Data representation (binary)

Computers store everything as binary — 1s and 0s. Understanding how numbers, and by extension text and images, are represented in binary is foundational.

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Why binary?

Digital circuits have two reliable states: on and off — represented as 1 and 0.
A single 1 or 0 is a bit; eight bits make a byte.
All data — numbers, text, images, sound — is ultimately stored as binary.

Check you've got it

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1. How many bits are in one byte?

2. What is the denary (base-10) value of the binary number 00101010?

3. What is the largest denary value that can be stored in a single byte?

4. How many bits does one hexadecimal digit represent?

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