Binary Code is like light switches (on/off) or yes/no questions. A 1 means “yes” or “on,” and a 0 means “no” or “off.” It’s similar to Morse code in that it’s a way of representing information using simple signals. Morse code uses short and long sounds. Binary code uses 1s and 0s.
All the uppercase letters of the alphabet in Binary Code starts with at “010”. The lowercase letters start with “011”. But both upper and lower case “A” is “00001” after that three digit start. The upper and lower case of “G” is “00111”. The upper and lower case of “S” is “10011”.
Most kids are only introduced to the binary code using the shorter 5 digit versions of the alphabet. This type of code is often referred to as “5-bit binary”. Even just writing your name can be a long process in Binary Code.
5-Bit Binary
| Letter | 5-Bit Binary Code |
|---|---|
| A | 00001 |
| B | 00010 |
| C | 00011 |
| D | 00100 |
| E | 00101 |
| F | 00110 |
| G | 00111 |
| H | 01000 |
| I | 01001 |
| J | 01010 |
| K | 01011 |
| L | 01100 |
| M | 01101 |
| N | 01110 |
| O | 01111 |
| P | 10000 |
| Q | 10001 |
| R | 10010 |
| S | 10011 |
| T | 10100 |
| U | 10101 |
| V | 10110 |
| W | 10111 |
| X | 11000 |
| Y | 11001 |
| Z | 11010 |
Write your name!
Use the 5-Bit Binary Code Alphabet to write your first name.
If your name has an apostrophe or hyphen, there is no 5-Bit Binary Code for them. The full 8-digit code would be used.
- Apostrophe (‘): 00100111
- Hyphen (-): 00101101
Full Binary Code Tables
This is what the uppercase letters of the alphabet looks like in Binary Code.
| Letter | Binary Code |
|---|---|
| A | 01000001 |
| B | 01000010 |
| C | 01000011 |
| D | 01000100 |
| E | 01000101 |
| F | 01000110 |
| G | 01000111 |
| H | 01001000 |
| I | 01001001 |
| J | 01001010 |
| K | 01001011 |
| L | 01001100 |
| M | 01001101 |
| N | 01001110 |
| O | 01001111 |
| P | 01010000 |
| Q | 01010001 |
| R | 01010010 |
| S | 01010011 |
| T | 01010100 |
| U | 01010101 |
| V | 01010110 |
| W | 01010111 |
| X | 01011000 |
| Y | 01011001 |
| Z | 01011010 |
And here are the lowercase letters:
| Letter | Binary Code |
|---|---|
| a | 01100001 |
| b | 01100010 |
| c | 01100011 |
| d | 01100100 |
| e | 01100101 |
| f | 01100110 |
| g | 01100111 |
| h | 01101000 |
| i | 01101001 |
| j | 01101010 |
| k | 01101011 |
| l | 01101100 |
| m | 01101101 |
| n | 01101110 |
| o | 01101111 |
| p | 01110000 |
| q | 01110001 |
| r | 01110010 |
| s | 01110011 |
| t | 01110100 |
| u | 01110101 |
| v | 01110110 |
| w | 01110111 |
| x | 01111000 |
| y | 01111001 |
| z | 01111010 |
Timelines
See the details on how Programming was developed from the first Bacon’s Cipher in 1605.
See a Timeline of Computers and how they went from the Abacus in 500 BC, to the first minicomputer in 1967.
The Badge Archive 