LECTURE WEEK 5

Topic 2: Number Bases

2.1 Number systems for base numbers vice

Up to base-16.

2.2 Make connection between number bases and

number symbols.

2.3 Convert any base-a (up to base-16) number to

base-10 numbers and vice versa
4.3 Other Bases

The Hindu-Arabic system of numeration is a

base 10 system. It makes sense to us
because we have 10 fingers, 10 toes, and
we have used the system our whole life.
Base 2 ( binary ) is important because of
computers. But what if our numeration
system was a base 3 or base 4 system?
What would our numbers be like? That is
the topic of this section.
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Base 3, Base 4, Base 5? Really?
Not every society in the world uses a base 10
place-value system. Read pages 160 and 161
in the text. It is interesting reading that covers
systems of other bases and where they are
found today. It also points out a few examples
of other bases that we see every day and
probably do not even realize.

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Converting to Base 10:
To understand more about base 10, it is helpful
to be able to convert between different bases.
1. Convert 1546 to base 10.
In base 6, the positional values are
. . . 63 , 62 , 6 , 1.
Writing 1546 in expanded form:
1546 = (1 x 62 ) + ( 5 x 6 ) + ( 4 x 1 )
= ( 1 x 36 ) + ( 5 x 6 ) + ( 4 x 1 )
= 36 + 30 + 4
= 70

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Converting to Base 10:
Notice that the last problem was base 6, which is
lower than our base. What if the number was in
base 12 (which is larger than our base)? In base
12, there should be 12 different symbols, starting
with 0. So we could list 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, but
then what? We cannot use 10 and 11 because
they are not different symbols, they are a
combination of two symbols.
In our text, the following symbols for base 12 are
used: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,T,E. To remember this,
think the T stands for ten and the E stands for
eleven.

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Converting to Base 10:
2. Convert 123E12 to base 10.
In base 12, the positional values are
. . . 123 , 122 , 12 , 1.
Writing 123E12 in expanded form:
123E12 = (1x123 ) + (2x122 ) + (3x12) + (11x1)
= (1x1728) + (2x144) + (3x12) + (11x1)
= 1728 + 288 + 36 + 11
= 2063

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Converting to Base 10:
Basically, converting to base 10 involved writing
a number in expanded form and multiplying to
find the value of each digit. Then find the sum
of all of the values.
To see more examples of converting to base 10,
look at page 162 in the text, Examples 2,3, and
4.

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
What if we want to convert the other way? It
would make sense that we would do the
opposite operation division.

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
3. Convert 146 ( which is in base 10) to base 5.
The positional values in base 5 are
. . . 54 , 53 , 52 , 5 , 1 or . . . 625 , 125 , 25 , 5 , 1
The highest power of 5 that is less than or equal
to 146 is 53 or 125. Divide 146 by 125.
146/125 = 1 with remainder 21.
Therefore, there is 1 group of 125 in 146.
( 1 is the first digit in the answer )

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
3 continued: Next divide the remainder, 21, by 25
(the next lower positional-value of 5).
21/25 = 0 with remainder 21
Therefore, there are 0 groups of 25 in 21.
(0 is the 2nd digit in the answer)
Next divide the remainder, 21, by 5 (the next
lower positional-value of 5).
21/5 = 4 with remainder 1
Therefore, there are 4 groups of 5 in 21 with 1
unit remaining.
(4 is the 3rd digit in the answer)
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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
3 continued: The answer is:
146 = (1 x 125) + (0 x 25) + (4 x 5) + (1 x 1)
= (1 x 53) + (0 x 52) + (4 x 5) + (1 x 1)
= 10415
Note: We place a subscript 5 to the right of
1041 to show that it is a base 5 number.

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
4. Convert 1695 to base 12.
The positional values in base 12 are
. . .123 , 122 , 12 , 1 or . . . 1728 , 144 , 12 , 1
The highest power of 12 that is less than or
equal to 1695 is 144. Divide 1695 by 144.
1695/144 = 11 with remainder 111
Therefore, there are 11 groups of 144 in 1695.
( E, the symbol for 11 in base 12, is the first digit
in the answer)

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
Next, divide the remainder, 111, by 12 (the next
lower positional-value of 12).
111/12 = 9 with remainder 3
Therefore, there are 9 groups of 12 in 111 and 3
units remaining.
(9 is the 2nd digit in the answer)
1695 = (E x 122 ) + ( 9 x 12 ) + ( 3 x 1 )
= E9312

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Converting from Base 10 to another base:
More examples converting from base 10 to
another base can be found in the text on pages
162-164, Examples 5-7.

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4.4 Computation in Other Bases

It was mentioned before that computers

perform calculations in base 2. This
section covers computations in base 2
and other bases.

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THE END

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