CHAPTER 3 — Full Summary Practice Set

(Easy version with full sentences and explanations)

10 Long Questions with Full Answers (10 marks each)

1. Explain the difference between Analog and Digital Signals.

An analog signal is a continuous wave that changes smoothly over time and can take any
value in a range. For example, a voice signal or temperature reading is analog.
A digital signal is made of discrete steps and only takes a limited number of values (like 0
and 1). Digital signals are more reliable because noise affects them less.
The general analog signal formula is:

𝑆(𝑡) = 𝐴sin⁡(2𝜋𝑓𝑡 + 𝜙)

Analog signals are continuous, while digital signals are pulse-like and represented by
binary data.

2. Differentiate between Periodic and Non-periodic signals.

A periodic signal repeats its pattern after a fixed time called the period (T).
It follows the rule 𝑥(𝑡) = 𝑥(𝑡 + 𝑇).
Examples include sine waves and square waves.
A non-periodic signal does not repeat its pattern, for example, the sound of human
speech or random data transmission.
Periodic signals are predictable; non-periodic signals are random.

3. Define Period and Frequency and write all related formulas.

The period (T) of a signal is the time taken to complete one full cycle.
The frequency (f) is the number of cycles per second.
They are related by:
1 1
𝑓= and𝑇 =
𝑇 𝑓
The unit of frequency is Hertz (Hz).
If a signal has a frequency of 1000 Hz, it completes 1000 cycles every second, and the
period is 1 millisecond.

4. Explain Example 3.6 (Phase).

If a sine wave is delayed or shifted by a part of a full cycle, that shift is called phase.
1
In Example 3.6, if a sine wave is delayed by 6of a cycle, then the phase difference is:

1
× 360° = 60°
6

To convert it to radians:
𝜋
60° × = 1.046 radians
180

So, the wave is shifted by 60° or 1.046 radians.

5. Explain Wavelength and write its formula.

The wavelength (λ) is the distance a wave travels in one full cycle.
It depends on the speed (v) of the signal and its frequency (f):
𝑣
𝜆=
𝑓

For example, if a wave travels at 3 × 108 m/sand has a frequency of 60 MHz, its wavelength
is 5 meters.
Higher frequency means smaller wavelength.

6. Explain the difference between Time Domain and Frequency Domain.

In the time domain, we observe how a signal changes with time — the graph shows
amplitude versus time.
In the frequency domain, we see what frequency components are present — it shows how
strong each frequency is.
Time domain is good for viewing signals directly, while frequency domain helps in analyzing
bandwidth and filtering.

7. Define Bandwidth and give an example.

Bandwidth is the range of frequencies that a signal occupies.

It is calculated as:

𝐵𝑊 = 𝑓ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ − 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤

If a signal occupies frequencies from 100 Hz to 5000 Hz, then the bandwidth is 4900𝐻𝑧.
In general, larger bandwidth means higher data transmission capacity.

8. Explain Digital Signal and Example 3.16.

A digital signal has discrete voltage levels, which represent binary data (0s and 1s).
If a digital signal has L distinct levels, then each level can represent log₂L bits.
For example, 2 levels = 1 bit, 4 levels = 2 bits, and 8 levels = 3 bits.
Example 3.16 shows that more levels allow higher bit rates but increase the effect of noise.

9. Describe Impairments in Transmission.

Signals can degrade during transmission because of:

1. Attenuation (loss of signal power):

𝑃2
𝑑𝐵 = 10log⁡10 ( )
𝑃1

If power drops by half, loss = −3 dB.

2. Distortion: shape of the wave changes due to different frequency delays.

3. Noise: unwanted signals that mix with the original signal.

The book shows figures of these effects in Examples 3.26–3.28.

10. Explain Nyquist Bit Rate and Shannon Capacity.

The Nyquist formula gives the maximum bit rate for a noiseless channel:

𝑅 = 2𝐵log⁡2 𝐿

where B = bandwidth, L = signal levels.

The Shannon formula gives the maximum rate for a noisy channel:

𝐶 = 𝐵log⁡2 (1 + 𝑆𝑁𝑅)

These show that more bandwidth, higher signal levels, or better SNR increase capacity.
Throughput is always less than theoretical capacity due to losses, and latency =
propagation + transmission + other delays.

20 Solved Math Problems (Step by Step)

1. Find frequency if the period is 2.5 ms.

𝑇 = 2.5 × 10−3 𝑠
1 1
𝑓= = = 400 Hz
𝑇 2.5 × 10−3

Answer: 400 Hz.

2. Find period if frequency is 60 kHz.

1 1
𝑇= = = 1.67 × 10−5 𝑠 = 16.7𝜇𝑠
𝑓 60 × 103

Answer: 16.7 microseconds.

3. Phase Example

Shift = 1/8 cycle →

1
𝜙= × 360° = 45°
8
 45° = 0.785 radians

Answer: 45° or 0.785 rad.

4. Wavelength in Air

𝑣 = 3 × 108 , 𝑓 = 100 × 106

𝑣 3 × 108
𝜆= = = 3𝑚
𝑓 100 × 106

Answer: 3 meters.

5. Wavelength in Cable

𝑣 = 2 × 108 , 𝑓 = 100 × 106

2 × 108
𝜆= = 2𝑚
100 × 106

Answer: 2 meters.

6. Bandwidth Calculation

𝑓ℎ = 5000, 𝑓𝑙 = 100
𝐵𝑊 = 5000 − 100 = 4900𝐻𝑧

Answer: 4900 Hz.

7. Bit Length

𝑣 = 2 × 108 , 𝑅𝑏 = 1 × 106
𝑣 2 × 108
𝐿= = = 200𝑚
𝑅𝑏 106

Answer: 200 meters per bit.

8. Attenuation Example

𝑃1 = 10, 𝑃2 = 5
𝑑𝐵 = 10log⁡10 (5/10) = −3𝑑𝐵

Answer: −3 dB loss.

9. Amplification Example

𝑃1 = 1, 𝑃2 = 10
𝑑𝐵 = 10log⁡10 (10/1) = +10𝑑𝐵

Answer: +10 dB gain.

10. Cascaded Link

(−3) + 10 + (−3) = +4𝑑𝐵

Answer: Overall gain = +4 dB.

11. SNR

𝑆 = 10, 𝑁 = 0.01
𝑆𝑁𝑅 = 1000
𝑆𝑁𝑅𝑑𝐵 = 10log⁡10 (1000) = 30𝑑𝐵

Answer: 30 dB.

12. Nyquist (L = 2)

𝐵 = 3000
𝑅 = 2𝐵log⁡2 𝐿 = 2 × 3000 × 1 = 6000𝑏𝑝𝑠
Answer: 6 kbps.

13. Nyquist (L = 4)

𝑅 = 2 × 3000 × 2 = 12000𝑏𝑝𝑠

Answer: 12 kbps.

14. Nyquist (L = 8)

𝑅 = 2 × 3000 × 3 = 18000𝑏𝑝𝑠

Answer: 18 kbps.

15. Shannon Capacity

𝐵 = 3000, 𝑆𝑁𝑅 = 1000

𝐶 = 3000log⁡2 (1 + 1000) = 3000 × 9.97 = 29910𝑏𝑝𝑠

Answer: 29.9 kbps.

16. Compare Nyquist vs Shannon

Nyquist = 12 kbps, Shannon = 29.9 kbps.

The smaller value (12 kbps) is the real limit.

17. Throughput Example

Bandwidth = 10 Mbps
Actual data = 6 Mbps
Answer: Throughput = 6 Mbps (less than bandwidth).

18. Propagation Time

 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 2000𝑘𝑚 = 2 × 106 𝑚, 𝑣 = 2 × 108
2 × 106
𝑇𝑝 = = 0.01𝑠 = 10𝑚𝑠
2 × 108

Answer: 10 milliseconds.

19. Transmission Time

𝑀𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 1𝑀𝐵 = 8 × 106 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑠, 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 1𝑀𝑏𝑝𝑠

8 × 106
𝑇𝑡 = = 8𝑠
1 × 106

Answer: 8 seconds.

20. Example 3.46

Message = 2.5 KB (20,480 bits)

Rate = 1 Gbps
Distance = 12,000 km
Speed = 2.4×10⁸ m/s

12 × 106
𝑇𝑝 = = 0.05𝑠 = 50𝑚𝑠
2.4 × 108
20,480
𝑇𝑡 = = 0.000020𝑠 = 0.02𝑚𝑠
109

Answer: Propagation = 50 ms, Transmission = 0.02 ms.

Propagation delay is much larger.