28. Pearson Edexcel GCSE (1CP2) Topic 2B Representing characters and character sets


About this video

EDEXCEL 1CP2 Specification Reference - Topic 2B: 2.2.1 - 2.3.2

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, extended 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.

Don't forget, whenever the blue note icon appears in the corner of the screen, that is your cue to take notes about the content being shown on the current slide.

00:00 Representing characters and character sets
00:09 Intro
00:14 Storing characters in binary
03:15 ASCII
05:05 A note about other character sets
05:28 UNICODE
07:07 Recap
07:15 Outro

Last updated: 15.07.25