The decimal value 0.5 in IEEE single precision floating point representation has
2012
The decimal value 0.5 in IEEE single precision floating point representation has
- A.
fraction bits of 000…000 and exponent value of 0
- B.
fraction bits of 000…000 and exponent value of −1
- C.
fraction bits of 100…000 and exponent value of 0
- D.
no exact representation
Attempted by 205 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Key insight: 0.5 = 1.0 × 2^−1, so the normalized mantissa is 1.0 and the fraction bits are all zeros.
Normalized form: 1.0 × 2^−1.
Fraction (mantissa) bits: all zeros (000...000).
Unbiased exponent: −1. Biased exponent (single precision): −1 + 127 = 126 → binary 01111110.
Sign bit: 0. Final 32-bit pattern: 0 01111110 000...000 (hex 3F000000).
A video solution is available for this question — log in and enroll to watch it.