Binary Basics

What do computers work on at their most basic level?

• Pictures and sounds
• Words and letters

• Ones and zeroes
• Colors and shapes

Do most people work directly with ones and zeroes when using computers?

• Yes, all the time

• Only computer scientists do

• Almost nobody does

• Only when playing games

What carries all the information inside a computer?

• Paper and pencils

• Electric wires and circuits

• Water pipes

• Air currents

What are the two states a single electric wire can represent in a computer?

• Hot or cold

• Fast or slow

• On or off

• Big or small

What is the smallest piece of information a computer can store?

• A byte

• A bit

• A word

• A number

What happens when a computer uses more wires (bits)?

• It gets slower

• It can represent more complex information

• It uses less electricity

• It can only store simple information

How many different digits are used in the decimal number system?

• 2

• 8

• 10

• 100

How many different digits are used in the binary number system?

• 0

• 1

• 2

• 10

What is the largest number that can be stored using 8 wires (bits)?

• 8

• 16

• 255

• 1024

How are images stored in a computer?

• As tiny dots called pixels, each with a number for its color.

• As words that describe the image.

• As sounds that match the image.

• As drawings on paper.