Computer Systems

Question 1

What are whole numbers stored with?

Answer 1

Binary

Question 2

How are numbers with decimal points stored?

Answer 2

Numbers with decimal points are stored using floating point, constructed from a mantissa and an exponent. The mantissa is the value being stored, without a decimal point. The exponent is the power by which the mantissa must be multiplied to get back to the original value.

Question 3

How are characters stored?

Answer 3

Characters are stored using extended ASCII. This allocated 8 bits per character providing 256 possible characters.

Question 4

How are bitmap graphics stored?

Answer 4

Bitmap graphics are stored as an organised grid of pixels.

Question 5

How are vector graphics stored?

Answer 5

Vector graphics are stored as a series of objects. Each object is stored by a list of its attributes. An object’s attributes can include line colour, fill colour, line thickness, start point, end point.

Question 6

Give the benefits of a vector graphic compared to a bitmap.

Answer 6

Vector graphics have the benefit of lower file size and scalability, as they can be made bigger without pixelating.