Audience
Educators, Students
Grade Levels
Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12, Informal Education
Subject
Computer Science, Mathematics
Type
Hands-on Activities
To process and store data, computers use a simple coding system, called binary code (“bi” means two). Like a simple light switch which has only two positions—ON and OFF—computers encode data using only two binary digits—0 and 1, called bits. All letters, digits, and special characters have been encoded with defined sequences of bits. Most modern character-encoding schemes use a binary string of eight bits.
Use this printable ruler to help you further understand binary code.