Mastering Binary Math

Cisco certification candidates, from the CCNA to the CCIE, must master binary math. This
includes basic conversions, such as binary-to-decimal and decimal-to-binary, as well as more
advanced scenarios involving subnetting and VLSM.

There’s another conversion that might rear its ugly head on your Cisco exam, though, and that
involves hexadecimal numbering.

Newcomers to hexadecimal numbering are often confused as to how a letter of the alphabet can
possibly represent a number. Worse, they may be intimidated – after all, there must be some
incredibly complicated formula involved with representing the decimal 11 with the letter “b”, right?

Wrong.

The numbering system we use every day, decimal, concerns itself with units of ten. Although we
rarely stop to think of it this way, if you read a decimal number from right to left, the number
indicates how many units of one, ten, and one hundred we have. That is, the number “15” is five
units of one and one unit of ten. The number “289” is nine units of one, eight units of ten, and two
units of one hundred. Simple enough!

Units Of 100 Units Of 10 Units Of 1

The decimal “15” 0 1 5
The decimal “289” 2 8 9

Hex numbers are read much the same way, except the units here are units of 16. The number
“15” in hex is read as having five units of one and one unit of sixteen. The number “289” in hex is
nine units of one, eight units of sixteen, and two units of 256 (16 x 16).

Units Of 256 Units Of 16 Units Of 1

The hex numeral “15” 0 1 5
The hex numeral “289” 2 8 9

Since hex uses units of sixteen, how can we possibly represent a value of 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or
15? We do so with letters. The decimal “10” is represented in hex with the letter “a”; the decimal
11 with “b”; the decimal “12” with “c”, “13” with “d”, “14” with “e”, and finally, “15” with “f”.
(Remember that a MAC address of “ffff.ffff.ffff” is a Layer 2 broadcast.)

Practice Your Conversions for Exam Success

Now that you know where the letters fall into place in the hexadecimal numbering world, you’ll
have little trouble converting hex to decimal and decimal to hex – if you practice.

How would you convert the decimal 27 to hex? You can see that there is one unit of 16 in this
decimal; that leaves 11 units of one. This is represented in hex with “1b” – one unit of sixteen, 11
units of one.

Work From Left To Right To Perform Decimal – Hexadecimal Conversions.

Units of 256 Units of 16 Units of 1 Hexadecimal Value

Decimal Number “27” 0 1 B (11) 1b

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 Mastering Binary Math
Converting the decimal 322 to hex is no problem. There is one unit of 256; that leaves 66. There
are four units of 16 in 66; that leaves 2, or two units of one. The hex equivalent of the decimal
322 is the hex figure 142 – one unit of 256, four units of 32, and 2 units of 2.

Units of 256 Units of 16 Units of 1 Hexadecimal Value

Decimal Number “322” 1 4 2 142

Hex-to-decimal conversions are even simpler. Given the hex number 144, what is the decimal
equivalent? We have one unit of 256, four units of 16, and four units of 4. This gives us the
decimal figure 324.

Units of 256 Units of 16 Units of 1 Decimal Value

Hexadecimal Number “144” 1 4 4 256 + 64 + 4 = 324

What about the hex figure c2? We now know that the letter “c” represents the decimal number
“12”. This means we have 12 units of 16, and two units of 2. This gives us the decimal figure
194.

Units of 256 Units of 16 Units of 1 Decimal Value

Hexadecimal Number “c2” 0 12 2 192 + 2 = 194

Tips for Exam Day

Practice your binary and hexadecimal conversions over and over again before you take your
CCNA exams. Binary math questions come in many different forms; make sure you have
practiced all of them before exam day. The number one reason CCNA candidates fail their exam
is that they’re not prepared for the different types of binary math questions they’re going to be
asked, and that they aren’t ready for hexadecimal questions at all.

As you can see, hexadecimal conversions are actually simple. You have to practice them,
though!

You don’t have time to learn how to do in on exam day. You’ve got to be ready before you go
into the exam room, and the only way to be ready is a lot of practice.

Finally, make sure you read the question carefully. You’ve got hex, decimal, and binary numbers
to concern yourself with on your CCNA and CCNP exams. Make sure you give Cisco the answer
in the format they’re looking for.

I have written 20 practice questions that will help you practice your hexadecimal conversion skills.
Once you practice with these questions, and know exactly how each answer was arrived at, you’ll
have no problem with hexadecimal conversions on your Cisco exams.

Best of luck!

To your success,

Chris Bryant, CCIE™ #12933

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 Mastering Binary Math
1. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 1c

2. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: f1

3. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 2a9

4. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 14b

5. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 3e4

6. Convert the following decimal number to hexadecimal: 13

7. Convert the following decimal number to hexadecimal: 784

8. Convert the following decimal number to hexadecimal: 419

9. Convert the following decimal number to hexadecimal: 1903

10. Convert the following decimal number to hexadecimal: 345

11. Convert the following hex number to binary: 42

12. Convert the following hex number to binary: 12

13. Convert the following hex number to binary: a9

14. Convert the following hex number to binary: 3c

15. Convert the following hex number to binary: 74

16. Convert the following binary string to hex: 00110011

17. Convert the following binary string to hex: 11001111

18. Convert the following binary string to hex: 01011101

19. Convert the following binary string to hex: 10011101

20. 20.Convert the following binary string to hex: 11010101

Answers begin on the next page. No peeking!

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 Mastering Binary Math

Before we go through the answers and how they were achieved, let's review the meaning of
letters in hexadecimal numbering:

A = 10, B = 11, C = 12, D = 13, E = 14, F = 15. (And remember

that ffff.ffff.ffff is a Layer 2 broadcast!)

Conversions involving hexadecimal numbers will use this chart:

256 16 1

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1. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 1c

256 16 1
1 c

There is one unit of 16 and twelve units of 1. 16 + 12 = 28.

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2. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: f1

256 16 1
f 1

There are fifteen units of 16 and 1 unit of 1.

240 + 1 = 241

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3. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 2a9

256 16 1
2 a 9

There are two units of 256, ten units of 16, and nine units of 1.
512 + 160 + 9 = 681

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 Mastering Binary Math

4. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 14b

256 16 1
1 4 b

There is one unit of 256, four units of 16, and 11 units of 1.

256 + 64 + 11 = 331

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5. Convert the following hexadecimal number to decimal: 3e4

256 16 1
3 e 4

There are three units of 256, fourteen units of 16, and four units of 1.
768 + 224 + 4 = 996

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6. Convert the following decimal to hexadecimal: 13

When converting decimal to hex, work with the same chart from left to right. Are there any
units of 256 in the decimal 13? No.

256 16 1
0

Are there any units of 16 in the decimal 13? No.

256 16 1
0 0

Are there any units of 1 in the decimal 13? Sure. Thirteen of them. Remember how we
express the number "13" with a single hex character?

256 16 1
0 0 d

The answer is "d". It's not necessary to have any leading zeroes when expressing hex value.

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7. Convert the following decimal to hexadecimal: 784

Are there any units of 256 in the decimal 784? Yes, three of them, for a total of 768. Place a
"3" in the 256 slot, and subtract 768 from 784.

256 16 1
3
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 Mastering Binary Math

784 - 768 = 16

Obviously, there's one unit of 16 in 16. Since there is no remainder, we can place a "0" in the
remaining slots.

256 16 1
3 1 0

The final result is the hex number "310".

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8. Convert the following decimal to hexadecimal: 419

Are there any units of 256 in the decimal 419? Yes, one, with a remainder of 163.

256 16 1
1

Are there any units of 16 in the decimal 163? Yes, ten of them, with a remainder of three.

256 16 1
1 a

Three units of one take care of the remainder, and the hex number "1a3" is the answer.

256 16 1
1 a 3

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9. Convert the following decimal to hexadecimal: 1903

Are there any units of 256 in the decimal 1903? Yes, seven of them, totaling 1792. This
leaves a remainder of 111.

256 16 1
7

Are there any units of 16 in the decimal 111? Yes, six of them, with a remainder of 15.

256 16 1
7 6

By using the letter "f" to represent 15 units of 1, the final answer "76f" is achieved.

256 16 1
7 6 f

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 Mastering Binary Math

10. Convert the following decimal to hexadecimal: 345

Are there any units of 256 in 345? Sure, one, with a remainder of 89.

256 16 1
1

Are there any units of 16 in 89? Yes, five of them, with a remainder of 9.

256 16 1
1 5

Nine units of nine give us the hex number "159".

256 16 1
1 5 9

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11. Convert the following hex number to binary: 42

First, convert the hex number to decimal. We know "42" in hex means we have four units of
16 and two units of 1. Since 64 + 2 = 66, we have our decimal.

Now we've got to convert that decimal into binary. Here's our chart showing how to convert
the decimal 66 into binary:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
66 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0

The correct answer: 01000010

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12. Convert the following hex number to binary: 12

First, convert the hex number to decimal. The hex number "12" indicates one unit of sixteen
and two units of one; in decimal, this is 18.

Now to convert that decimal into binary. Use the same chart we used in Question 11:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
18 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0

The correct answer: 00010010

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 Mastering Binary Math

13. Convert the following hex number to binary: a9

First, convert the hex number to decimal. Since "a" equals 10 in hex, we have 10 units of 16
and nine units of 1. 160 + 9 = 169

Now convert the decimal 169 to binary:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
169 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1

The correct answer: 10101001

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14. Convert the following hex number to binary: 3c

First, convert the hex number to decimal. We have three units of 16 and 12 units of 1 (c =
12), giving us a total of 60 (48 + 12).

Convert the decimal 60 into binary:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
60 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0

The correct answer: 00111100

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15. Convert the following hex number to binary: 74

First, convert the hex number to decimal. We have seven units of 16 and four units of 1,
resulting in the decimal 116 (112 + 4).

Convert the decimal 116 into binary:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
116 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0

The correct answer: 01110100

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The next five questions dealt with converting binary to hex. We're going to use much
the same method in solving these questions, but this point bears repeating: Make
sure to answer the question in the format that Cisco is asking for on your exams.
_________________________________________________________________________

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 Mastering Binary Math

16. Convert the following binary string to hex: 00110011

First, we'll convert the binary string to decimal:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 51

To finish answering the question, convert the decimal 51 to hex. Are there any units of 256 in
the decimal 51? No. Are there any units of 16 in the decimal 51? Yes, three, for a total of 48
and a remainder of three. Three units of one give us the hex number "33".

256 16 1
0 3 3

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17. Convert the following binary string to hex: 11001111

First, we'll convert the binary string to decimal:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 207

Now convert the decimal 207 to hex. Are there any units of 256 in the decimal 207? No. Are
there any units of 16 in the decimal 207? Yes, twelve of them, for a total of 192 and a
remainder of 15. Twelve is represented in hex with the letter "c". Fifteen units of one are
expressed with the letter "f", giving us a hex number of "cf".

256 16 1
0 c f

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18. Convert the following binary string to hex: 01011101

First, convert the binary string to decimal:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 93

Now convert the decimal 93 to hex. There are no units of 256, obviously. How many units of
16 are there? Five, for a total of 80 and a remainder of 13. We express the number 13 in
hex with the letter "d". The final result is the hex number "5d".

256 16 1
0 5 d

19. Convert the following binary string to hex: 10011101

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 Mastering Binary Math
As always, convert the binary string to decimal first:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 157

Now convert the decimal 157 to hex. There are no units of 256. How many units of 16 are
there in the decimal 157? Nine, for a total of 144 and a remainder of 13. You know to
express the number 13 in hex with the letter "d", resulting in a hex number of “9d".

256 16 1
0 9 d

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20. Convert the following binary string to hex: 11010101

First, convert the binary string to decimal:

128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1 Decimal
1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 213

Now convert the decimal 213 to hex. No units of 256, but how many of 16? Thirteen of
them, with a total of 208 and a remainder of 5. Again, the number 13 in hex is represented
with the letter "d", and the five units of one give us the hex number "d5".

256 16 1
0 d 5

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