Networking Basics

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Base 10 number system

Numbering systems consist of symbols and rules for their use. This page will discuss the most commonly used number system, which is decimal, or Base 10.

Base 10 uses the ten symbols 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. These symbols, can be combined to represent all possible numeric values.

The decimal number system is based on powers of 10. Each column position of a value, from right to left, is multiplied by the base number 10 raised to a power, which is the exponent. The power that 10 is raised to depends on its position to the left of the decimal point. When a decimal number is read from right to left, the first or rightmost position represents 100, which equals 1. The second position represents 101, which equals 10. The third position represents 102, which equals 100. The seventh position to the left represents 106, which equals 1,000,000. This is true no matter how many columns the number has.

Here is an example:

2134 =
(2x10^3) + (1x10^2) + (3x10^1) + (4x10^0)

This review of the decimal system will help you understand the Base 2 and Base 16 number systems. These systems use the same methods as the decimal system.