The radix of the hexadecimal number system is 16.
Hexadecimal, also known as base-16, is a number system that uses 16 distinct symbols to represent values. These symbols are 0-9 (representing values zero to nine), and A-F (representing values ten to fifteen). The position of each digit in a hexadecimal number represents a power of 16. This is similar to how the decimal system (base-10) uses powers of 10.
Here's a simple comparison:
| Number System | Radix | Digits Used |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 10 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 |
| Hexadecimal | 16 | 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F |
For example, the hexadecimal number 2A represents (2 16^1) + (10 16^0) = 32 + 10 = 42 in decimal.
