IPT - A Virtual Approach - eXercises CS X #2

eXercise #2

Regarding the Standard Character set, there are a number of patterns implicit within it
1. How many ASCII numbers are between the LOWER case letter and the UPPER case, and is this constant?
2. In BINARY, how would the character sequence 'GIDDAY' appear (assuming the MSB is set to a zero)
Regarding the representation of INTEGERS,
1. Why is SIGN MAGNITUDE a slightly 'unnatural' way of representing numbers?
2. How would the SIGNED INTEGER '-6536' appear in binary using SIGN MAGNITUDE?
3. Using ONE'S COMPLIMENT, represent the SIGNED INTEGER -4242, then add it to the SIGNED INTEGER 4242 and comment on the result?
4. Verify that, under TWO's COMPLIMENT, the addition of -86 to +86 does infact add to ZERO
In BCD
1. How would the number 42 be stored
2. Describe the ADVANTAGES of using BCD to represent numbers
3. What is the main DISADVANTAGE of using BCD to represent numbers
Real Numbers are often described 'approximations' when referring to their storage on computers. Explain why this is so, using a representation technique as the basis of your explanation.