The base that we work with in everyday calculations is

"base 10". We use the digits 0-9 to represent all our

numbers. Binary uses only the digits 0 and 1 for number
representation. The number 2 in base 10 is actually 10
in binary. In "base n" systems for whole numbers, the
number in the rightmost position (e.g. 9 in 1089) is
least significant. The least significant number
represents that many times the base to the 0th power.
Then going from right to left, each number adds one
more power of ten. Taking our example of 1089:
0

1089=910 +810 +010 +110

If we wanted to write 1089 in binary we need to

implement a conversion process. Repeatedly divide by
two until your end result is 0 and keep the whole
number result as well as the remainder. The remainders
become the binary digits of the number from least
significant to most significant A simple example with
the number 10 is shown below:
10 2=5 remainder 0
5 2=2 remainder 1
2 2=1remainder 0
1 2=0 remainder 1

10binary102=1010

So why is binary important? Digital Computers were

originally made with physical toggle switches that were
either ON or OFF. Each 1 or 0 (bit) in a binary number
could represent ON or OFF. A long string of bits is an
instruction to the computer.