Which operation moves bits left or right in a binary number?

Which operation moves bits left or right in a binary number?

• A. Two's complement
• B. Overflow
• C. Binary shift
• D. Readfile command

Answer: (C)

Moving bits left or right in a binary number is done with a binary shift. In a left shift, every bit moves toward higher-order positions and zeros fill the vacated right end, effectively doubling the value (for unsigned numbers). In a right shift, bits move toward the lower-order positions; this can be a logical right shift that fills blanks with zeros, or an arithmetic right shift that preserves the sign by filling with the sign bit. This operation is fundamental for bit-twiddling and efficient arithmetic tricks. The other terms refer to different ideas: two's complement is a way of encoding signed numbers, not an operation on bits; overflow is a condition that occurs when a result can't be represented in the chosen number of bits; readfile is a command for reading a file, not a bit-manipulation operation.

Moving bits left or right in a binary number is done with a binary shift. In a left shift, every bit moves toward higher-order positions and zeros fill the vacated right end, effectively doubling the value (for unsigned numbers). In a right shift, bits move toward the lower-order positions; this can be a logical right shift that fills blanks with zeros, or an arithmetic right shift that preserves the sign by filling with the sign bit. This operation is fundamental for bit-twiddling and efficient arithmetic tricks.

The other terms refer to different ideas: two's complement is a way of encoding signed numbers, not an operation on bits; overflow is a condition that occurs when a result can't be represented in the chosen number of bits; readfile is a command for reading a file, not a bit-manipulation operation.