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Definitions (Chapter 01)

Chapter 1 covers essential definitions related to information representation, including data types such as bits, bytes, and number systems like binary and hexadecimal. It also explains multimedia concepts such as pixels in graphics and sampling in sound, along with compression techniques like lossless and lossy compression. The chapter serves as a foundational overview for the Cambridge International AS Level Computer Science syllabus.

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1 views4 pages

Definitions (Chapter 01)

Chapter 1 covers essential definitions related to information representation, including data types such as bits, bytes, and number systems like binary and hexadecimal. It also explains multimedia concepts such as pixels in graphics and sampling in sound, along with compression techniques like lossless and lossy compression. The chapter serves as a foundational overview for the Cambridge International AS Level Computer Science syllabus.

Uploaded by

hellfire0085
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 1: Information Representation – All Definitions

Based on the Cambridge International AS Level Computer Science (9618)


syllabus.

1.1 Data Representation

Bit

A bit is the smallest unit of data in a computer and can store either 0 or 1.

Nibble

A nibble is a group of 4 bits.

Byte

A byte is a group of 8 bits.

Binary Number System

A number system that uses only two digits: 0 and 1.

Denary Number System

A number system based on 10 digits from 0 to 9.

Hexadecimal Number System

A number system based on 16 symbols: 0–9 and A–F.

Most Significant Bit (MSB)

The bit with the highest value in a binary number, found on the left.

Least Significant Bit (LSB)

The bit with the lowest value in a binary number, found on the right.

Overflow Error

An error that occurs when the result of a calculation is too large to be stored
in the available number of bits.

Two’s Complement

A method used to represent negative binary numbers.

Character Set

A standard that matches characters to binary values.


ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange; a 7-bit character set


used to represent text.

Extended ASCII

An 8-bit version of ASCII that allows more characters to be represented.

Unicode

A universal character encoding system that represents characters from many


languages.

1.2 Multimedia – Graphics and Sound

Graphics Definitions

Pixel

The smallest individual point in a bitmap image.

Bitmap Image

An image made from a grid of pixels.

Resolution

The number of pixels used to display an image.

Color Depth (Bit Depth)

The number of bits used to represent the color of one pixel.

Vector Graphic

An image stored as mathematical shapes and coordinates.

Metadata

Data that describes other data, such as image size or date created.

Sound Definitions

Analogue Data

Continuous data that changes smoothly over time.


Digital Data

Data represented using binary values.

Sampling

The process of measuring an analogue signal at regular intervals.

Sample Rate

The number of samples taken per second.

Resolution (Sound)

The number of bits used to store each sound sample.

Bit Rate

The number of bits processed per second in audio or video data.

Quantisation

The process of converting sampled analogue values into digital values.

1.3 Compression

Compression

The process of reducing the size of a file.

Lossless Compression

Compression where no data is lost and the original file can be perfectly
restored.

Lossy Compression

Compression where some data is permanently removed to reduce file size.

Run-Length Encoding (RLE)

A lossless compression method that stores repeated data as one value and a
count.

File Size

The amount of storage space required for a file.

Redundancy
Repeated or unnecessary data in a file that can be reduced during
compression.

These definitions are based on Chapter 1: Information Representation from


the syllabus and scheme of work.

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