| Converting denary to binary
Of course, if someone were to ask us for the binary equivalent of nine
we could just start from zero and count up until we reach nine. This is
a boring way to do it and with larger numbers like 1 000 00010 it would
be very tedious indeed. Here is a better way. The method will be
explained using the conversion of 5210 to binary as an example.
A worked example
Convert 5210 to binary
Step 1: Write down the number to be converted
52
Step 2: Divide it by 2 (because 2 is the base of the binary system), write the
whole number part of the answer underneath and the remainder 0 or 1
alongside
52
26 0
Step 3: Divide the answer (26) by 2 and record the remainder (0) as before
52
26 0
13 0
Step 4: Divide the 13 by 2 and write down the answer (6) and the remainder (1)
52
26 0
13 0
6 1
Step 5: 2 into 6 goes 3 remainder 0
52
26 0
13 0
6 1
3 0
Step 6: Dividing 3 gives an answer of 1 and a remainder of 1
52
26 0
13 0
6 1
3 0
1 1
Step 7: Finally, dividing the 1 by 2 will give 0 and a remainder of 1
52
26 0
13 0
6 1
3 0
1 1
0 1
Binary - the way micros count
Step 8: We cannot go any further with the divisions because all the answers will
be zero from now on. The binary number now appears in the remainder
column. To get the answer read the remainder column from the bottom
UPWARDS
52
26 0 = 1101002
13 0 ↑
6 1
3 0
1 1
0 1
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