1- Explain the basic differences between analog and digital technology.
In analog technology, in its original form, a wave is captured or used. So for instance, a signal is taken straight from the microphone of an analog tape recorder and laid on tape. An analog wave is the wave from the microphone, and so the wave on the recording is still analog. In order to generate the sound, the wave on the tape can be read, amplified and sent to a speaker. The analog wave is measured at some interval in digital technology, and then converted into numbers that are processed in the digital system. On a CD, 44,000 samples per second is the sampling rate. There are 44,000 numbers contained on a CD per second of audio, thus. The numbers are converted into a voltage wave that approximates the original wave in order to hear the music. Digital technology’s two main benefits are: Over time, the recording does not decay. You will still get almost the same wave, as long as the numbers can be interpreted. By identifying similarities in them, classes of numbers will also be compressed. Special machines called digital signal processors (DSPs) are often simple to use to process and change streams of numbers.
2-Explain the basic differences between the different numbering systems (binary, octal, hexadecimal, and decimal) presented in this unit.
Decimal (base 10)
The most famous number representation scheme is the decimal system. All uses it. It’s so popular that it’s the only one that most people have to believe. It’s used in economics, architecture and biology, and we see and use numbers nearly everywhere.
Binary (base 2)
The binary one is another number representation scheme. As the name indicates, and similar to the decimal system, we can assume that only 2 symbols/characters are used in the binary system: The binary method is used to store information in electronic format however you choose. The binary method is used by all the computers that you know, intelligent machines, everything that has to do with electronics and microcontrollers.
Octal (base 8)
Using 8 symbols/characters, all numbers in the octal scheme are represented, from 0 to 7. There may be different explanations for using the octal method instead of the decimal one. Most of them is that we use the gaps between fingers instead of using our fingers for counting. Humans have four spaces between the fingertips of one hand; we’re going to have eight spaces in all, on both hands. In this case, having an octal number representation scheme instead of a decimal one makes sense. Compared to the decimal one the downside being that larger numbers would need more characters.
Hexadecimal (base 16)
To describe numbers, the hexadecimal number representation scheme utilizes 16 symbols/characters. In computer science, it is often used so greater decimal numbers with fewer characters may be expressed. Compared with the decimal system, numerical markings from 0 to 9 are also used. Additionally, for values between 10 and 15, alphanumeric characters from A to F are used.
References:
Floyd, T. L. (2014). Digital Fundamentals (11th ed.). Pearson Education (US).
https://ecpi.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9780133524390/
Electronic Design. (Jan. 26, 2022). What’s the Difference Between Analog and Digital Multimeters?
