you're not the only one - i thought the same. that said, some systems are more efficient than others, so since the answer asks for the possible distinct numbers, you could in theory still answer it as if the question was decimal.

but as you astutely noticed, he's probably not anywhere near that yet.

@OP -- go over your lecture notes. if you're having trouble, go find a TA during office hours or something. kenshin is right that you're not even trying to help yourself --- you should at least *try* to do it and ask questions as you get stuck, rather than just post the questions and hope for answers and explanations.

learning is a process of doing. having things explained to you doesn't really work for learning in this field.

This post was edited by irimi on Sep 13 2012 11:59am