Which base uses digits 0-9 and letters A-F?

Which base uses digits 0-9 and letters A-F?

• A. Binary
• B. Decimal
• C. Hexadecimal
• D. Octal

Answer: (C)

This question checks understanding of numeral bases and the symbols each base uses. A base defines how many distinct symbols can appear in its numbers. The set that includes 0 through 9 plus the letters A through F is hexadecimal, or base-16. Each symbol represents values from 0 to 15, with A representing 10, B=11, C=12, D=13, E=14, and F=15. This scheme is common in computing because each hex digit corresponds to four binary bits, making it easy to translate between binary and a more compact representation; two hex digits make up a full byte. For example, the hex value 3F equals 3×16 + 15 = 63 in decimal. By contrast, binary uses only 0 and 1, decimal uses 0–9, and octal uses 0–7. So the representation that uses digits 0–9 and letters A–F is hex.

This question checks understanding of numeral bases and the symbols each base uses. A base defines how many distinct symbols can appear in its numbers. The set that includes 0 through 9 plus the letters A through F is hexadecimal, or base-16. Each symbol represents values from 0 to 15, with A representing 10, B=11, C=12, D=13, E=14, and F=15. This scheme is common in computing because each hex digit corresponds to four binary bits, making it easy to translate between binary and a more compact representation; two hex digits make up a full byte. For example, the hex value 3F equals 3×16 + 15 = 63 in decimal. By contrast, binary uses only 0 and 1, decimal uses 0–9, and octal uses 0–7. So the representation that uses digits 0–9 and letters A–F is hex.