StudyDeck

Converting Between Hexadecimal & Binary

Exam code: 2210
Written by: Ashika|Reviewed by: Caroline Carroll|Updated 2 July 2026

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion

How do you convert from binary to hexadecimal?

  • It is important before revising how to convert from binary to hexadecimal and vice versa that you fully understand the binary and hexadecimal number systems.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

Example 1

  • To convert the binary number 10110111 to hexadecimal, first split the 8 bit number into 2 binary nibbles

8

4

2

1

 

 

8

4

2

1

1

0

1

1

0

1

1

1

  • For each nibble, convert the binary to it’s denary value

  • (1 x 8) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 11 (B)

  • (1 x 4) + (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 7

  • Join them together to make a 2 digit hexadecimal number

  • Binary 10110111 is B7 in hexadecimal

Example 2

  • To convert the binary number 00111001 to hexadecimal, first split the 8 bit number into 2 binary nibbles

8

4

2

1

 

 

8

4

2

1

0

0

1

1

1

0

0

1

  • For each nibble, convert the binary to it’s denary value

  • (1 x 2) + (1 x 1) = 3

  • (1 x 8) + (1 x 1) = 9

  • Join them together to make a 2 digit hexadecimal number

  • Binary 00111001 is 39 in hexadecimal

Hexadecimal to Binary Conversion

Hexadecimal to Binary Conversion

How do you convert from hexadecimal to binary?

Example 1

  • To convert the hexadecimal number 5F to binary, first split the digits apart and convert each to a binary nibble

8

4

2

1

 

0

1

0

1

= 5

8

4

2

1

 

1

1

1

1

= 15 (F)

  • Join the 2 binary nibbles together to create an 8 bit binary number

128

64

32

16

8

4

2

1

0

1

0

1

1

1

1

1

  • Hexadecimal 5F is 01011111 in binary

Example 2

  • To convert the hexadecimal number 26 to binary, first split the digits apart and convert each to a binary nibble

8

4

2

1

 

0

0

1

0

= 2

8

4

2

1

 

0

1

1

0

= 6

  • Join the 2 binary nibbles together to create an 8 bit binary number

128

64

32

16

8

4

2

1

0

0

1

0

0

1

1

0

  • Hexadecimal 26 is 00100110 in binary