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A Simple Intro To The Hexadecimal System

The document introduces the hexadecimal number system. It explains that hexadecimal uses the symbols 0-9 and A-F to represent values in base 16, which allows for more efficient representation than binary. It then provides examples of converting between hexadecimal, binary, and decimal. Real-world applications like RGB color are also discussed, with hexadecimal being useful for compactly representing colors on digital displays. At the end, the author reflects on learning about practical math applications and finding the subject more interesting than previously thought.

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70 views

A Simple Intro To The Hexadecimal System

The document introduces the hexadecimal number system. It explains that hexadecimal uses the symbols 0-9 and A-F to represent values in base 16, which allows for more efficient representation than binary. It then provides examples of converting between hexadecimal, binary, and decimal. Real-world applications like RGB color are also discussed, with hexadecimal being useful for compactly representing colors on digital displays. At the end, the author reflects on learning about practical math applications and finding the subject more interesting than previously thought.

Uploaded by

iikshsdahfe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A simple intro to the

hexadecimal system
By Huo Xi Cheng
What is the hexadecimal system?
it's just like the base 10 system we use today, except it is in base 16

The symbols used are 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F

Computers use this systems sometimes instead of the binary system, as it shorter
compared to binary, and thus more information can be stored. It is also easy to
convert from hexadecimal to binary
How do you convert hexadecimal to binary?
It is quite simple. Take a random hexadecimal number, say A7. A corresponds to
10 in the decimal system, 7 corresponds to 7. 10=2^3*1+2^2*0+2^1*1+2^0*0

7=2^3*0+2^2*1+2^1*1+2^0*1

The answer is simply the first value (bolded)(1010) followed by the second value
(underlined)(0111)

Thus, A716=101001112
How do you convert binary to hexadecimal?
First, seperate the binary numbers into sets of 4, starting from behind

E.g. 1001011101101(a different colour represents a different group)

Convert each group into hexadecimal first.

(continued)
How do you convert binary to hexadecimal?
(continued)
Note that 00002=016 00012=116 00102=216 00112=316 01002=416 01012=516

01102=616 01112=716 10002=816 10012=916 10102=A16 10112=B16 11002=C16

11012=D16 11102=E16 11112=F16

The first portion of the number is 1(or 0001). It is clear that 00012=116

The second portion of the number is 0010. 00102=216

The third portion is 1110. 11102=E16

The last portion is 1101. 11012=D16


How to convert hexadecimal to decimal?
Take the hexadecimal number C0DE16 for example

First convert each hexadecimal digit into its corresponding decimal number,
namely: 016=010 116=110 216=210 316=310 416=410 516=510 616=610 716=710

816=810 916=910 A16=1010 B16=1110 C16=1210 D16=1310 E16=1410 F16=1510

(continued)
How to convert hexadecimal to decimal? (continued)
Take the last digit of the hexadecimal C0DE16 (E16). E16=1410 Multiply 14 by 16^0.

14*16^0=14

Take the 2nd last digit (D16). D16=1310 Multiply 13 by 16^1. 13*16^1=208

Take the 3rd last digit (016). 016=010 Multiply 0 by 16^2. 0*16^2=0

Take the 1st digit (C16). C16=1210 Multiply 12 by 16^4. 12*16^4=49152

Sum up the numbers. C0DE16=4937410


The real life application of hexadecimal numbers in a
RGB display
The RGB display, short for Red Green Blue, is used by computers to display
picture, texts, etc. Each pixel of the computer has 3 bytes, one byte for each color.
Each byte then has 8 bits. The bits are expressed in binary, e.g. 10011100. The
maximum number of bits is 111111112=25510.

The number of bits determine the ‘amount’ of that color. The more the amount, the
brighter the color.

The three colors in different amounts can create all the colors on earth. We can
write a color like this:

#255255255 The 255 in red represent red, the 255 in green represents green, the
255 in blue represents blue.
The real life application of hexadecimal numbers in a
RGB display
This diagram may help you understand how the system works.

For example, when Blue is 255 and Red is 255, it creates

Purple, which can also be written as #255000255

The color yellow is a combination of Green and red, and

can be represented as #255255000


The real life application of hexadecimal number in a
RGB display
However, representing the colors is binary. Using the hexadecimal system will be
better, as it is easier to convert hexadecimal to binary, which is what is used in
bits. It can also store more space, as the maximum numbers of digits is 2 to
express up to 25510 (FF).

The hexadecimal numbers represents different amounts of color of the three types
(red green blue).

For example, the color #FFFF00 represents #255255000 in decimal, which


transfers to yellow.
Reflection
This is a very fun assignment that I was given the opportunity to work on. Through this
project, I learnt many new things, ie. why do computers use the binary system, what is
a hexadecimal system etc. This has changed the way I see mathematics. Before this
project, I felt that mathematics was only about numbers (and other boring stuff) but I
soon realised that maths was in our everyday world. Without mathematics, hardly
anything will function properly. Computers will be unable to store data and work quickly
without the hexadecimal system. I believe that more people, ie. the mainstream
classes should have the chance to explore the beautiful side of mathematics, rather
than think the subject is dull and uninteresting. Through this activity, I have discovered
that there are many different aspects of math. This activity has sparked my interest in
the subject, and there are some areas in math I would like to explore further on my
own, especially how math connects with nature, in the case of the golden ratio.
In conclusion, I feel that this activity is very effective in developing my interest in math,
and I hope there can be more of this kind of activities in the future.

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