The Problem With Numbers !

Early people counted with their fingers.  It made sense.  We have 10 fingers.  The "decimal" system, which we use in everyday maths has been around for almost 2,000 years.  The problem starts when we want to use a computer to calculate numbers.

A computer uses a "binary" communication system.  All processes are controlled by a series of stored "bits".  These small electrical pulses are often represented by the symbols "0" and "1".

Sometimes what seems to be a "number" is not a number in a Mathematical sense.  Australia Post codes, for example, are not mathematical numbers.  We cannot add them and make any sense of the result.

Questions -- Please place your responses on your Google Drive

1. What does the acronym ASCII stand for?
2. What is the problem with coding numbers on a computer? ( Hint .. think about numbers with decimal points )
3. The "number" 3134 is the Australia Post code for the delivery area near Ringwood.  Is this a number in a "mathematical" sense?  Why/Why not?
4. How are very large numbers represented in computer programming? ( Hint! Look for "Hexadecimal" on Google )

Question Asked: 3rd of June 2021

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