1-32
Base (Radix)
The base, or radix, of this system is 16, which represents the number of symbols used in the system.
A quantity expressed in hex will be annotated by the subscript 16, as shown below:
A3EF16
Positional Notation
Like the binary, octal, and decimal systems, the hex system is a positional notation system. Powers
of 16 are used for the positional values of a number. The following bar graph shows the positions:
163 162 161 160
-1
16-2 16-3
Multiplying the base times itself the number of times indicated by the exponent will show the
equivalent decimal value:
