CS01-08 Computer Science Coming soon
Binary shifts
CS01-08
This lesson is coming soon.
In this lesson
Apply a logical binary shift left or right to an 8-bit number, and state the arithmetic effect of the shift as a multiplication or division by a power of 2.
What it covers
- A LOGICAL shift: every bit moves n places, vacated positions filled with 0
- Shift LEFT by n multiplies by 2 to the power n; shift RIGHT by n divides by 2 to the power n
- Bits shifted off the end are lost, and the value changes as a result
- Stating the arithmetic effect, not just producing the new pattern
- That AQA examines the LOGICAL shift only, and Edexcel also examines the ARITHMETIC shift
Key words
For: AQA GCSE 8525, Edexcel GCSE 1CP2, OCR GCSE J277
On the specification
| Board | Spec | Statement |
|---|---|---|
| AQA GCSE 8525 | 3.3.4 | Binary arithmetic |
| Edexcel GCSE 1CP2 | 2.1.4 | Binary |
| OCR GCSE J277 | 1.2.4 | Data storage - Numbers |
For teachers
This GCSE Computer Science lesson teaches binary shifts. By the end, students should be able to apply a logical binary shift left or right to an 8-bit number, and state the arithmetic effect of the shift as a multiplication or division by a power of 2. It works through three worked examples and the mistakes examiners report.