Number System is a method of representing numbers with the help of a set of symbols and

rules; it is a mathematical notation used to represent quantities or values in various forms.

Please remember every piece of data in a computer—whether it’s text, images, sound, video,
code, or memory addresses—is ultimately stored as binary, a string of 0s and 1s making
numbers and number systems the core of computing.

 Humans understand decimal and computers understand binary, so we have two

different number systems.

 Binary can be long for large amount of data, so there are more systems like octal and
hexadecimal that allow binary sequence to be broken into groups making it less error-
prone and readable compared to binary.

Binary is the foundation of all data representation in computers. Let’s now explore the different
number systems that enable this process.

Number systems provide a structured way to represent numbers, enabling arithmetic

operations and ensuring consistent, understandable notation.

 A number system uses a base (or radix) to represent values.

 The base refers to the number of unique digits, including zero, that a system uses to
represent numbers.

 Each system has its own set of rules for representing.

Types of Number Systems

Number systems are of various types based on their base value and the number of allowed
digits.
Let's discuss the various types of number systems in detail, along with the solved examples.

Decimal Number System

The Decimal Number System is the standard system for denoting numbers.

 It is also called the base-10 system.

 Digits used in it are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

 Each digit in the number is at a specific place value that is powers of 10.

 From right to left - units has the place value as 100, Tens has the place value as 101,
Hundreds as 102, Thousands as 103, and so on.

Example:

10285 can be written as

10285 = (1 × 104) + (0 × 103) + (2 × 102) + (8 × 101) + (5 × 100)
10285 = 1 × 10000 + 0 × 1000 + 2 × 100 + 8 × 10+ 5 × 1
10285 = 10000 + 0 + 200 + 80 + 5
10285 = 10285

Binary Number System

Binary Number System is the number system with base 2.

 The numbers are formed using two digits - 0 and 1.

  Binary number system is very useful in electronic devices and computer systems because
it can be easily performed using just two state i.e. 0 and 1.

 Each digit in the number is at a specific place value that is powers of 2.

 From right to left - as powers of 2 i.e. 20, 21, 22, etc).

Binary Numbers can be converted to Decimal value by multiplying each digit with the place
value and then adding the result.

Example:

(1011)₂ can be written as

(1011)₂ = 1 × 2³ + 0 × 2² + 1 × 2¹ + 1 × 2⁰
(1011)₂ = 1 × 8 + 0 × 4 + 1 × 2 + 1 × 1
(1011)₂ = 11 (in decimal)

Octal Number System

Octal Number System is the number system with base 8.

 The numbers are formed using 8 digits i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

 Octal number system is useful for representing file permissions in Unix/Linux operating
systems.

 Each digit in the number is at a specific place value that is powers of 8.

 From right to left - as powers of 8 i.e. 80, 81, 82, etc.

Octal Numbers can be converted to Decimal value by multiplying each digit with the place value
and then adding the result.

Example:

(325)8 can be written as

(325)8 = 3 × 8² + 2 × 8¹ + 5 × 8⁰
(325)8 = 192 + 16 + 5
(325)8 = 213 (in decimal)

Hexadecimal Number System

Hexadecimal Number System is the number system with base 16.

 The numbers are formed using 16 digits i.e. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F.

 Hexadecimal Numbers are useful for handling memory address locations.

  The digits from 0 to 9 are used as in the decimal system, but the numbers 10 to 15 are
represented using the letters A to F as follows: 10 is represented as A, 11 as B, 12 as C,
13 as D, 14 as E, 15 as F.
ii. Place Value: the position of the digit. Each digit in the number is at a specific place
value that is powers of 16. (from right to left - as powers of 16 i.e. 160, 161, 162, etc)

Hexadecimal Number System an be converted to Decimal value by multiplying each digit with
the place value and then adding the result.

Example:

(2F)16 can be written as

(2F)16 = 2 × 16¹ + F × 16⁰
(2F)16 = 2 × 16 + 15 × 1
(2F)16 = 32 + 15
(2F)16= 47 (in decimal)

Decimal Number System

A number system is a method for representing numbers, defined by its base or radix. The
decimal number system, also known as base-10, is the number system we use every day for
tasks like counting people, tracking scores, or tallying votes.

It uses ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

In this system, each digit’s value depends on its position in the number. The image below
illustrates this with the number 1234.567:

Positional Breakdown in the Decimal System

Explanation: In the number 1234.567 :

 Starting from the left, 1 is in the thousands place (1 × 10³ = 1000),

 2 is in the hundreds place (2 × 10² = 200),

 3 is in the tens place (3 × 10¹ = 30),

 4 is in the ones place (4 × 10⁰ = 4). After the decimal point, 5 is in the tenths place (5 ×
10⁻¹ = 0.5),

 6 is in the hundredths place (6 × 10⁻² = 0.06),

 7 is in the thousandths place (7 × 10⁻³ = 0.007).

Adding these together (1000 + 200 + 30 + 4 + 0.5 + 0.06 + 0.007) gives the total value, 1234.567.

Note : Right most bit is the least significant bit (LSB), and leftmost bit is the most significant bit
(MSB). The table below highlights these positions:

Conversion from Decimal to Other Number Systems

To convert decimal to another base, divide by the target base, record remainders from right to
left until the quotient is 0, then specify the base for each section (binary: base-2, octal: base-8,
hexadecimal: base-16 with A–F for 10–15).

Decimal to Binary Conversion

To see how a decimal number is converted to binary, consider the following example:
Binary numbers use base-2. To convert a decimal number to binary, follow the steps given
below:

 Step 1: Divide the Decimal Number with the base of the number system to be converted
to. Here the conversion is to binary, hence the divisor will be 2.

 Step 2: The remainder obtained from the division will become the least significant digit
of the new number.

 Step 3: The quotient obtained from the division will become the next dividend and will
be divided by the base i.e. 2.

 Step 4: The remainder obtained will become the second least significant digit i.e. it will
be added to the left of the previously obtained digit.

Now, the steps 3 and 4 are repeated until the quotient obtained becomes 0, and the remainders
obtained after each iteration are added to the left of the existing digits.

After all the iterations are over, the last obtained remainder will be termed as the Most
Significant digit.

Decimal to Octal Conversion

Let’s look at an example of converting a decimal number to octal:

Octal numbers use base-8. Here’s the process:

 Step 1: Divide the Decimal Number with the base of the number system to be converted
to. Here the conversion is to octal, hence the divisor will be 8.

 Step 2: The remainder obtained from the division will become the least significant digit
of the new number.

 Step 3: The quotient obtained from the division will become the next dividend and will
be divided by base i.e. 8.

 Step 4: The remainder obtained will become the second least significant digit i.e. it will
be added to the left of the previously obtained digit.

Now, the steps 3 and 4 are repeated until the quotient obtained becomes 0, and the remainders
obtained after each iteration are added to the left of the existing digits.

Decimal to Hexadecimal Conversion

Here’s an example of converting a decimal number to hexadecimal:

Hexadecimal uses base-16, with digits 0–9 and A–F (where A = 10, B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E = 14,
F = 15). Follow these steps:

 Step 1: Divide the Decimal Number with the base of the number system to be converted
to. Here the conversion is to Hex hence the divisor will be 16.

 Step 2: The remainder obtained from the division will become the least significant digit
of the new number.

 Step 3: The quotient obtained from the division will become the next dividend and will
be divided by base i.e. 16.

 Step 4: The remainder obtained will become the second least significant digit i.e. it will
be added to the left of the previously obtained digit.

Now, the steps 3 and 4 are repeated until the quotient obtained becomes 0, and the remainders
obtained after each iteration are added to the left of the existing digits.