---
title: Patterns and Representation
units: [Data and Society, Representing Information]
summary: Patterns and rules make it easy to exchange information.
weight: 100
---

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## Today's Objectives
- Create and use a system for representing information.
- Describe the necessary features of a system for representing information.

## Lesson Overview
### How do computers use information to solve problems?
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In the previous lesson, you were briefly introduced to the fact that computers use binary numbers. You will be formally introduced to binary soon. For now, you just need to know that it is a string of ones and zeros used to represent information.

Information can be encoded into binary; binary can be decoded into information.

{{% define "Encode" %}}
{{% define "Decode" %}}

Read the lesson overview from [this lesson](/courses/computer-science-principles/circle-square-patterns/).

{{</ collapse >}}

## Assignment
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### Create Your Own Number System
Complete the assignment described in [this lesson](/courses/computer-science-principles/circle-square-patterns/).