Multiple choiceQuestion 1 · Recall
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By the end you can describe practical applications of hexadecimal, and explain why hex, not binary, is used in each one.
Copy this colour code: 1111 1111 1000 0000 0000 0000. Now this one: FF8000.
They're the same 24 bits. The hex version has 6 characters to get right instead of 24, and a slip in it is far easier to spot.
Computers never store "hex". It is a human-friendly way of writing binary: a quarter of the length and much harder to misread. So it appears wherever people have to read or type raw binary values.
| Use | Example | Why hex helps |
|---|---|---|
| Memory addresses and memory dumps | 7FFE 0A3C |
Programmers debugging can scan memory contents quickly |
| HTML and CSS colour codes | #FF8000 (orange) |
Two hex digits per byte: red FF, green 80, blue 00 |
| MAC addresses | 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E |
48 bits become just 12 characters |
| Machine code, assembly language, error codes | &4A, 0x0000007B |
Byte values are short and easy to copy correctly |
| IPv6 addresses | 2001:0db8:… |
128 bits written as eight groups of four hex digits |