Hexadecimal notation

Overview

Recall questions on the base and its digits, why it is used as shorthand for binary, converting between binary, hexadecimal and denary, how many values two and three digits hold, where hexadecimal is used in practice, and why nibbles are grouped from the right.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What base does hexadecimal use, and what digits does it need?

   Model answer

   It uses base 16, so as well as 0 to 9 it needs six extra digits, written A to F for the values ten to fifteen.

2. 2

   Give the denary values of the hexadecimal digits A, C and F.

   Model answer

   A is 10, C is 12 and F is 15.

3. 3

   Why is hexadecimal used as a shorthand for binary?

   Model answer

   Each hexadecimal digit stands for exactly four bits, so a byte becomes two digits instead of eight, which is far shorter to write and much less likely to be miscopied.

4. 4

   Convert 11011010 in binary to hexadecimal.

   Model answer

   Splitting into nibbles gives 1101 and 1010, which are D and A, so the value is DA.

5. 5

   Convert 3F in hexadecimal to binary.

   Model answer

   The digit 3 gives 0011 and F gives 1111, so the value is 00111111.

6. 6

   Convert 2B in hexadecimal to denary.

   Model answer

   The 2 is worth 2 × 16 = 32 and B is worth 11, so the value is 43.

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