Octal Multiplication confusion

In summary, the last part of the table, under the Octal, is confusing. The first line is 10=8+2, so the 2 comes from 12. The next line is 5x6+1=31=24+7, so the 7 comes from 37. The third line is 5x2=10=8+2, so the 1 comes from 12. The last line is 10=8+2=12, so the 2 comes from 12 again.
  • #1
mr_coffee
1,629
1
I am reading this table in the bookk and everyhting makes senes but I'm confused on the last part, under the Octal. For example the first line:
5x2 = 10 = 8+2 = 12, i see where the 2 came from in 12, but where did the 1 come from...also
5x6 + 1 = 31 = 24 + 7 = 37, the 7 makes sense but where did the 3 come from? Thanks. Here is the table.
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/6219/lastscan8oo.jpg
 
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  • #2
Wow, that's bad notation. 10 is not equal to 12. 1010 = 12[/sub]8[/sub].

810 + 210 = (1 x 81) + (2 x 80) = 128

2410 + 710 = (3 x 81) + (7 x 80) = 378

Do you get it now? For comparison, consider:


1000 + 200 + 30 + 4 = (1 x 10³) + (2 x 10²) + (3 x 101) + (4 x 100) = 123410
 
  • #3
Mr Coffee, please:

1. One thread per topic.

2. Homework goes in the Homework Forums.

I've deleted your other thread that is identical to this one, and moved this one out of the EE Forum.

Thanks,

Tom
 
  • #4
Thanks akg! i get it now! sorry Tom, I saw other people posting homework questions in EE dealing with these type of problems, but i'll keep them in this forum from now on!
 
  • #5
What an abomination!

Just FYI: We learned the decimal multiplication tables in the second or third grade (at least, most of us did), so that we can multiply decimal numbers. We never learned Octal multiplication tables, so we multiply in octal by converting back and forth -forth and back. There's an easier way. Octal converts readily to binary, and binary multiplication tables are simple (0 X 0 = 0, 0 X 1 = 0, 1 X 0 = 0, and 1 X 1 = 1; that's all there is to it). Thus, to multiply these numbers we get:

00762
00045
_____ becomes


000,000,111,110,010
000,000,000,100,101
___________________
000,000,111,110,010
000,011,111,001,0
011,111,001,0
___________________
100,011,111,111,010 (the commas were used in the intermediate items just keep the spacing in the awful HTML world) Then, converting this back to octal, in our heads, we get:

43772

A computer would do the multiplication in binary simply by --- shift and add --- shift and add --- etc.

KM
 
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  • #6
Many years ago I designed supercomputers. It turns out that some of the Burroughs mainframes were built primarily as octal machines rather than binary machines.

This was primarily evident in their addressing. They had a 48-bit word which consisted of 16 octal digits. They could address by words, and they also could address the eight 6-bit bytes in a word with pointers similar to modern microcomputer byte oriented pointers.

This was a very convenient system.

Then one day they decided to convert it from octal to hexadecimal, or more precisely, they decided to add the ability to address 8-bit bytes as well as 6-bit bytes. That meant that they had six 8-bit nibbles in a word. That meant that they needed a hardware divide by 3 circuit in their nibble addressing. Divide by 3 isn't covered much in EE school.

The story is that they were interviewing a digital designer. They mentioned the problem with division by 3. He wrote down a solution for them. And then Burroughs didn't hire him because they didn't think he'd fit in with their corporate culture. But that's just the story.

Carl

[edit]The first Burroughs computer in the series was the B5000 and it's described here:
http://www.answers.com/topic/burroughs-b5000

The requirement for a division by 3 was from the 6-bit addressing mentioned here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B5000_Descriptors
[/edit]
 
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What is Octal Multiplication confusion?

Octal Multiplication confusion is a mathematical concept that refers to the confusion or difficulty in performing multiplication involving numbers written in the octal number system. This system uses a base of 8, rather than the usual base 10, and has 8 distinct digits (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Why is Octal Multiplication confusing?

Octal Multiplication can be confusing because most people are used to performing multiplication in the decimal system (base 10) and are not familiar with the octal system. This can lead to mistakes and confusion when trying to perform multiplication with numbers written in octal form.

How can I avoid Octal Multiplication confusion?

The best way to avoid confusion when performing Octal Multiplication is to become familiar with the octal number system and its multiplication table. It is also helpful to practice and become comfortable with converting numbers from decimal to octal and vice versa.

What are some common mistakes in Octal Multiplication?

Some common mistakes in Octal Multiplication include forgetting to carry over numbers when multiplying by 8, miscounting the number of digits in a number, and mixing up the position of digits when converting from decimal to octal or vice versa.

How is Octal Multiplication used in real life?

Octal Multiplication is not commonly used in everyday life, as most people are more familiar with the decimal system. However, it is still used in some computer systems and programming languages, where it is useful for representing binary numbers in a shorter, more compact form.

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