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Number Bases

The document explains number bases, primarily focusing on the denary (base ten) system and briefly introducing base five and base two systems. It outlines how to expand numbers in powers of their respective bases and provides methods for converting between base ten and other bases. The document emphasizes the common use of these bases in various contexts, particularly in counting and computing.

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ntmuziti
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7 views14 pages

Number Bases

The document explains number bases, primarily focusing on the denary (base ten) system and briefly introducing base five and base two systems. It outlines how to expand numbers in powers of their respective bases and provides methods for converting between base ten and other bases. The document emphasizes the common use of these bases in various contexts, particularly in counting and computing.

Uploaded by

ntmuziti
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

NUMBER BASES

NIZZY TUTORS
0714 751 077
INTRODUCTION

 Numbers are normally written in the base ten or denary system.


 The placing of the digits show their value.
 For example, 2053 means:
 2 thousands, 0 hundreds, 5 tens and 3 units.
 2053 = 2 × 1000 + 0 × 100 + 5 × 10 + 3 × 1.
Index
 2053 = 2 × 10 + 0 × 10 + 5 × 10 + 3 × 10 .
 Remember that 10 is a short way of writing 10 × 10 × 10 or 1000.
 Therefore the digit 3 in 10 is known as the index or power.

Base

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


It is possible to expand any denary number
in powers of ten

25 147 3706
25 = 2 × 10 + 5 × 1 147 = 1 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 1 3706
147 = 1 × 10 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 10 = 3 × 1000 + 7 × 100 + 0 × 10 + 6
×1
3706
= 3 × 10 + 3 × 10 + 0 × 10 + 6
× 10

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


Other Bases

 Other number systems are sometimes used.


 For example, the base five system is based on powers of five.
 The base two system or binary system is based on powers of two
 3204 = 3 × 5 + 2 × 5 + 0 × 5 + 4 × 5
 NB: Just a as there are 10 digits in base 10 i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9
 There are also 5 digits in base 5 i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4
 And there are 2 digits in base 2 i.e. 0 and 1

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077
 In theory there is no limit to the choice of number bases.
 However, for the purposes of this course, examples will be chosen only from bases ten, five and two.
 There are some reasons for this:
1. Counting in base ten is common throughout the world.
2. Base five counting systems are fairly common in many countries e.g. the Tonga-speaking people use a
base five system
3. The base two, or binary, system has only two digits: 0 and 1. These may be taken to represent the off (0)
and on (1) states of an electrical circuit. As a result, binary numbers have become part of the language
of computers.

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


Converting base ten
numbers to other
bases

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


 To change from base ten to another
base:
1. Divide the base ten number by the
new base number.
2. Continue dividing until 0 (zero) is
reached, writing down the remainder
each time.
3. Start at the last remainder and read
upwards
to get the, answer.

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


Converting from
other bases to
base ten

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


 When converting to base ten,
expand the given number in powers
of its base and evaluate.

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


Practice
Questions

NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077


NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077
NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077
NIZZY TUTORS 0714 751 077

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