In this example, the 4 in the third column represents the decimal value 196, and the 4 in
the first column represents the value 4. 196+4 = 200. Thus, 404 7 = 200 10.
Try another example. Convert the number 968 to base 6:
Column 54321
Power 64 63 62 61 60
Value 1296 216 36 6 1Be certain you are comfortable with why these are the column values. Remember that
63 = 6*6*6 = 216.
To determine the base 6 representation of 968, you start at column 5. How many 1296s
are there in 968? There are none, so column 5 has 0. Dividing 968 by 216 yields 4 with a
remainder of 104. Column 4 is 4. That is, column 4 represents 4*216 (864).
You must now represent the remaining value (968-864 = 104). Dividing 104 by 36 yields
2 with a remainder of 32. Column 3 is 2. Dividing 32 by 6 yields 5 with a remainder of- The answer therefore is 4252 6.
Column 54321
Power 64 63 62 61 60
Value 1296 216 36 6 1
968 in 04252
base 6
Decimal 0 4216=864 236=72 56=30 21=2
value
864+72+30+2 = 968.Binary ............................................................................................................
Base 2 is the ultimate extension of this idea. In base 2, also called binary, there are only
two digits: 0 and 1. The columns are
Column 87654321
Power 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
Value 1286432168421To convert the number 88 to base 2, you follow the same procedure: There are no 128s,
so column 8 is 0.810 Appendix A29 0672327112_app_a.qxd 11/19/04 12:30 PM Page 810