use Binary
Why does data have to be converted to binary to be
processed by a computer?
Data is processed in a computer using logic gates that only have two states
The binary number system only has two digits (1/0), which means each digit can represent a different
state (1 = on, 0 = off)
All data must be converted to binary before a computer can understand and process it
Converting data to binary allows computers to process it at an incredible speed, perform complex
calculations and store vast amounts of data efficiently

Secondary storage is a great example of the process

Magnetic hard drives use North and South polarity to represent a 1 or a 0
In Optical disks, light hitting a flat area (land) is interpreted as a 1 and light hitting a bump (pit) is
interpreted as a 0

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Take an example of driving a car

When driving a car the accelerator pedal is used to increase the cars speed Your notes
If a car was accelerating from 50mph to 100mph the increase would be gradual
In a computer system, the car is doing either 50mph (0) or 100mph (1), there is no in-between
Trying to change the computer system so that it has more options would be less efficient and
require more complex parts for the computer to understand

Worked Example
Explain why computers process data in binary format [2]
Answer
Computers process data using logic gates... [1]
... that can only have two states (1/0) [1]

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Number Systems
Your notes
The Denary, Binary & Hexadecimal Number Systems
What is denary?
Denary is a number system that is made up of 10 digits (0-9)
Denary is referred to as a base-10 number system
Each digit has a weight factor of 10 raised to a power, the rightmost digit is 1s (100), the next digit to the
left 10s (101) and so on
Humans use the denary system for counting, measuring and performing maths calculations
Using combinations of the 10 digits we can represent any number

In this example, (3 x 1000) + (2 x 100) + (6 x 10) + (8 x 1) = 3268

To represent a bigger number we add more digits

What is binary?
Binary is a number system that is made up of two digits (1 and 0)
Binary is referred to as a base-2 number system
Each digit has a weight factor of 2 raised to a power, the rightmost digit is 1s (20), the next digit to the
left 2s (21) and so on
Each time a new digit is added, the column value is multiplied by 2
Using combinations of the 2 digits we can represent any number

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Your notes

In this example, Binary 1100 = (1 x 8) + (1 x 4) = 12

To represent bigger numbers we add more binary digits (bits)

32,768 16,384 8,192 4,096 2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

215 214 213 212 211 210 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20

Examiner Tips and Tricks

In the exam you are expected to be able to work with up to and including 16 bits
The largest denary number that can be represented using 16 bits is:
65,535 (Binary 1111111111111111)

What is hexadecimal?
Hexadecimal is a number system that is made up of 16 digits, 10 numbers (0-9) and 6 letters (A-F)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

Hexadecimal is referred to as a base-16 number system

Each digit has a weight factor of 16 raised to a power, the rightmost digit is 1s (16^0), the next digit to
the left 16s (16^1)
In GCSE you are required to work with up to and including 2 digit hexadecimal values

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16s 1s
Your notes
1 3

1 x16 3x1 = 19

A quick comparison table demonstrates a relationship between hexadecimal and a binary nibble
One hexadecimal digit can represent four bits of binary data

Denary Binary Hexadecimal

0 0000 0

1 0001 1

2 0010 2

3 0011 3

4 0100 4

5 0101 5

6 0110 6

7 0111 7

8 1000 8

9 1001 9

10 1010 A

11 1011 B

12 1100 C

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13 1101 D
Your notes
14 1110 E

15 1111 F

Examiner Tips and Tricks

A common exam mistake is mixing up which letter matches with what number, write out the 16
hexadecimal digits at the start of the exam!

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Converting Between Binary & Denary

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Denary to Binary Conversion
How do you convert denary to binary?
It is important to know the process of converting from denary to binary to understand how computers
interpret and process data
To convert from denary to binary you must start by writing out a binary number line
Find the first column heading with a value larger than the denary value you are converting
Write down each column heading to the right (not including the largest heading) until you reach 1

32,768 16,384 8,192 4,096 2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

Example 1
To convert the denary number 45 to binary, start by writing out the binary number line
The first column heading larger than 45 is 64, so the number line would be:

32 16 8 4 2 1

Start at the leftmost empty column heading (32)

Divide column heading into denary number (how many times does 32 fit into 45?)
1 time with 13 remaining

13

32 16 8 4 2 1

Repeat with next column heading (how many times does 16 fit into 13?)
0 times with 13 remaining

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13 13
Your notes
32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0

Repeat until all columns have a binary value

13 13 5 1 1 0

32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 0 1

Denary 45 is 101101 in binary (6 bits)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Always read the question carefully to check for how many bits are expected in your answer
In the example above, a 6 bit answer has been given
If they question requires an 8 bit answer, add 2 extra 0s to the start of the answer
Denary 45 is 101101 in 6 bit binary and 00101101 in 8 bit binary

Example 2
To convert the denary number 3059 to binary, start by writing out the binary number line
The first column heading larger than 3059 is 4096, so the number line would be:

2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

Start at the leftmost empty column heading (2048)

Divide column heading into denary number (how many times does 2048 fit into 3059?)
1 time with 1011 remaining

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1011
Your notes
2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

Repeat with next column heading (how many times does 1024 fit into 1011?)
0 times with 1011 remaining

1011 1011

2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0

Repeat until all columns have a binary value

1011 1011 499 243 115 51 19 3 3 3 1 0

2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1

Denary 3059 is 101111110011 in binary (12 bits)

Binary to Denary Conversion

To convert from binary to denary, count how many bits make up the value
Write out the column headings for the number of bits given from right to left
Add together any column heading with a value of 1 in the column

Example 1 (4 bits)
To convert the binary number 1011 to denary, start by writing out the binary headings from right to left

8 4 2 1

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Your notes
Write in the binary digits under the headings from left to right

8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1

Add together any column heading with a 1 under it

(1 x 8) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 11
Binary 1011 is 11 in denary

Examiner Tips and Tricks

If you are converting from binary to denary and the binary number ends in 1, the denary answer must
be an odd number!

Example 2 (8 bits)
To convert the binary number 01100011 to denary, start by writing out the binary headings from right to
left

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

Write in the binary digits under the headings from left to right

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1

Add together any column heading with a 1 under it

(1 x 64) + (1 x 32) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 99
Binary 01100011 is 99 in denary

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Example 3 (14 bits)

To convert the binary number 01110001110100 to denary, start by writing out the binary headings from Your notes
right to left

8,192 4,096 2,048 1,024 512 256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0

Add together any column heading with a 1 under it

(1 x 4096) + (1 x 2048) + (1 x 1024) + (1 x 64) + (1 x 32) + (1 x 16) + (1 x 4) = 7284
Binary 01110001110100 is 7284 in denary

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Converting Between Hexadecimal & Denary

Your notes
Denary to Hexadecimal Conversion
How do you convert denary to hexadecimal?
Method 1 (denary to binary to hexadecimal)
To convert the denary number 28 to hexadecimal, start by converting the denary number to binary

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

Split the 8 bit binary number into two nibbles as shown below

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

Convert each nibble to its denary value

0001 = 1 and 1100 = 12
Using the comparison table, the denary value 1 is also 1 in hexadecimal whereas denary value 12 is
represented in hexadecimal as C
Denary 28 is 1C in hexadecimal

Method 2 (divide by 16)

To convert the denary number 163 to hexadecimal, start by dividing the denary value by 16 and
recording the whole times the number goes in and the remainder
163 ➗16 = 10 remainder 3
In hexadecimal the whole number = digit 1 and the remainder = digit 2
Digit 1 = 10 (A)
Digit 2 = 3
Denary 163 is A3 in hexadecimal

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Hexadecimal to Denary Conversion

Your notes
How do you convert hexadecimal to denary?
Method 1 (hexadecimal to binary to denary)
To convert the hexadecimal number B9 to denary, take each hexadecimal digit and convert it from its
denary value to 4 bit binary (nibble)

B (11) 9

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

Join the two nibbles to make an 8 bit number (byte)

Convert from binary to denary

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

(1 x 128) + (1 x 32) + (1 x 16) + (1 x 8) + (1 x 1) = 185

Hexadecimal B9 is 185 in denary

Method 2 (multiply by 16)

To convert the hexadecimal number 79 to denary, start by multiplying the first hexadecimal digit by 16
7 ✖ 16 = 112
Add digit 2 to the result
112 + 9 = 121
Hexadecimal 79 is 121 in denary

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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Remember that the exam is non-calculator, if you are not confident multiplying and dividing by 16
then use method 1 on both conversions
Your notes

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Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary

Your notes
Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion
How do you convert from binary to hexadecimal?
It is important before revising how to convert from binary to hexadecimal and vice versa that you fully
understand the binary and hexadecimal number systems.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F

Example 1
To convert the binary number 10110111 to hexadecimal, first split the 8 bit number into 2 binary nibbles

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1

For each nibble, convert the binary to it’s denary value

(1 x 8) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 11 (B)
(1 x 4) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 7
Join them together to make a 2 digit hexadecimal number
Binary 10110111 is B7 in hexadecimal

Example 2
To convert the binary number 00111001 to hexadecimal, first split the 8 bit number into 2 binary nibbles

8 4 2 1 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1

For each nibble, convert the binary to it’s denary value

(1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 3

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(1 x 8) + (1 x 1) = 9
Join them together to make a 2 digit hexadecimal number Your notes
Binary 00111001 is 39 in hexadecimal
Hexadecimal to Binary Conversion
How do you convert from hexadecimal to binary?
Example 1
To convert the hexadecimal number 5F to binary, first split the digits apart and convert each to a binary
nibble

8 4 2 1

0 1 0 1 =5

8 4 2 1

1 1 1 1 = 15 (F)

Join the 2 binary nibbles together to create an 8 bit binary number

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1

Hexadecimal 5F is 01011111 in binary

Example 2
To convert the hexadecimal number 26 to binary, first split the digits apart and convert each to a binary
nibble

8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 =2

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8 4 2 1
Your notes
0 1 1 0 =6

Join the 2 binary nibbles together to create an 8 bit binary number

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0

Hexadecimal 26 is 00100110 in binary

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Uses of Hexadecimal
Your notes
Uses of Hexadecimal
Why is hexadecimal used?
In Computer Science hexadecimal is often preferred when working with large values
It takes fewer digits to represent a given value in hexadecimal than in binary
1 hexadecimal digit corresponds 4 bits (one nibble) and can represent 16 unique values (0-F)
It is beneficial to use hexadecimal over binary because:
The more bits there are in a binary number, the harder it makes for a human to read
Numbers with more bits are more prone to errors when being copied
Examples of where hexadecimal can be seen:
MAC addresses
Colour codes
URLs

MAC addresses
A typical MAC address consists of 12 hexadecimal digits, equivalent to 48 digits in in binary
AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
10101010:10111011:11001100:11011101:11101110:11111111
Writing down or performing calculations with 48 binary digits makes it very easy to make a mistake

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Colour codes
A typical hexadecimal colour code consists of 6 hexadecimal digits, equivalent to 24 digits in binary Your notes
#66FF33 (green)
01000010:11111111:00110011

URL's
A URL can only contain standard characters (a-z and A-Z), numbers (0-9) and some special symbols
which is enough for basic web browsing

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If a URL needs to include a character outside of this set, they are converted into a hexadecimal code
Hexadecimal codes included in a URL are prefixed with a % sign Your notes

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Binary Addition
Your notes
Adding Positive 8-bit Binary Integers
What is binary addition?
Binary addition is the process of adding together two binary integers (up to and including 8 bits)
To be successful there are 5 golden rules to apply:

Binary Addition Binary Answer Working

0+0= 0 1s

0 =0

0+1= 1 1s

1 =1

1+0= 1 1s

1 =1

1+1= 10 2s 1s

1 0 =2

1+1+1= 11 2s 1s

1 1 =3

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Like denary addition, start from the rightmost digit and move left
Carrying over occurs when the sum of a column is greater than 1, passing the excess to the next left Your notes
column

Example 1
Add together the binary values 1001 and 0100

8 4 2 1 +

1 0 0 1

0 1 0 0

Starting from right to left, add the two binary values together applying the 5 golden rules
If your answer has 2 digits, place the rightmost digit in the column and carry the remaining digit to the
next column on the left
In this example, start with 1+0, 1+0 = 1, so place a 1 in the column

8 4 2 1 +

1 0 0 1

0 1 0 0

Repeat until all columns have a value

8 4 2 1 +

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1 0 0 1
Your notes
0 1 0 0

1 1 0 1

The sum of adding together binary 1001 (9) and 0100 (4) is 1101 (13)

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Make sure any carried digits are clearly visible in your answer, there are marks available for working.
Carries can be put above or below in the addition

Example 2
Add together the binary values 00011001 and 10000100

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 +

0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

Starting from right to left, add the two binary values together applying the 5 golden rules
If your answer has 2 digits, place the rightmost digit in the column and carry the remaining digit to the
next column on the left
In this example, start with 1+1, 1+1 = 10, so place a 0 in the column and carry the 1 to the next column

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 +

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0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1
Your notes
1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

1 C

Repeat until all columns have a value

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 +

0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1

1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1

1 1 1 C

1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0

The sum of adding together binary 00011001 (25) and 10001001 (137) is 10100010 (162)

Overflow & Binary Addition

What is an overflow error?
An overflow error occurs when the result of a binary addition exceeds the available bits
For example, if you took binary 11111111 (255) and tried to add 00000001 (1) this would cause an
overflow error as the result would need a 9th bit to represent the answer (256)

256 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 +

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 C

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0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Your notes

Examiner Tips and Tricks

When starting a binary addition question, always look at the question that comes after. If it asks you
to name what problem has been caused, you know the binary addition question must cause an
overflow error and therefore mean a carried bit that does not fit in to the answer

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Binary Shifts
Your notes
Binary Shifts
What is a logical binary shift?
A logical binary shift is how a computer system performs basic multiplication and division on non-
negative values (0 and positive numbers)
Binary digits are moved left or right a set number of times
A left shift multiplies a binary number by 2 (x2)
A right shift divides a binary number by 2 (/2)
A shift can move more than one place at a time, the principle remains the same
A left shift of 2 places would multiply the original binary number by 4 (x4)

How do you perform a logical left shift of 1?

Here is the binary representation of the denary number 40

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

To perform a left logical binary shift of 1, we move each bit 1 place to the left
The digit in the 128 column (MSB) will move left causing an overflow error
The 1 column becomes empty so is filled with a 0

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 1 0 1 0 0 0 = 40

0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 = 80

The original binary representation of denary 40 (32+8) was multiplied by 2 and became 80 (64+16)

How do you perform a logical left shift of 2?

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Here is the binary representation of the denary number 28

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Your notes

0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

To perform a left binary shift of 2, we move each bit 2 places to the left
The digit in the 128 (MSB) and 64 column will move left causing an overflow error
The 1 and 2 column become empty so are filled with a 0

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 1 1 1 0 0 = 28

0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 = 112

The original binary representation of denary 28 (16+8+4) was multiplied by 4 and became 112
(64+32+16)

How do you perform a logical right shift of 1?

Here is the binary representation of the denary number 40

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0

To perform a right binary shift of 1, we move each bit 1 place to the right
The digit in the 1 column (LSB) will move right causing an underflow error
The 128 column becomes empty so is filled with a 0

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

0 0 1 0 1 0 0 = 40

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 = 20

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The original binary representation of denary 40 (32+8) was divided by 2 and became 20 (16+4)

How do you perform a logical right shift of 2? Your notes

Here is the binary representation of the denary number 200

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

To perform a right binary shift of 2, we move each bit 2 places to the right
The digits in the 1 (LSB) and 2 columns will move right causing an underflow error
The 128 and 64 columns become empty so are filled with a 0

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 1 0 0 1 0 = 200

0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 = 50

The original binary representation of denary 200 (128+64+8) was divided by 4 and became 50
(32+16+2)

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Two's Complement
Your notes
Two's Complement
What is two's complement?
Two's complement is a method of using signed binary values to represent negative numbers
Using two's complement the left most bit is designated the most significant bit (MSB)
To represent negative numbers this bit must equal 1, turning the column value in to a negative
Working with 8 bits, the 128 column becomes -128

-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 = -1

In the example above to represent -1, add column values with a 1 to the MSB
MSB (-128)
Add 64 (-128+64 = -64
Add 32 (-64+32 = -32)
Add 16 (-32+16 = -16)
Add 8 (-16+8 = -8)
Add 4 (-8+4 = -4)
Add 2 (-4+2 = -2)
Add 1 (-2+1 = -1)
The two's complement representation of -1 is 11111111

Quick two's complement conversion

To represent -76
Write out the positive version of the number

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

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0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 = 76
Your notes
Starting from the least significant bit (right most column), copy out the binary values up to and
including the first 1

-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0 0

For the remaining digits, invert them (0s to 1s/1s to 0s)

-128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0

-128 + 32 + 16 + 4 = -76
The two's complement representation of -76 is 10110100

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