Specification Reference
- understand that computers use the binary alphabet to represent all data and instructions
- understand the terms bit, nibble, byte, kilobyte, megabyte, gigabyte and terabyte
- understand that a binary code could represent different types of data such as text, image, sound, integer, date, real number
- understand how binary can be used to represent positive whole numbers (up to 255)
- understand how sound and bitmap images can be represented in binary
- understand how characters are represented in binary and be familiar with ASCII and its limitations
- understand why hexadecimal number representation is often used and know how to convert between binary, denary and hexadecimal
Supporting Resources
Binary
Learning Cycle Objectives:
- Understand how computers count in binary
- Be able to convert numbers up to 255 between denary (decimal) and binary
Resources
Textbook Ref:
- binary data 144
Hexadecimal
Learning Cycle Objectives:
- Know how the Hexadecimal counting system works
- Be able to convert between denary, binary & hexadecimal counting systems
Resources
Images
Learning Cycle Objectives:
- Understand the terms bitmap & pixel
- Understand how bitmap images are stored using binary in a computer system
- Understand the term metadata and what it is for (height, width, colour-depth)
Resources
Sound
Learning Cycle Objectives:
- Be able to explain how sound can be sampled and stored in digital form
- Know how sampling intervals (and other considerations) affect the size and quality of a sound file
Resources
Textbook Ref:
- sound data files 145–147
- speakers 120
ASCII & Unicode
Learning Cycle Objectives:
- Understand how Charatures are represented in binary
- Be familiar with ASCII and it's limitations
Resources
Textbook Ref:
- ASCII 145
