Western Governors University (WGU) ITEC2001 C182 Introduction to IT Practice Exam

The decimal numeral system is the most commonly used numerical system, especially in everyday life. It operates on a base of 10, which means it utilizes ten distinct digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Each digit's place value is a power of 10, so the number 234 has a value of 2*10^2 + 3*10^1 + 4*10^0, equating to 200 + 30 + 4, which totals 234. This system is intuitive because it aligns closely with human counting practices, which traditionally have been based on ten fingers.

In contrast, other numeral systems such as binary (base 2), octal (base 8), and hexadecimal (base 16) utilize different bases and digit sets. Binary uses only two digits (0 and 1), octal employs eight digits (0 through 7), and hexadecimal incorporates sixteen distinct characters, including the digits 0-9 and the letters A-F. Each of these systems serves specific purposes in computing and mathematics but does not operate on a base of 10.