New
New
Year 10
AQA
Binary addition
I can count in binary and I can perform addition in binary.
New
New
Year 10
AQA
Binary addition
I can count in binary and I can perform addition in binary.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The process of counting in binary follows the same principle as decimal.
- Binary addition can be achieved with the following facts: 0+0 = 0, 0+1 = 1, 1+1 = 10 and 1+1+1 = 11.
Keywords
Addition - a mathematical operation where two or more numbers are combined to find their total
Carry - the extra value that moves to the next column when the sum of digits in a place value exceeds the base
Common misconception
Pupils will often default to decimal addition, in the fact that 1+1 = 2, whereas in binary 1+1 = 10.
Remind students that binary only has two digits; 0 and 1. Use the comparisons between binary and decimal addition in the slide deck to illustrate the differences.
Model to students the process using the layout modelled in the slide deck. This models how they would do addition in maths, so pupils should be familiar with the process.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on
Open Government Licence version 3.0
except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).Lesson video
Loading...
Starter quiz
Download starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Binary is a base number system.
Q2.
What digits are used in binary?
0 to 9
0 to 100
Q3.
In the decimal number 3,728 what digit is in the hundreds place?
3
2
8
Q4.
What is the value of the '1' in the binary number 10,000?
Q5.
What is the decimal equivalent of the binary number 11011?
Q6.
What is the binary representation of the decimal number 53?
100100
111111
101101
Exit quiz
Download exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.
Counting in binary follows similar principles to counting in .
Q2.
Match the binary addition rule to the correct result.
0
1
10
11
Q3.
Add together these two binary numbers:
1010 + 101
Q4.
Add together these two binary numbers:
1111 + 111
Q5.
What is the maximum decimal number that can be represented by 5 binary digits?
15
5
11111
Q6.
Add together these three binary numbers:
100 + 10 + 1