Converting Hexadecimal to Binary
Hexadecimal was created to work with Binary, and to be easy to convert to Binary. Watch the video to see how this works. There is a walk through of the method below too.
Steps | Outcome | Notes | |
| 1) Write down the Hex Number, split each numeral into its own "section" | A | B | Hex number is AB, 2 numerals, 2 sections. |
| 2) Convert each numeral into Denary | 10 | 11 | A = 10 B = 11 |
| 3) Convert those numbers into binary, use only 4 binary numerals (1's and 0's) | 1010 | 1011 | (1*8)+(0*4)+(1*2)+(0*1) = 10 (1*8)+(0*4)+(1*2)+(1*1) = 11 |
| 4) Final answer, combine the 2 halves | 1010 1011 | ||
You might be thinking why do we only use 4 binary numerals, (or why do we only have four 1's and 0's in the binary sections) . The answer is "because that is all you need". The largest number you will be converting is an F(Hex), 15(Den). We can show all numbers upto 15 in binary using just 4 numerals.
When you become completely familiar with the Denary equivalents of the Hex numerals, you can go straight from the Hex to Binary without needing to write down the Denary step, but that takes time and regular practice. For the exam please use all the steps as there are often marks available for each step (in the same way as showing your workings in Maths gets you method marks).