When converting binary to octal, how many bits are grouped together at a time?

When converting binary to octal, how many bits are grouped together at a time?

• A. 4 bits
• B. 8 bits
• C. 2 bits
• D. 3 bits

Answer: (D)

When converting binary to octal, group the bits in threes. Each octal digit represents exactly 3 binary bits because 2^3 equals 8. If the total number of bits isn’t a multiple of three, pad the leftmost side with zeros to complete the final group. Then convert each 3-bit group to its octal digit (000=0, 001=1, 010=2, 011=3, 100=4, 101=5, 110=6, 111=7). For example, binary 1101011 becomes 001101011 after padding. The groups 001, 101, 011 map to 1, 5, 3, giving 153 in octal.

When converting binary to octal, group the bits in threes. Each octal digit represents exactly 3 binary bits because 2^3 equals 8. If the total number of bits isn’t a multiple of three, pad the leftmost side with zeros to complete the final group. Then convert each 3-bit group to its octal digit (000=0, 001=1, 010=2, 011=3, 100=4, 101=5, 110=6, 111=7).

For example, binary 1101011 becomes 001101011 after padding. The groups 001, 101, 011 map to 1, 5, 3, giving 153 in octal.