Chapter 1

Review: Units, Numbers, and Waveforms

In this chapter you will learn about the SI system of units, both base units and derived units, and
how to use their relationship to perform dimensional analysis. You will learn how to determine the
accuracy and precision of numbers, sums and differences of numbers, and products and quotients
of numbers in terms of their significant digits. You will learn the difference between scientific and
engineering notation and the use of engineering prefixes. Finally, you will learn about conversion
factors, how they are used and how they affect the accuracy and precision of the converted result.

1.1 System of Units

SI System (Systéme International) is the worldwide standard for systems of units which are used
to describe, measure, and compare different physical quantities. The SI standard was established
at the General Conference of Weights and Measures in Sévers, France in 1960. The United States,
however, did not endorse the system until fifteen years later with the Metric Conversion Act of 1975.

1.1.1 Base Units

There are seven base units, shown in Table 1.1, that are regarded as dimensionally independent
(meaning that they cannot be derived from other base units.) The first five are of particular interest
for Electrical and Computer Engineers. We will be using these five throughout the semester.

Table 1.1: Table of base units.

Unit Abbreviation Quantity

meter m length
kilogram kg mass
seconds s time
ampere A electric current
kelvin K temperature
mole mol amount of a substance
candela cd luminosity

• Meter- Originally, the meter was defined as equal to one ten-millionth of the distance from
the equator to the pole measured on a meridian. From 1889 to 1960, the meter was defined

1
2 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

as the distance between two lines on a platinum-iridium bar preserved at the International
Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris. From 1960 to 1985, the meter was defined as
1,650,763.73 wavelengths of the orange-red radiation of krypton 86 under specific conditions.
The meter is now defined as the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299, 792, 458
seconds.

• Kilogram - The kilogram is currently the only SI unit that is still defined by an artifact
rather than a fundamental physical property that can be reproduced in different laboratories.
Originally, a kilogram was the mass of a cubic decimeter of water. In 1889 the international
prototype of the kilogram, made of platinum-iridium, was created and is kept at the Interna-
tional Bureau of Weights and Measures. The kilogram is defined as a mass equal to the mass
of the international prototype of the kilogram.

• Second - Early definitions of the second were based on the motion of the earth. 24 hours
in a day meant that the second could be defined as 1/86, 400 of the average time required
for the earth to complete one rotation about its axis. In the late 19th century, astronomical
observations revealed that this average time is lengthening, and thus the motion of the earth
is no longer considered a suitable standard for definition. Since 1967, the second has been
defined to be the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the
transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom.

• Ampere - Quantitatively, the ampere is defined to be the constant current which will produce
an attractive force of 2 × 10−7 newtons per meter of length between two straight, parallel
conductors of infinite length and negligible circular cross section placed one meter apart in a
vacuum. The definition is based on Ampere’s force law which we will cover later in Chapter
7, Magnetism. The ampere is officially defined without reference to the quantity of electric
charge.

• Kelvin - The kelvin is defined as 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature of the triple
point (equilibrium of solid, liquid, and gaseous phase) of pure water. In other words, it is
defined such that the triple point of water is exactly 273.16 K. The zero point, absolute zero,
on the Kelvin scale is the theoretical temperature at which the molecules of a substance have
the lowest energy.

1.1.2 Derived Units

Other units can be derived from the seven base units by multiplying and dividing units within the
system without numerical factors. Examples of derived units are shown in Table 1.2.

The unit of charge, the coulomb (C), is a derived unit. One coulomb is defined as the amount of
electric charge carried past a point in one second by a current of one ampere. Conversely, a current
of one ampere is one coulomb of charge going past a given point per second. Rather than defining
the ampere in terms of the force between two current-carrying wires, it has been proposed to define
the ampere in terms of the rate of flow of elementary charges, i.e. protons. Since a coulomb is
approximately equal to 6.24150948×1018 elementary charges, one ampere is approximately equiva-
lent to 6.24150948×1018 elementary charges moving past a boundary in one second. The proposed
change would define 1 A as being the current in the direction of flow of a particular number of
elementary charges per second. In 2005, the International Committee for Weights and Measures
agreed to study the proposed change, and, depending on the outcome of experiments over the next
1.1. SYSTEM OF UNITS 3

Table 1.2: Table of derived units.

Unit Abbreviation Quantity Base

(kg·m)
newton N force s2
2
joule J work, energy, heat N · m, kg·m
s2
watt W power J/s
volt V electric potential, emf J/C, W/A
coulomb C electric charge A·s
ohm Ω resistance V/A
farad F capacitance C/V
henry H inductance Wb/A
hertz Hz frequency 1/s
weber Wb magnetic flux V·s
tesla T magnetic flux density Wb/m2 , A·m
N

few years, to formally propose the change at the 25th General Conference on Weights and Measures
in 2014.

Some of the units shown are derived with respect to other derived units. For example, electric
potential, or volt (V), is derived in terms of joules per coulomb or watts per ampere. Each of the
units joule (energy) , coulomb (charge) and watt (power) are themselves derived units. We can
determine the equation for the volt using solely base units by substituting in for joule, coulomb,
and/or watt, to discover that the electric potential, volt, defined in terms of base units is:

J kg · m2
V = =( )/(A · s) (1.1)
C s2

1.1.3 Unit Analysis

Unit analysis is a method used to convert from one unit of measure to another. As previously
seen, derived units are obtained from base units in the manner given in Table 1.2 without other
numerical factors.

Again, we note that the coulomb is defined as the amount of electric charge carried past a boundary
in one second by a current of one ampere. That is, in general, for a constant current I (given in
amperes), the amount of charge Q (in coulombs) passing a boundary in a specific amount of time
t (in seconds) is determined using equation 1.2.

Q = It[C] (1.2)
From this we see that, 2 A will carry 4 C past a boundary in 2 s.

Think About It
How much energy is expended when a force of 85 N pushes an elemental charge over a distance
of 5 × 10−3 m?
4 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

The unit of energy is the Joule which is a derived unit. Looking at Table 1.2 we see that the
joule is derived from a combination of force and distance, i.e.

energy(J) = force(N ) · distance(m) (1.3)

Therefore, the energy expended is:

energy = (85)(5 × 10−3 ) = 0.425[J] (1.4)

1.1.4 Scientific versus Engineering Notation

Many electrical computations are performed on vary large and/or very small quantities. To facil-
itate writing these numbers we use a power of 10 notation. There are two main notation schemes
for representing numbers.

Scientific Notation is a form of mathematical notation that allows for only one number to be written
to the left of the decimal place and then multiplied by any power of 10 to restore the number to its
original value. It is a common shorthand notation for writing large or small mathematical values.
For example 4,500 g would be written as 4.5 × 103 g in scientific notation. Likewise, 0.04982 A is
written as 4.982 × 10−2 A in scientific notation. Note that although 49.82 × 10−3 represents the
same number it is not in scientific notation.

Engineering Notation uses prefixes to represent certain powers of ten (see Table 1.3). There is a
significant convenience to using engineering prefixes, however, you cannot forget when doing cal-
culations that engineering prefixes each have a numerical value. To write a value in engineering
notation, you write the number using power of 10 notation, where the power is a multiple of three,
then use the prefix name for that power of ten. For example, 0.04982 A is written in engineering
notation as 49.82 mA.

Table 1.3: Table of Engineering units.

Prefix Power of 10 Abbreviation

atto 10−18 a
femto 10−15 f
pico 10−12 p
nano 10−9 n
micro 10−6 µ
milli 10−3 m
kilo 103 k
mega 106 M
giga 109 G
tera 1012 T
peta 1015 P
exa 1018 E
1.2. REPRESENTING NUMBERS 5

Think About It
A mega-joule (MJ) is equivalent to one 1 × 106 [J] = 1, 000, 000 [J].

A micro amp, (µA), is equivalent to 1 × 10−6 [A] = 0.000001 [A].

2 mW = 2 milliwatts = 2 × 10−3 = 0.002 W

5 µC = 5 micro-coulombs = 5 × 10−6 C = 0.000005 C

0.000057 ampere = 57 × 10−6 A = 57 µA

How many different ways can 452,300,001.0 W be written in engineering notation?

• 452,300,001,000,000,000,000,000,000. aW

• 452,300,001,000,000,000,000,000. fW

• 452,300,001,000,000,000,000. pW

• 452,300,001,000,000,000. nW

• 452,300,001,000,000. µW

• 452,300,001,000. mW

• 452,300.001 kW

• 452.300001 MW

• 0.452300001 GW

• 0.000452300001 TW

• 0.000000452300001 PW

• 0.000000000452300001 EW

1.2 Representing Numbers

Some numbers are exact. For instance countable objects like 2 apples. Fractions can also be exact,
1/2 is exactly equal to 0.5. Some numbers are inexact. For example, π has an infinite number
of digits. How many digits we choose depends on how close to the exact value we wish to be.
Measured values are invariably inexact. A length of wire can only be measured to the accuracy of
the ruler used. A resistor value is only as accurate as the manufacturing process used.

1.2.1 Significant Digits

Precision of a value is the number of digits in the value that are treated as significant for compu-
tation. In other words the precision of a value is the number of significant digits in that value.
Significant digits are those digits that carry actual information.
6 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

They include:

• All non-zero digits (1-9) are significant.

• Zeros that have any non-zero digit anywhere to the left of them are considered significant
zeros.
• All other zeros are not considered significant.

Think About It
How many significant digits are in the following numbers?

• 67.0034 inches

• 0.0014800 feet

• 1,000,000 meters

67.0034 has six significant digits (four non-zero digits and two significant zeros).

0.0014800 feet has five significant digits (three non-zero digits and two significant zeros).

1,000,000 is ambiguous. It could be exact, in other words have an infinite number of significant
digits and we just didn’t want to write them all down. Without a decimal point in the number
you really don’t know how many significant digits to count. We need some rules for determining
whether a given number is exact or not.

• Numbers without decimal points are assumed to be exact, i.e. 10 resistors.

• Numbers with decimal points have the number of significant digits determined as outlined
above.

Here is 1,000,000 re-written in two different ways. How many significant digits does each have?

• 1.00 ×106 V

• 1.00000 ×106 V

1.00 ×106 V has three significant digits.

1.00000 ×106 V has six significant digits.

1.2.2 Accuracy and Percision

The accuracy and precision of computed values depends on the accuracy and precision of the num-
bers used to compute them.

• Accuracy is the measure of absolute error in a value or measurement.

• Precision is a measure of the repeatability in a set of measurements and represents the
relative error in the value.
1.2. REPRESENTING NUMBERS 7

(a) (b)

Figure 1.1: Examples of frequency distribution (Histograms) of measured values showing low accu-
racy (a) and high accuracy (b). Note that both graphs show the same precision of measurements.

Figure 1.1 shows two histograms for a number of measurements of a particular quantity. In graph (a)
the distribution of the measurements are offset from some true value. The offset of the mean of the
measurement distribution from the true value is called the measurement bias. Measurement bias
can occur due to calibration errors or by not measuring the quantity correctly. In graph (b) the
mean of the distribution of the measurements is the same as the true value. Therefore, graph (b)
shows no measurement bias.

The accuracy is shown as the difference between a measurement and some true value and includes
any measurement bias. Graph (b) shows a better accuracy then graph (a). The precision is how
repeatable the measurements are, or the spread of the measurements about some mean. Note that
both graphs in Figure 1.1 show measurements with the same distribution or spread about the mea-
surement mean. For this example the two sets of measurements show the same precision. If one of
the distributions was narrower than the other, the narrower distribution would have better precision.

You can have precision without accuracy, but you cannot have accuracy without precision! In
this class we will assume that our test equipment is calibrated and that the students making the
measurements are doing so correctly, so that we won’t have any bias measurements. In this case
accuracy and precision are somewhat synonymous.

Think About It

You have been asked to assess the accuracy and precision of three different manufacturing
processes that are used to make 1.0 kΩ resistors. You measure a sample of resistors from each
process (see Table A.)
8 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

Table A: Measured values of sample resistors from three different manufacturing processes.
Method 1 Method 2 Method 3
(kΩ) (kΩ) (kΩ)
1.0097 2.862987 1.012951
1.0297 2.753858 1.012958
0.9897 2.186057 1.012955
1.0097 2.600967 1.012944

• Which group(s) are the most accurate?

• Which group(s) are the most precise?

• Which group is the most accurate and precise?

Remember accuracy is the measure of absolute error in the measurement. The error is given
as the difference between the measurement and the true value, in this case 1.0 kΩ.

Table B: Absolute error determined by |xi − m| where xi are the measured values
from Table A and m is the true value 1.0 kΩ.
Method 1 Method 2 Method 3
(kΩ) (kΩ) (kΩ)
0.0097 1.862987 0.012951
0.0297 1.753858 0.012958
0.0103 1.186057 0.012955
0.0097 1.600967 0.012944

From this table we see that Method 1 and Method 3 have the best accuracy, i.e. the smallest
absolute error. Although Method 1 has the best accuracy for individual resistors, it does not
have the best accuracy for all resistors. On average Method 1 and Method 3 are similar in
terms of accuracy.

One measure of precision might be to take the difference between the largest and smallest
measurements in Table A for each Method. Alternative measures for precision might be the
variance or standard deviation of the sample.

Table C: Difference between maximum and minimum measurements from Table A.

Method 1 Method 2 Method 3
(kΩ) (kΩ) (kΩ)
0.04 0.676930 0.000014

From Table C we see that Method 3 has the best precision although Method 1 precision is not
bad.

It is clear that Method 2 has the worse accuracy and precision. Although Method 3 appears
to have a bias in it (i.e. all the values are greater than the expected value 1.0 kΩ), it still has
the best accuracy and precision of the three methods.
1.2. REPRESENTING NUMBERS 9

1.2.3 Computation
In order to determine the accuracy and precision of a computed value which was calculated from
values with differing number of significant digits we need to identify the value with the fewest
significant digits.
• Multiplication and/or Division- The product or quotient will be reported as having as
many significant digits as the number involved in the operation with the least number of
significant digits.
• Addition and/or subtraction- With all numbers involved in the operation written in the
same base unit, the result will have the same number of positions to the right of the decimal
as the number with the least number of positions to the right of its decimal.

Think About It
Determine the result to the correct number of significant digits for the following computations:

1. 0.000170 m × 100.40 m = ?

2. 2.000 × 104 in2 ÷ 6.0 × 10−3 in = ?

3. (20.04)(16.0)(4.0 × 102 ) =

4. 45.621 + 4.3 − 6.61 = ?

5. 7.342 + 1.54 × 102 = ?

6. 35.201 + (101 × 10−3 ÷ 0.2 × 10−2 ) − 12.536 = ?

Solution

1. 0.000170 m × 100.40 m = 0.017068 m2 → 0.017m2 [Three significant digits.]

20000.[in2 ]
2. 2.000 × 104 in2 ÷ 6.0 × 10−3 in = = 3333333.333 in → 3.3 × 106 in [Two
0.006[in]
significant digits.]

3. (20.04)(16.0)(4.0 × 102 ) = 128256 → 12. × 104 [Two significant digits.]

4. 45.621 + 4.3 − 6.61 = 43.511 → 43.5 [Three significant digits.]

5. 7.342 + 1.54 × 102 = 7.342 + 154. = 161.342 → 161. [Three significant digits.]

6. 35.201 + (101 × 10−3 ÷ 0.2 × 10−2 ) − 12.536 = 35.201 + ( 0.101

0.002 ) − 12.536 = 35.201 + (50.5) −
12.536 = 73.165 → 73.1 [Three significant digits.]

1.2.4 Rules for Rounding

When reporting numbers to the correct number of significant digits you will invariably need to round
off digits in the calculation. The first step is to determine the last digit that can be considered
significant. Consider this numeric value:
56.2365496
10 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

• If the digit to the right of the last reported digit is less than 5 round it and all digits to its
right off.
56.2365496 → 56.2

• If the digit to the right of the last reported digit is greater than 5 round it and all digits to
its right off and increase the last reported digit by one.

56.2365496 → 56.237

• If the digit to the right of the last reported digit is a 5 followed by either no other digits or
all zeros, round it and all digits to its right off and it the last reported digit is off round up
to the next even digit. If the last reported digit is even then leave it be.

56.236500 → 56.2366

Note: The rules for rounding that you learned in elementary school, i.e. round down if the
number to be rounded is less than 5 and round up if the number to be rounded is 5 or greater,
unfortunately leads to accumulation of numerical error when dealing with large amount of
numbers. In order to handle this, IEEE created the rule that you should round to the nearest
even number.

1.2.5 Conversion Factor

Inevitably one has to convert from one type of units to another. Most common are converting from
metric units to English units and vis-a-versa. The CRC standard mathematical tables, included at
the end of this section, provide conversion factors to 10 significant digits. To obtain the English
unit from the metric unit you multiply the metric unit by the conversion factor in the last column.
You then report the number of significant digits in the result as equal the number of significant
digits in the value with the least number of significant digits.

Using Table 1.4, determine the number of feet to the correct number of significant digits:

1. How many feet in 2.35 meters?

2. How many feet in 2.3 meters?

3. How many feet in 2 meters?

In order to convert meters to feet, multiply the numbers of meters by the conversion factor
3.280839895 (feet/meters). Then determine the number of significant digits using the rules in
section 1.2.3.

1. 2.35 × 3.280839895 = 7.709973753 → 3 significant digits → 7.71

2. 2.3 × 3.280839895 = 7.545931758 → 2 significant digits → 7.5

3. 2 × 3.280839895 = 6.561679790 → 1010 significant digits → 6.561679790

Remember that if the numeric value does not have a decimal point, it could be considered exact.
Therefore in the last example the number with the least number of significant digits is the conver-
sion factor!
1.2. REPRESENTING NUMBERS 11

When using conversion factors, you have to be careful in identifying whether the conversion factor
itself is exact or not. In Table 1.5 the conversion factors in bold font are exact. In other words
there are exactly 2.54 centimeters in every inch even without writing an infinite number of zeros
after the 4 in the table. When you are working with conversion factors that are exact, you must
assume that they have on infinite number of significant digits even if they are not written down.

Table 1.4: Conversion Factors: Metric - English

** CRC Standard Mathematical Tables, 27th Ed.
To Obtain Multiply By
inches centimeters 0.3937007874
feet meters 3.280839895
yards meters 1.093613298
miles kilometers 0.6213711922
ounces grams 3.527396195×10−2
pounds Kilograms 2.204622622
gallons (U.S. liquid) liters 0.2641720524
fluid ounces milliliters (cc) 3.381402270×10−2

Table 1.5: Conversion Factors: English - Metric

** CRC Standard Mathematical Tables, 27th Ed. ** Bold faced numbers are exact
To Obtain Multiply By
centimeters inches 2.54
meters feet 0.3048
meters yards 0.9144
kilometers miles 1.609344
grams ounces 28.34952313
kilograms pounds 0.45359237
liters gallons (U.S. liquid) 3.785411784
milliliters (cc) fluid ounces 29.57352956

Using Table 1.5, determine the number of centimeters to the correct number of significant digits:

(1) How many centimeters in 2.354 inches?

(2) How many centimeters in 2.3 inches?

(3) How many centimeters in 2 inches?

In order to convert inches to centimeters, multiply the number of inches by the conversion factor 2.54
(centimeters/inch). Then determine the number of significant digits using the rules in Section 1.2.3.

1. 2.354 × 2.54 = 5.979160 → 3 significant digits → 5.98

2. 2.3 × 2.54 = 5.842000 → 2 significant digits → 5.8

12 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

3. 2 × 2.54 = 5.979160 → EXACT! → 5.080

In the last calculation both the number of inches and the conversion factor are exact, therefore the
result 5.08 is also exact! If we wrote just 5.08 how would we know if it was an exact value or a
value with three significant digits? We can write the value as 5.080 cm, where the over-bar on the
zero indicates that the zero repeats forever. Most of the time we will not be dealing with exact
values, so this situation does not come up often.

1.3 Waveforms

Frequently electrical parameters, like voltages and currents, are not constant but are time varying.
These voltage and current waveforms can take on many different forms. Figure 1.2 shows exam-
ples of voltage and current waveforms that we might see in different electrical systems. Obviously
sinusoidal waveforms are prevalent. For instance our electric grid uses 60 Hz sinusoidal voltage
waveform. Radios and other telecommunications systems also transmit a variety of different sinu-
soidal frequencies. Square and pulse waveforms are used in control signals, computer signals, clock
signals, and the internet for example. The sawtooth waveform is used to control the raster scan or
refresh of pixels on your television of computer screen. Triangle waveforms are also used as control
signals in various systems.

Figure 1.2: Examples of different voltage and current waveforms used in electrical engineering.

In this class we will focus on sinusoidal and pulse waveforms. Later in the curriculum you will learn
that any waveform may be decomposed into an infinite series of sinusoids. Therefore any waveform
can be described in terms of its sinusoidal decomposition.

1.3.1 Sine Waves

Sine waves are produced by rotating electrical machines such as dynamos and power station tur-
bines; electrical energy is transmitted to the consumer in this form. Figure 1.3 shows an example
of a generic voltage sinusoidal waveform. Equation 1.5 describes this waveform mathematically.

V (t) = A + B sin(ωt + φ) (1.5)

1.3. WAVEFORMS 13

Figure 1.3: Generic sinusoidal waveform.

In order to fully describe a sine wave we need to understand the following terms:

• Amplitude (B): The amplitude of the sinusoid is a measure of its change over a single
period. It can be specified either as a peak-to-peak amplitude (Vpp ) or a peak amplitude (Vp )
and is measured relative to the average voltage.
• DC Offset (A): The DC offset is equal to the time average of the waveform and represents
the shift of the waveform up or down on the graph.
• Period (T): The period is the time (in seconds) it takes to complete one cycle of a repeating
waveform.
• Frequency (f or ω): Frequency, f , is defined as the number of cycles per unit time and is
the inverse of the period. A related term is radian (or angular) frequency, ω, which is the
number of radians per unit time. Since ther are 2π radians per cycle: ω = 2πf .
• Phase (φ): The constant phase (radians) is a measure of the left or right shift of the waveform
on the graph.

Each of the parameters in Equation 1.5 : A, B, ω, and φ may be estimated directly from the graph
of the sinusoid. For example we can determine those parameters for Figure 1.3 as follows.

The amplitude, B, may be determined from the difference of the maximum and minimum voltages:

7 − (−3)
2B = Vmax − Vmin ⇒ B = =5V (1.6)
2
The DC offset, or average, A, may be determined by taking the average of the maximum and
minimum voltages:

Vmax + Vmin 7 + (−3)

A= ⇒A= =2V (1.7)
2 2
In order to determine the radian frequency, ω, we first need to determine the period, T. The period
is determined by the time between two corresponding points on adjacent cycles of the waveform. for
14 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

the waveform in Figure 1.5, the first maximum occurs at t1 = 0.4 ms and the second at t2 = 2.9 ms.
Therefore:

T = t2 − t1 = 2.9 − 0.4 = 2.5 ms (1.8)

The radian frequency is therefore:

2π
ω= = 2π · 400rad/s (1.9)
0.0025

We see from this that the frequency, f = 400 Hz. Note that a large frequency implies a short
period. A small frequency implies a long period.

The last parameter that we need to determine is the phase (φ). The phase can be solved for from
Equation 1.5 at a specific time. For example, at time t = 0, v(0) = 4.5. Therefore:

4.5 − 2 π
v(0) = 4.5 = 2 + 5 sin(φ) ⇒ φ = sin−1 ( ) = rads (1.10)
5 6

1.3.2 Piece-wise Constant Waveforms

Figure 1.4 shows three different types of piece-wise constant waveforms. Ideal piece-wise constant
waveforms have a finite number of levels of various durations and will transition between those
levels instantaneously. Square waves (a) have similar features to sine waves in that their maximum
and minimum have the same amplitude and duration. Pulse or rectangular waves (b) do not have
a symmetrical shape and may not have the same maximum and minimum amplitude. Both square
and pulse waves are used in digital circuits (i.e. clock signals, counters, address lines, ect.) Some
signaling systems will use multiple levels and can be described as in (c).
1.3. WAVEFORMS 15

Figure 1.4: Piece-wise constant waveforms: (a) square wave, (b) pulse of rectangular wave, (c)
generic piece-wise constant wave.
16 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

Some of the terms that describe piece-wise constant waveforms are similar to those that describe
sinusoidal waveforms.

• Amplitude: Peak amplitude, (Vp ), is only unambiguous for a symmetric periodic waves like
sine and square waves. Vp is measured relative to Vave . For asymmetric waves one measures
the instantaneous amplitude form zero reference. For pulse waveforms this is called Vpulse .
Strictly speaking this is no longer “amplitude” since there is potentially a DC offset to the
waveform. For other generic piece-wise constant waveforms there may be more than one
instantaneous value that describes the waveform.

• Period (T): The period is the time (in seconds) it takes to complete one cycle of a repeating
waveform. For a pulse waveform, this is sometimes called the pulse repetition rate (PRR).

• Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF): The pulse repetition frequency is defined as the
number of cycles per unit time and is the inverse of the pulse repetition rate.

• Duty Cycle (D): The duty cycle of a pulse or rectangular wave is the percentage of time
the pulse is high compared to the total period. A square wave can be considered a pulse wave
with a 50% duty cycle.

Square wave:
Following the same process as for a sinusoidal wave, the square wave amplitude and average is
determined by the maximum and minimum values. For Figure 1.4 (a) both the amplitude and
average voltage are:

4 − (0)
2B = Vmax − Vmin ⇒ B = =2V (1.11)
2

Vmax + Vmin 4+0

Vave = ⇒ Vave = =2V (1.12)
2 2
The period or pulse repetition rate is read directly off the graph. For Figure 1.4 (a) the pe-
riod is 1.5 ms. The pulse repetition frequency is the inverse of the pulse repetition rate and is
PRF=666.67 Hz.

Pulse wave:
This is a asymmetric waveform, so we measure the instantaneous amplitude relative to a zero
reference. Pulse waveforms only have two levels and one of them is always zero, so frequently
we only specify the non-zero level. For Figure 1.4(b) this level is Vpulse = 5 V. Pulse repetition
rate is read directly off the graph, PRR=2.0 ms. Again the PRF is the inverse of the PRR so
PRF=500 Hz. The shape of the pulse waveform is described by the duty cycle. Duty cycle is the
time high relative to the total period and is typically given as a percentage.
tH 0.6
D= · 100% ⇒ D = · 100% = 30% (1.13)
T 2
There are several ways to think about how to determine the average of a waveform. One way is
to think about the waveform as a stack of tricks that you need to level off. You really only need
to determine the average over one period since all other periods or the waveform are identical. In
Figure 1.5 (a) we show two periods of the pulse waveform from Figure 1.4 (b). All the “bricks”
are stacked in two towers six bricks wide and 10 bricks tall. We remove bricks form the top of the
1.3. WAVEFORMS 17

Figure 1.5: Brick by brick interpretation of average.

stacks to fill in in-between the stacks until the entire “wall” is level, see Figure 1.5 (b).

An alternative method, more general method, is to determine the area under the curve and then
determine the height that distributes that area evenly across the entire period of the waveform.
The area under the curve is determined by calculating the area of each rectangle represented by
each voltage level. For our original pulse waveform there are two levels, see Figure 1.6 (a), 5 V for
a duration of 0.6 ms and 0 V for a duration of 1.4 ms. Remember that the total period is 2.0 ms.
So the average voltage is given by:

V1 · t1 + V2 · t2 (5 V )(0.6 ms) + (0 V )(1.6 ms)

Vave = = = 1.5 V (1.14)
T 2 ms

Figure 1.6: Area under the curve.

Piece-wise constant waveform:

As before, the period of any repeating waveform is the time it takes to complete one cycle.
Examining Figure 1.4 (c) we determine that the piece-wise continuous waveform has a period
of 1.1 ms. For this waveform that are three distinct instantaneous voltage amplitudes measured
relative to the zero reference, V1 = 2 V for a duration of t1 = 0.5 ms, V2 = 3 V for a duration of
t2 = 0.2 ms, and V3 = −1 V for a duration of t3 =0.4 ms (see Figure 1.7).

The average voltage is then determined by spreading sum of the areas for each level across the
entire period, i.e.:
18 CHAPTER 1. REVIEW: UNITS, NUMBERS, AND WAVEFORMS

Figure 1.7: Brick by brick interpretation of average.

V1 · t1 + V2 · t2 + V3 · t3 (2 V)(0.5 ms) + (3 V)(0.2 ms) + (−1 V)(0.4 ms)

Vave = = (1.15)
T 1.1 ms = 1.1 V