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    PracticeAQA GCSEAQA GCSE Computer Science Paper 2Question 01.2
    Medium2 marksStructured
    Fundamentals of data representationGeneralbinaryconversionhexadecimal

    AQA GCSE · Question 01.2 · Fundamentals of data representation

    Convert the binary number 10111001 into hexadecimal. You should show your working.

    How to approach this question

    1. Take the 8-bit binary number 10111001. 2. Split it into two 4-bit groups (nibbles): 1011 and 1001. 3. Convert each nibble into its decimal equivalent. The place values for a nibble are 8, 4, 2, 1. 4. For 1011: (1*8) + (0*4) + (1*2) + (1*1) = 8 + 0 + 2 + 1 = 11. 5. For 1001: (1*8) + (0*4) + (0*2) + (1*1) = 8 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 9. 6. Convert the decimal values to their hexadecimal equivalents. Decimal 1-9 are the same in hex. Decimal 10-15 are A-F. So, 11 becomes B and 9 remains 9. 7. Combine the two hex digits to get the final answer.

    Full Answer

    The hexadecimal equivalent is B9. Working: 1. Split the 8-bit binary number into two 4-bit nibbles: 1011 and 1001. 2. Convert the left nibble (1011) to decimal: 8 + 2 + 1 = 11. In hexadecimal, 11 is represented by the letter B. 3. Convert the right nibble (1001) to decimal: 8 + 1 = 9. In hexadecimal, 9 is represented by the number 9. 4. Combine the two hexadecimal digits: B9.
    To convert binary to hexadecimal, you group the binary digits into sets of four (called nibbles), starting from the right. 1. The binary number is 10111001. 2. Split into two nibbles: `1011` and `1001`. 3. Convert the first nibble `1011`: The place values are 8, 4, 2, 1. So, (1*8) + (0*4) + (1*2) + (1*1) = 11. The decimal number 11 is represented by the character 'B' in hexadecimal. 4. Convert the second nibble `1001`: The place values are 8, 4, 2, 1. So, (1*8) + (0*4) + (0*2) + (1*1) = 9. The decimal number 9 is represented by '9' in hexadecimal. 5. Combine the results to get the hexadecimal number: B9.

    Common mistakes

    ✗ Not splitting the binary number into nibbles. ✗ Splitting into incorrect group sizes (e.g., groups of 3). ✗ Making an error when converting a nibble to decimal. ✗ Forgetting that decimal 10-15 are represented by letters A-F in hexadecimal.
    Question 01.1All questionsQuestion 01.3

    Practice the full AQA GCSE Computer Science Paper 2

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    More questions from this exam

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