What are binary numbers?

Binary numbers are a way to represent numbers using only zeros and ones. The binary system can also be called the base-2 system as each number place is equal to two to the power of that place.

The first number place in the binary system represents the number one, just like normal. However, once the number two is reached, it must be written as 10, because a one in the second number place stands for 2¹, or 2. The third place is equal to four, so the number four is written as 100. As a final example, the number seven is written as 111 in binary.