Upon completion of this lab, the student will be able to identify the places in binary and decimal numbers and know the value of each. Also, the student will work with powers of ten and relate them to decimal places, as well as work with powers of two and relate them to binary places. Finally, the student will manually convert between simple binary numbers and decimal numbers and describe the differences between binary and decimal number systems. | Lab Converting Numbers Overview Estimated Time 25 Minutes Objective Upon completion of this lab the student will be able to identify the places in binary and decimal numbers and know the value of each. Also the student will work with powers of ten and relate them to decimal places as well as work with powers of two and relate them to binary places. Finally the student will manually convert between simple binary numbers and decimal numbers and describe the differences between binary and decimal number systems. Equipment This is a written lab exercise. No equipment is necessary. Scenario Having sharp skills in number systems will aid in a career as an IT professional. With the ability to convert numbers without the use of a calculator the student will be able to solve problems that may arise quickly and easily. Procedures This lab will help the student learn to work with the binary number system. The student will convert binary numbers Base 2 to decimal numbers Base 10 and then from decimal to binary. Computers and networking equipment such as routers use binary numbers. A binary number is a series of BITS short for Binary Digits that are either ON a binary 1 or OFF a binary 0 . They are encoded internally in the PC on microchips and on the computer motherboard bus as electrical voltages. Understanding binary numbers and how they relate to decimal numbers is critical to understanding how computers work internally. Step 1 The decimal number system is based on powers of ten. This exercise will help to develop and understand how the decimal number system is constructed. With Base 10 the rightmost place has a value of one as with Base 2 . Each place moving to the left is valued ten times more. Ten to the zero power is one 100 1 10 to the first power is 10 101 10 10 to the second power is 100 102 10 x 10 100 ten to the third power is 1000 103 1000 and so on. Just multiply the number in each place with the value of each place for example 400 4 x 102 4 x 100 . .
