Help me understand this question -- "Three consecutive zeros" in a binary string

In summary, the question asks how many eight bit strings contain either three consecutive zeros or four consecutive ones. The question does not specify whether the consecutive zeros or ones have to be consecutive to each other or just in the string. The person asking for clarification asks if a string of all zeros would be considered valid, and the person responding confirms that it would. They also clarify that having more than three consecutive zeros would still satisfy the conditions.
  • #1
r0bHadz
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17

Homework Statement


How many bit strings of length eight contain either three
consecutive 0s or four consecutive 1s?

Homework Equations

The Attempt at a Solution


This might sound dumb, but would the eight bit string of all zeros satisfy the conditions on the question? I understand its asking for three consecutive zeros, but even if the entire string was all zeros, you would still have 3 consecutive zeros so I don't see why there would be a problem. If you guys don't understand what I mean, what about a string like 0000 0000 or 0000 1010 or 0000 1111 0000 0101 etc etc
 
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  • #2
r0bHadz said:
what about a string like 0000 0000 or 0000 1010 or 0000 1111 0000 0101

All of those have three consecutive zeros, so they all satisfy the conditions. What about the question don't you understand?
 
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  • #3
phyzguy said:
All of those have three consecutive zeros, so they all satisfy the conditions. What about the question don't you understand?

I just wanted to make sure if it would still be valid if it was more than 3 consecutive zeros
 
  • #4
r0bHadz said:
I just wanted to make sure if it would still be valid if it was more than 3 consecutive zeros

Well, you'd have to ask the person who wrote the question to be certain, but I would interpret having more than three consecutive zeros as 'having three consecutive zeros'.
 

1. What does "three consecutive zeros" mean in a binary string?

In a binary string, "three consecutive zeros" refers to a sequence of three consecutive zeros (0) without any other digits in between. For example, in the binary string 101000101, there are two instances of three consecutive zeros: 101000101 and 1010000001.

2. How is a binary string different from a regular string?

A binary string is a string of binary digits (0s and 1s) while a regular string can contain any type of character. Binary strings are commonly used in computer science to represent and manipulate data, while regular strings are used for text and other types of data.

3. Why is it important to identify consecutive zeros in a binary string?

Identifying consecutive zeros in a binary string can provide important information about the data being represented. For example, in certain data compression algorithms, consecutive zeros may indicate a pattern that can be compressed, resulting in a smaller file size. Additionally, identifying consecutive zeros can help with error detection and correction in data transmission.

4. Can there be more than three consecutive zeros in a binary string?

Yes, there can be any number of consecutive zeros in a binary string. "Three consecutive zeros" is just a specific example and can be extended to any number of consecutive zeros, such as "five consecutive zeros" or "ten consecutive zeros".

5. How can I find and count the number of occurrences of three consecutive zeros in a binary string?

To find and count the number of occurrences of three consecutive zeros in a binary string, you can use a loop to iterate through the string and check for any three consecutive zeros. You can also use regular expressions to search for patterns of three consecutive zeros. Additionally, there are many online tools and software programs that can help identify and count consecutive zeros in a binary string.

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