Figure 1-6. - Powers of 2 exercise.
b. Place.
(1) General. In any number system, be it binary or decimal, the value of a
digit is determined by its place, that is, where it stands in relation to the other digits in
the number. Place value is the backbone of arithmetic. The first thing you do before
adding or subtracting is make sure that the digits line up properly according to their
place value.
(2) Decimal system. In the decimal system, each position to the left of the
decimal point indicates an increased power of 10. The first place to the left of the
decimal is 10 or 1. (This is the units place.) The second place to the left of the decimal
is 101 or 10 (the tens place). The third place to the left is 102 or 100 (the hundreds
place). And the fourth place to the left is 103 or 1000 (the thousands place).
Figure 1-7. Each position to the left of the decimal indicates an increased power of 10.
(a) What would the fourth place to left of the decimal be? You were
right if you said 104 or 10x10x10x10, which is 10,000.
MD0058
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