Skip to main content
DigiTransact Mastermind
Maths•SHS Core: Number, Indices & Logarithms

Number bases

Senior High 6 questions
AI-drafted from platform data — specialist review scheduledBy DigiTransact Mastermind editorial teamLast updated
Start practice

What number bases means

You learn how to write numbers in different bases and how to change them into base ten. This matters because it builds number sense and helps you handle place value, counting patterns and base conversions in exams.

What you will practise

  • Change whole numbers from base ten to base two, five, or other bases
  • Convert numbers written in another base into base ten
  • Use place values correctly when expanding a number
  • Add simple numbers written in the same base

Before you start

You should already be comfortable with place value, multiplication and division, and basic addition. You also need to know powers of small numbers such as 2, 5 and 10.

Worked example

One question from this skill's own question bank, shown with its full working.

Question

Convert 101₂ (base two) to base ten.

  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
Answer: 5

Working: 101₂ = 1×4 + 0×2 + 1×1 = 5.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Using decimal place values in every base. Check the base before expanding or counting.
  • Reading digits as ordinary base ten numbers. Treat each digit by its place value in that base.
  • Forgetting to carry when adding in the same base. Regroup carefully when a sum reaches the base value.
  • Stopping after one division when converting from base ten. Keep dividing until the quotient becomes zero.

Curriculum and exam alignment

Ghana GES SHS syllabusWASSCE

This topic usually appears in SHS 1 or early SHS 2 as part of number work before more advanced algebra. It supports the kind of conversion and base arithmetic that may be tested in WASSCE-style questions.

Curriculum notes are a general guide to where this work normally sits. Always check the syllabus your school or examination body is currently using.

Related skills

Other SHS Core: Number, Indices & Logarithms skills in Maths, at the same point in the course.

Other Maths topics

Counting with PicturesPicture Addition & SubtractionEarly NumeracyNumber BasicsSHS Core MathematicsUniversity Mathematics

Related study guides

Exam Preparation
How to Master WASSCE Core Mathematics: Topics, Traps and Tactics

Core Maths is compulsory and it fails more WASSCE candidates than any other paper. This guide breaks…

7 min read
Exam Guides
SAT & ACT Guide for African Students Applying to US Universities

Dreaming of a US university with a scholarship? The SAT or ACT is your gateway. This guide explains …

8 min read

Exams that assess number bases

Senior High work on this skill feeds directly into these exam papers. Each page lists the Maths topics that appear on it.

WASSCEWASSCE practice questionsFree WASSCE practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.GESGES practice questionsFree GES practice across the subjects at this stage, with worked answers.BECEBECE practice questionsListed as a related subject on the BECE practice page.

How this page was produced

This text was drafted with AI assistance from the questions and topics already stored on the platform. A subject-specialist review is scheduled but has not yet been recorded, so we do not claim it here.

Written by
DigiTransact Mastermind editorial team
Human review
Not yet. Subject-specialist review is scheduled; this page will say so once it has happened. See which content receives human review.
Last updated

Spotted a mistake on this page? Report a content correction and we will check it against the source. You can also read our editorial policy and how we use AI and where it falls short.

All Maths skills

Practise number bases

6 questions with a worked answer after every attempt, and a SmartScore that tracks how close you are to mastery.

Start practice