Bar Code Scanners
Bar codes are on just about everything you buy today. Every wonder how the bar code
scanner is used by the computers in the store? Each bar code has a unique series
of lines, varying in thickness and arrangement, to identify numbers. The first set of numbers in a bar code represent the product number. The second set of numbers represent the company number.
Once a laser has scanned the bar code and identified the numbers represented it can
correlate the numbers to a database. The database has information about the product,
such as the price of the item, sale price, how many are in stock, etc. The development of bar codes and scanners has helped the business industry to quickly and efficiently
identify what is in stock, what needs to be ordered, providing information on when
products are bought, and much more!
Every bar code starts and ends with two thin lines. Two thin lines are also used
to identify the middle of a bar code. The numbers for each line are written below
the bar code so that a person can type in the numbers if the scanners don't work.
Each number is represented by two lines. Each bar code has the same amount of lines - how
many? How many lines are used to represent the product number? How many lines are
used to represent the company number?
Your assignment is to answer the questions in the reading above and gather 10 or more
bar codes from different products. Try to get several bar codes of different products
made by the same company, such as different types of soup made by Campbell. Use
the bar codes to identify the bar representations for numbers 0-9. Then create a list
of company codes and product codes that you sampled. Finally, answer the additional
questions below:
Additional Questions
How do bar codes make shopping easier?
How do bar codes make running a store easier?
Explain why each company must have their own company bar code number.
Create your own company number and make a bar code for a product you sell.