Binary Shifts Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What is the most significant bit in a binary number?

The bit with the highest place value, i.e. the leftmost bit.

What is the least significant bit in a binary number?

The bit with the lowest place value (1), i.e. the rightmost bit.

What is the effect on a number's value of a left binary shift of $n$ places?

It multiplies the number by $2^n$.
e.g. a shift left of 2 places multiplies by 4.

What is the effect on a number's value of a right binary shift of $n$ places?

It divides the number by $2^n$ (any remainder is lost).
e.g. a shift right of 1 place halves the number.

True or false? No data is ever lost when a binary shift is carried out.

False. Bits shifted off either end are lost and cannot be recovered.

What are the steps to carry out a left binary shift?
e.g. shift 00001011 two places left

1. Move every bit the given number of places to the left.
2. Fill the empty places on the right with 0s.
3. Result: 00101100 (11 becomes 44).