Exam-style question
Try this first
In this simplified floating-point format, an 8-bit mantissa has its binary point immediately after the sign bit, and the exponent is an 8-bit two's-complement integer. What decimal value is represented by mantissa 01011000 and exponent 00000010?.
- A.0.6875
- B.1.375
- C.2.75
- D.5.5
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- 2.75
Explanation
Why this works
The mantissa 01011000 represents 0.1011000 in binary, which is 0.5 + 0.125 + 0.0625 = 0.6875. The exponent 00000010 is 2.
Therefore, the value is 0.6875 × 2^2 = 2.75.
Common mistake
No common mistake is linked to this question yet.