In two's complement representation, which bit determines the sign of the number?

In two's complement representation, which bit determines the sign of the number?

• A. Most Significant Bit
• B. Least Significant Bit
• C. Middle Bit
• D. No Bit Indicates Sign

Answer: (A)

In two's complement, the sign of the number is determined by the most significant bit. This highest-order bit acts as a sign indicator: if it is 0, the number is non-negative (ranging from 0 up to 2^(n-1)−1); if it is 1, the number is negative (ranging from −2^(n-1) up to −1). The MSB effectively carries the large negative weight −2^(n−1) in the overall value, so flipping only this bit changes the sign while the remaining bits encode the magnitude consistently. The least significant bit only affects the smallest value step and does not indicate sign, there isn’t a separate “middle” bit serving as sign, and saying no bit indicates sign is incorrect.

In two's complement, the sign of the number is determined by the most significant bit. This highest-order bit acts as a sign indicator: if it is 0, the number is non-negative (ranging from 0 up to 2^(n-1)−1); if it is 1, the number is negative (ranging from −2^(n-1) up to −1). The MSB effectively carries the large negative weight −2^(n−1) in the overall value, so flipping only this bit changes the sign while the remaining bits encode the magnitude consistently. The least significant bit only affects the smallest value step and does not indicate sign, there isn’t a separate “middle” bit serving as sign, and saying no bit indicates sign is incorrect.