Which statement about binary code is true?

Prepare for the CodeHS AP Computer Science Principles Exam with multiple choice questions, detailed explanations, and helpful hints. Boost your confidence and get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which statement about binary code is true?

Explanation:
Binary code uses only two symbols, typically 0 and 1, because digital circuits have two distinct states (on and off). By combining these bits, computers represent all kinds of data and instructions, and perform operations using Boolean logic. This simple two-symbol foundation is what makes hardware reliable and scalable, since voltages can be consistently interpreted as either 0 or 1. It isn’t readable like natural language because a long string of 0s and 1s doesn’t convey meaning on its own. Meaning comes from encoding schemes (such as ASCII or Unicode for text, or specific opcodes and operands for instructions) that map bit patterns to characters or machine operations. High-level programming languages aren’t read or written directly in binary; they’re written by humans and then translated into binary by compilers or assemblers so the computer can execute them. Humans don’t execute binary code directly; the processor runs the translated binary instructions.

Binary code uses only two symbols, typically 0 and 1, because digital circuits have two distinct states (on and off). By combining these bits, computers represent all kinds of data and instructions, and perform operations using Boolean logic. This simple two-symbol foundation is what makes hardware reliable and scalable, since voltages can be consistently interpreted as either 0 or 1.

It isn’t readable like natural language because a long string of 0s and 1s doesn’t convey meaning on its own. Meaning comes from encoding schemes (such as ASCII or Unicode for text, or specific opcodes and operands for instructions) that map bit patterns to characters or machine operations. High-level programming languages aren’t read or written directly in binary; they’re written by humans and then translated into binary by compilers or assemblers so the computer can execute them. Humans don’t execute binary code directly; the processor runs the translated binary instructions.

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