AQA A’Level SLR12 Character sets


About this video

AQA Specification Reference
AS Level 3.5.5.1-3.5.5.2
A Level 4.5.5.1-4.5.5.2

A defined list of characters that are recognised and can be stored in a computer system is known as a character set. This video explores the ASCII and Unicode character sets, explaining their relationship to binary and the number of characters in each set. The need for different character sets and how these have evolved over time is also explained.

Key questions:

- How does a computer store text in memory?
- Why was the Unicode character set introduced?

00:00 Character sets
00:03 Intro
00:08 Storing characters in binary
03:01 The ASCII character set
04:24 The Unicode character set
05:38 ASCII vs Unicode
06:59 Key questions
07:09 Outro

Last updated: 09.05.25