Q&A on the in-class exercise
Q: “Hi Mrs.Benson,
This is Jessica Neal. I am in your section 202 M/W 11-12:15 class. I’ve been working with this assignment all afternoon and i’ve tried it many ways and i’m not sure if i’m doing it correctly.Can you use the same algorithm to convert any base to another base? For example, can I use that formula to convert a base nine number to base 14? Or can I convert a base 14 number to a base 10? Or is it a trick question since 1zigwat equals 1 earth dollar? I tried both ways and i’m not sure if i’m on the right track.
Thanks,
Jessica Neal ”
A: “Jessica, you won’t be able to convert directly between base 9 and base 14, but you can convert from either one to base 10, and then to the other base.
No, the fact that 1 zigwat = 1 dollar = 1 xenon is NOT a trick question. That fact still doesn’t make 758,888 zigwats equal to 758,888 xenons, since zigwats are calculated on a base 9 number system and xenons are computed on a base 14 number system. To make it a little more clear, think about this:
758,888 zigwats + 1 zigwat = 760,000 zigwats (there’s no 9 in base 9)
758,888 xenons + 1 xenon = 758,889 xenons “
