KwickClips Computer Systems · 40 sec · free
What is the largest number 8 bits can hold?
Short answer. 255.
What is overflow?
A result too big to fit in the bits available.
Overflow
| 8 bits hold 0 to 255 |
| 300 needs a ninth bit |
| Lost bit: overflow error |
Remember
| Too big to fit |
| Called overflow |
Can a computer say two hundred plus one hundred is forty four? Yes. Eight bits hold up to two hundred fifty five. Three hundred needs nine bits. The ninth bit is lost. Remember. The result was too big. That is overflow.
This clip is from the full lesson: Binary Arithmetic: Addition, Overflow, Two's Complement and Shifts — 6 minutes, with the tables, the quick answers and the whole lesson in text.
Useful for: ISC Class 11 Computer Science (868), Cambridge IGCSE Grade 9 Computer Science (0478), Cambridge IGCSE Grade 10 Computer Science (0478), Edexcel GCSE GCSE Computer Science (1CP2)
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