AST 122

(DIGITAL ELECTRONICS)
2nd Semester AY 2024-2025

By: Maricar H. Nudalo, MSIT

Part-time Instructor
 NUMBER SYSTEM
1.1 Analogue Versus Digital

Analogue is to express the numerical value of the quantity as a continuous range of values between the two expected
extreme values.
Example: - the temperature of an oven settable anywhere from 0 to 100 °C may be measured to be 65 °C or 64.96 °C
or 64.958 °C or even 64.9579 °C and so on, depending upon the accuracy of the measuring instrument.
- the voltage across a certain component in an electronic circuit may be measured as 6.5 V or 6.49 V or
6.487 V or 6.4869 V.
Digital - represents the numerical value of the quantity in steps of discrete values.
Example : the temperature of the oven may be represented in steps of 1 °C as 64 °C, 65 °C, 66 °C and so on.

Analogue systems contain devices that process or work on various physical quantities represented in analogue form.

Digital systems contain devices that process the physical quantities represented in digital form.

Digital techniques and systems advantages:

●relatively much easier to design and having higher accuracy;
● programmability;
● noise immunity;
● easier storage of data; and
● ease of fabrication in integrated circuit form.
1.2 Introduction to Number Systems

Number System - a set of values used to represent different quantities.

In digital electronics, the number system is used for representing the information.
For example, a number system can be used to represent the number of students in a class or number of viewers
watching a certain TV program etc.

The digital computer represents all kinds of data and information in binary numbers. It includes audio, graphics, video,
text and numbers.
When we type some letters or words, the computer translates them in numbers as computers can understand only
numbers.

The number system has different bases and the most common of them are the decimal, binary, octal, and
hexadecimal.

Different characteristics that define a number system:

● the number of independent digits used in the number system;
● the place values of the different digits constituting the number; and
● the maximum numbers that can be written with the given number of digits.

Among the three characteristic parameters, the most fundamental is the number of independent digits or symbols used
in the number system. It is known as the radix or base of the number system.
Base or radix of the number system is the total number of the digit used in the number system.

Example: the decimal system has 10 numerical characters and so has a base of 10:

0123456789

The value of each digit in a number can be determined using:

● The digit
● The position of the digit in the number
● The base of the number system ( where the base is defined as the total number of digits available in the number system)
Types of Number Systems:
● Decimal Number System
● Binary Number System
● Octal Number System
● Hexadecimal Number System

1.3 Decimal Number

The decimal number system is a radix-10 number system and therefore has 10 different digits or symbols. These are
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

All higher numbers after ‘9’ are represented in terms of these 10 digits only. The process of writing higher-order
numbers after ‘9’ consists in writing the second digit (i.e. ‘1’) first, followed by the other digits, one by one, to obtain the
next 10 numbers from ‘10’ to ‘19’. The next 10 numbers from ‘20’ to ‘29’ are obtained by writing the third digit (i.e. ‘2’)
first, followed by digits ‘0’ to ‘9’, one by one. The process continues until we have exhausted all possible two-digit
combinations and reached ‘99’. Then we begin with three-digit combinations. The first three-digit number consists of
the lowest two-digit number followed by ‘0’ (i.e. 100), and the process goes on endlessly.

Each number in this system consists of digits which are located at different positions. The position of first digit towards
left side of the decimal point is 0. the position of second digit towards left side of the decimal point is 1. Similarly, the
position of first digit towards right side of decimal points is -1. The position of second digit towards right side of decimal
point is -2 and so on.
The place values of different digits in a mixed decimal number, starting from the decimal point, are 100 , 101, 102
and so on (for the integer part) and 10−1, 10−2 , 10−2 and so on (for the fractional part). Number Systems 3 The
value or magnitude of a given decimal number can be expressed as the sum of the various digits multiplied by
their place values or weights.

The rightmost digit of number has the lowest weight. This digit is called Least Significant Digit (LSD). The leftmost
digit of a number has the highest weight. This digit is called Most Significant Digit (MSD). The digit 7 in the
number 724 is most significant digit and 4 is the least significant digit

As an illustration, in the case of the decimal number 3586.265, the integer part (i.e. 3586) can be expressed as

3586 = 6×100 +8×101 +5×102 +3×103 = 6+80+500+3000 = 3586

and the fractional part can be expressed as

265 = 2×10−1+6×10−2 +5×10−3 = 0.2+0.06+0.005 = 0.265

1.4 Binary Number System
The binary number system is an important system in digital electronics. The word “binary” refers to a
system made up of two parts, like a binary star. Binary numbers are no different than numbers you’re
used to; they’re just represented differently with 1s and 0s only. While binary numbers are used in a
number of fields, they are most commonly used is electrical and computer applications.
The binary system, also known as base-2, is one. Binary numbers use only the digits 0 and 1. Each place
in the number corresponds to a power of 2. Therefore, the binary number 11100, for example, would be
represented in the following decimal format:

(1 x 24 ) + (1 x 2³) + (1 x 2²) + (0 x 2¹) + (0 x 2º) = 16 + 8 + 4 + 0 + 0 = 28

Binary = 11100
Decimal = 28

1.5 Octal Number System

The octal number system is the base-8 number system or has a radix of 8 and therefore has eight distinct digits. All
higher-order numbers are expressed as a combination of these on the same pattern as the one followed in the case of
the binary and decimal number systems described in Sections 1.3 and 1.4. The independent digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 7. The next 10 numbers that follow ‘7’, for example, would be 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21. In fact, if we
omit all the numbers containing the digits 8 or 9, or both, from the decimal number system, we end up with an octal
number system. The place values for the different digits in the octal number system are 80, 81, 8² and so on (for the
integer part) and 8−1, 8−2, 8−3and so on (for the fractional part).
In the earlier days of computing, octal numbers and the octal numbering system was very popular for
counting inputs and outputs because as I works in counts of eight, inputs and outputs were in counts of
eight, a byte at a time.

Let us take a simple example 1034 in decimal number system and (2012) its equivalent number in the octal
number system:

(2012)8 Here subscript 8 indicates the number is in octal number systems

8³ 8² 8¹ 8º – Weights in octal number system

2 x 8³ + 0 x 8² + 1 x 8¹ + 2 x 8º
= 2 x 512 + 0 x 64 + 1 x 8 + 2 x 1
= 1024 + 0 + 8 + 2
= (1034)10

Octal to decimal

Example: Convert 7648 = 7 x 8² + 6 x 8¹ + 4 x 8º = 448 + 48 + 4 = 50010

1.6 Hexadecimal Number System

The hexadecimal number system is a radix-16 number system and its 16 basic digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E and F. The place values or weights of different digits in a mixed
hexadecimal number are 160, 161, 162 and so on (for the integer part) and 16−1, 16−2, 16−3and so on
(for the fractional part). The decimal equivalent of A, B, C, D, E and F are 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15
respectively, for obvious reasons

The hexadecimal number system provides a condensed way of representing large binary numbers stored and
processed inside the computer. One such example is in representing addresses of different memory locations. Let
us assume that a machine has 64K of memory. Such a memory has 64K (= 216 = 65 536) memory locations and
needs 65 536 different addresses. These addresses can be designated as 0 to 65 535 in the decimal number
system and 00000000 00000000 to 11111111 11111111 in the binary number system. The decimal number system
is not used in computers and the binary notation here appears too cumbersome and inconvenient to handle. In
the hexadecimal number system, 65 536 different addresses can be expressed with four digits from 0000 to FFFF.
Similarly, the contents of the memory when represented in hexadecimal form are very convenient to handle.
Hexadecimal is a convenient way to express binary numbers
in modern computers in which a byte is almost always
defined as containing eight binary digits.

One hexadecimal digit can represent the arrangement of four

binary digits.

Two hexadecimal digits can represent eight binary digits, or a

byte