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Computers & Digital Literacy · Grade 6

Data Encoding and Representation

Learners discover how a computer stores everything with bits: why n bits give 2^n^ patterns, how 8-bit binary numbers work with place values from 128 down to 1, how text becomes numbers through a code table such as ASCII (with Unicode covering the world's writing systems), and how images become grids of pixels whose size depends on resolution and bits per pixel.

  • 4 lessons
  • About 100 minutes
  • Data representation check: 10 questions
  • Ways to answer: fill in the blanks, choose an answer, trace code, match pairs, type a number and sort into groups
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What learners will discover

  • Explain bits and bytes and use the rule that n bits make 2^n^ different patterns.
  • Convert between 8-bit binary and decimal using the place values 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 and 1.
  • Explain how text is stored as numbers with a code table (ASCII 'A' = 65) and that Unicode extends this to many writing systems.
  • Represent images as pixels (1 bit per pixel for black and white, 24-bit RGB for color) and compute uncompressed size as pixels × bits per pixel.

Lessons

  1. Bits, bytes and patterns 7 steps5 practiceabout 22 min
  2. Binary numbers 8 steps5 practiceabout 28 min
  3. Text as numbers 7 steps5 practiceabout 24 min
  4. Images as grids of pixels 7 steps5 practiceabout 26 min
  5. Data representation check 10 questions at the end

Keep exploring

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Guide for grown-ups