GCSE – Lesson 8 – Representing text

Curriculum KS4 Unit Lesson

Learners will be introduced to the ASCII character set. They will learn that it traditionally used 7 bits, but now uses 8 bits. They will calculate the maximum number of characters that can be represented using 7 bits, then they will be introduced to the ASCII table. They will then practise coding words using decimal and binary numbers.

Learning objectives

  • Determine the maximum number of states that can be represented by a binary pattern of a given length
  • Explain how ASCII is used to represent characters, and its limitations
  • Explain what a character set is
  • Describe how character codes are commonly grouped and run in sequence within encoding tables

Package contents

  • Lesson plans
  • Slide decks
  • Learner resources
  • Homework

GCSE revision

A comprehensive range of content and helpful practice questions are also available for this topic.

View on Ada Computer Science