Error Detection

Card Flip Magic #

The world is noisy place, and errors can occur whenever information is stored or transmitted. Error detection techniques add extra parity bits to data to determine when errors have occurred.

This activity is a magic trick which most audiences find intriguing. In the trick the demonstrator is “magically” able to figure which one out of dozens of cards has been turned over, using the same methods that computers use to figure out if an error has occurred in data storage.

Cartoon

Activity description (PDF) #

Translations and other versions #

Videos #

See our video page.

Photos #

An older version of this activity can be downloaded in PDF format here. The content is similar to the current version, but there’s some extra technical information.

More activities and lessons #

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Videos #

Additional resources #

Great Principles of Computer Science #

  • Communication
  • Recollection

ACM K12 Curriculum #

  • Level I (Grades K2) Topic 11: Understand how 0s and 1s can be used to represent information, such as digital images and numbers.