Core Concepts Study Notes - Number Systems and Character Sets

Flashcards covering core concepts of computer number systems (binary, denary, hexadecimal) and character sets (ASCII, Extended ASCII, Unicode).

Computers use the binary number system (Base-2) because their electronic circuits are built from millions of tiny __________ that act as switches.

transistors

In the binary number system, electrical flow ON is represented by __________, and OFF is represented by __________.

$1$, $0$

Because 16 is a clean power of 2 ($2^4 = 16$), exactly one hexadecimal character perfectly compresses a 4-bit binary __________.

nibble

Denary (Base-10) uses digits __________ through __________.

$0$, $9$

In Hexadecimal (Base-16), the letter A represents 10 and the letter F represents __________.

$$15$$

A __________ is a standardized collection of characters assigned specific unique binary values so that computers can safely transmit and display text.

character set

Original ASCII uses __________ bits per character, yielding 128 unique possibilities ($2^7$).

$$7$$

Extended ASCII uses 8 bits (1 byte) per character, expanding the pool to __________ unique symbols ($2^8$).

$$256$$

Unicode uses up to __________ or __________ bits per character, supporting over 140,000 unique characters.

$16$, $32$