GATE CSE 2024 Session 2 Q14: Largest IEEE 754 single-precision bit pattern

The format of a single-precision floating-point number as per the IEEE 754 standard is:

Sign (1 bit)

Exponent (8 bits)

Mantissa (23 bits)

Choose the largest floating-point number among the following options.

Try it: multiple choice: exactly one correct option

Wrong answer costs 1/3 mark in GATE.

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Answer: B (official GATE 2024 final answer key)

Concept used: IEEE 754 special values: an all-ones exponent encodes infinity or NaN, not a number.

First step: Option (C) has exponent 1111 1111 with a non-zero mantissa, which is NaN; compare the remaining exponents.

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Source: official GATE 2024 Session 2 CS question paper and final answer key, organised by IISc Bangalore. Question paper · Answer key