4.1.10

Hexadecimal

Test yourself

Hexadecimal Numbers

Hexadecimal is faster for humans to process than binary. Hexadecimal allows us to find errors more easily. Hexadecimal is used in every computer system.

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Hexadecimal

  • Hexadecimal or hex uses 16 different symbols for each place.
    • This means hexadecimal is a base-16 numerical system.
  • Hexadecimal uses the digits 0-9, then A-F:
    • A = 10 in denary, B = 11 , C = 12, D = 13 and so on.
  • Each digit's place value is multiplied by 16 as we move from right to left.
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Advantages

  • An 8-bit binary number can be represented by two hexadecimal digits.
    • This means you can reduce processing time with hexadecimal than with binary.
  • Hex is easier and faster to write two digits than the full binary sequence.
  • It is easier for a human to process hexadecimal than binary.
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Using hexadecimal

  • Hexadecimal is used extensively in programming languages such as:
    • Machine code.
    • Assembly.
  • Hex can be used during the debugging stage of writing programs as it is easy to process by humans.
  • Hex can represent numbers stored in a CPU's registers or in main memory.

Jump to other topics

1Components of a Computer

2Software & Software Development

3Exchanging Data

4Data Types, Data Structures & Algorithms

5Legal, Moral, Cultural & Ethical Issues

6Elements of Computational Thinking

6.1Thinking Abstractly

6.2Thinking Ahead

6.3Thinking Procedurally

6.4Thinking Logically

6.5Thinking Concurrently

7Problem Solving & Programming

8Algorithms

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