MBEYA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY
COLLEGE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER ENGINEERING

ORDINARY DIPLOMA IN COMPUTER ENGINEERING /

ICT
SECOND YEAR
CS 6205/ IT 6213: DIGITAL ELECTRONICS
 COMPLEMENTS
 Complements are used in digital computers for simplifying
the subtraction operation and for logical manipulations.
 There are two types of complements for each number
system of base-r:
 the r’s complement and
 the (r – 1)’s complement.
 COMPLEMENTS
• When we deal with a binary system the value of r is 2 and
hence the complements are 2’s and 1’s complements.
• Similarly for a decimal system the value of r is 10 and we get
10’s and 9’s complements.
• With the same logic if the number system is octal we get 8’s
and 7’s complement,
• while it is 16’s and 15’s complements for hexadecimal
system.
 The r’s Complement
• If a positive number N is given in base r with an integer part
of n digits, the r’s complement of N is given as rn–N for N ≠ 0
and 0 for N = 0.
• The following examples will clarify the definition.
The 10’s complement of (23450)10 is 105 – 23450 = 76550.
The number of digits in the number is n = 5.
The 10’s complement of (0.3245)10 is 100 – 0.3245 = 0.6755.
Since the number of digits in the integer part of the number is n = 0,
we have 100 = 1.
The 10’s complement of (23.324)10 is 102 – 23.324 = 76.676.
The number of digits in the integer part of the number is n = 2.
Now if we consider a binary system, then r = 2.
The 2’s complement of (10110)2 is
(25)10 – (10110)2 = (100000 – 10110)2 = 01010.

The 2’s complement of (0.1011)2 is

(20)10 – (0.1011)2 = (1 – 0.1011)2 = 0.0101.
Now if we consider an octal system, then r = 8.
The 8’s complement of (2450)8 is
(84)10 – (2450)8 = (409610 – 24508)
= (409610 – 132010)
= 277610.
= 53308.
Now if we consider a hexadecimal system, then r = 16.
The 16’s complement of (4A30)16 is (164)10 – (4A30)16
= (6553610 – 4A3016)
= (6553610 – 1899210)
= 4654410
= B5D016.
 The (r–1)’s Complement
• If a positive number N is given in base r with an integer
part of n digits and a fraction part of m digits, then the
(r – 1)’s complement of N is given as (rn – r–m– N) for
N≠0 and 0 for N = 0.
• The following examples will clarify the definition.
The 9’s complement of (23450)10 is 105 – 100 – 23450 = 76549.
Since there is no fraction part, 10–m = 100 = 1.
The 9’s complement of (0.3245)10 is
100 – 10–4 – 0.3245 = 0.6754.
Since there is no integer part, 10n = 100 = 1.
The 9’s complement of (23.324)10 is
102 – 10–3 – 23.324 = 76.675.
Now if we consider a binary system, then r = 2, i.e., (r – 1) = 1.
The 1’s complement of (10110)2 is
(25–1)10 – (10110)2 = 01001.
The 1’s complement of (0.1011)2 is
(1–2–4)10 – (0.1011)2 = 0.0100.
Now if we consider an octal system, then r = 8, i.e., (r – 1) = 7.
The 7’s complement of (2350)8 is
84 – 80 – 23508 = 409510 – 125610
= 283910
= 54278.
The 15’s complement of (A3E4)16 is
164 – 160 – A3E416 = 6553510 – 4195610
= 2357910
= 5C1B16.
 Exercise
• Find out the 11’s and 10’s complement of the
number (576)11.