Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

Q. 1. Differentiate between analog & digital signals.

Computer’s types depend upon the
design & working of the computer
which differ on the type of data that
enters into it & the form of its
output.

Analog Signals Digital Signals

 It operates by measuring rather than  It operates by counting rather than
counting. measuring.
 Special purpose computer accepts data  General purpose computer accepts data
in continuous form & use analog signals. in digital / discrete form using various
 E.g. pressure, temperature, distance etc. arithmetic & logic operations.
 It is used for complex scientific &  E.g. Digital computers, tabs etc.
mathematical calculations.  It’s capable to store large amount of
 Analog signals are very fast in data therefore compute at a very high
processing but may not be accurate. speed & accuracy.

Q. 2. Why digital signals are used in computer systems?

Computer is a bi-stable device, which means it has only 2 states, either 0 or 1,
on/off etc., in order to transmit this state, it needs to represent the 0s & 1s
which are digital. The data is only stored in digital form & these signals can be
easily reconfigured.

Q. 3. Name the properties of a good communication system.

Delivery: the message must be delivered to the accurate destination & received by
correct recipient.
Accuracy: the message must be transmitted precisely as sent.
Timeliness: the message must be delivered without any delay as soon as possible.

Q. 4. Give any 3 reasons why guided communication medium is more reliable than
unguided medium.
Guided media is more reliable than unguided media because of following reasons.

a. User can identify the direction/path of the signals for travelling.

b. It is easy to identify the fault in guided media as compared to unguided media.

c. Guided media is more secure as compared to unguided media.

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Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

Q. 5. What is meant by transmission impairment?

Transmission impairment is a property of a transmission medium which causes the

signal to be degraded. The error that occurs during transmission from one point to

another is called transmission impairments.

Three common types of transmission impairments are attenuation, distortion &

noise/cross talk.

Q. 6. Differentiate among attenuation & distortion cross talk/noise.

Attenuation
 Attenuation is the fall of signal strength with the distance as signal travels
through the communication media.
 It can be known as the power loss of a signal travelling through any media.
 If the attenuation is too much, the receiver may not be able to detect the signal
at all. Attenuation error can be resolved with the help of amplification.
Distortion
 Change in shape or frequency of digital signal when it is transmitted over a
communication line is called distortion.
 Due to the alternation of the original signal the receiver may not detect it
properly due to the properties of the medium.
 Distortion can be resolved by retransmitting the data.
Cross talk
 An adjacent circuit interrupts transmission signal which causes the signals to
become confused & cross over each other.
 It’s a disturbance in guided media, caused by electromagnetic interference,
along a circuit or a cable pair, also called noise.
 It can be resolved by distancing the wires.

Q. 8. What is Dial-up modem? Why is it used?

A dial-up modem is used to connect using an active phone line for internet having
speed of 56kb/sec. It has been replaced by DSL connection which is faster.

Q. 9. Define data rate & baud rate.

Data rate is connection speed at which data is transferred within the computers. It
is measured in bytes/Mb per second.
It’s calculated as (Data rate = 2 x baud rate).
In telecommunication, baud is the unit for modulation rate in symbols / pulses per
second. It is the number of different symbol changes made to the transmission
medium per second.
It’s calculated as (Buad rate = No. of signal changes/sec).

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 Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

Q. 10. Define bandwidth.

Bandwidth is a measurement of how much data can be sent along a
communications channel at the same time, measured like data rate.

LONG Q/A
Q. 1. Describe the components of communication system with the help of diagram.
(Page # 126)

Q. 2. Explain asynchronous & synchronous transmission modes with examples.

Asynchronous Synchronous
 It transmits the data flow in a half-  It transmits data flow in a full duplex
duplex/continuous stream of bytes. mode in the form of blocks/frames.
 The time interval is random.  The time interval is constant.
 A parity bit is added i.e. a start(0) &  There is no gap & additional bit is added
stop(1) bit that gives the total of 10 bits. between the data.
 That’s why it’s slow & economical. It does  That’s why it’s fast in speed & costly.
not require a clock for synchronization.  Examples are video conferencing, live
 Examples are Email, instant massaging etc. streaming etc.

Q. 3. Describe the following guided media.

a. Twisted pair cable:

 It is a type of cable that consists of two independently insulated wires twisted
around one another.
 The use of two wires twisted together helps to reduce crosstalk &
electromagnetic induction.
 While twisted-pair cable is used in communication & is the least expensive type
of LAN cable.

b. Coaxial cable:
 It is a type of wire that consists of a center wire surrounded by insulation &
then a grounded shield of braided wire.

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Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

 The shield minimizes electrical & radio frequency interference. It is the primary
type of cabling used by the cable television industry & is also used
for computer networks, such as Ethernet.
 Although more expensive than standard telephone wire, it is much less at risk
to interference & can carry much more data.

c. Fiber optic cable:

 It is the form of guided/bounded media.
 This media is superior in data handling & security features.
 It transmits light signals rather than electrical signals. It is far more efficient
than the other network transmission media.
 Each fiber has an inner core of glass/plastic that conducts light. There are two
types of light sources for which fiber cables are available.
i. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
ii. Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission Radiation (Lasers)

Advantages
• It can handle much higher bandwidth than copper.
• Fiber is lighter than copper.
• Fibers do not leak light which gives them excellent security against potential
wire-tappers.
• Fiber is particularly appropriate for high security application such as financial
transactions, military operations & public safety.
Disadvantages
• Fiber optics cost more than electrical interfaces.
• Since optical transmission is inherently unidirectional, two-way
communication requires either two fiber cables or two frequency bands on one
fiber.

Q. 4. Describe any 3 types of unguided media.

A communication medium/link is the physical
(hardware) used for transmission. When
computers are networked, signals/information
travels from one end of the network to the others.

1. Microwave Transmission travels in a

straight line; the signals can’t bend around
curvature of the earth. Therefore, RELAY
STATIONS, often fixed at high places such as top
of the mountains & buildings with 30 miles

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Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

distance to continue the transmission.

2. Satellite Transmission sends & receives

the signals through EARTH STATIONS &
satellite transmission are TRANSSPONDER
receives the transmissions from an earth
station, amplifies the signals, changes the
frequency & retransmits the data to receiving
earth station. This entire process takes only
few seconds.

3. Bluetooth is a hardware device which is used to transfer data files through

radio waves from mobile / computer peripherals to mobile / computer peripherals
without any cost over short distance.

Q. 5. Describe the functions of the following communication devices.

a. Router connects two networks to

receive transmitted messages & forwards
to correct destination through the most
efficient available route & speed up the
delivery.

b. Network Interface Card (NIC) is a

device which connects a computer to the
LAN. It enables communication with
other computers. The NIC plugged
directly to the motherboard & requires
special software to make NIC work.

c. Switch/Access point connects network segment & considered as intelligent

device rather than hub. It forwards information to only the designated terminal
there by reducing network traffic. This device is used in Star topology.

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Computer Science – IX (2017 Syllabi) Chapter: 04

POINT TO PONDER: Why do satellites stay in orbit & never fall on the earth?

Satellites maintain its orbit by balancing two factors: its velocity and gravitational

pull that Earth has on it. A satellite orbiting closer to the Earth requires more

velocity to balance the stronger gravitational pull.

Difference between guided & unguided media

The basic difference between guided & unguided media is that in
the guided/wired/bounded medium, the signal travels through a physical medium
whereas, in unguided/wireless/unbounded medium, the signals travel through the
air.

BASIS FOR
GUIDED MEDIA UNGUIDED MEDIA
COMPARISON

Basic The signal requires a physical path The signal is broadcasted

for transmission. through air or sometimes
water.

Direction It provides direction to signal for It does not provide any

travelling. direction.

Types Twisted pair cable, coaxial cable & Radio wave, microwave &
fiber optic cable. infrared.

Q. Define the following terms.

Protocol is set of rules to ensure that each computer behaves predictable &
provides information in an understandable way.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is used to transmit/communicate on www &

most popular protocol on the web.

Bit Streaming is continues flow of long sequence of data transmission over the
internet, such as in audio & video files.

Signal to noise ratio (S/N)

It is the ratio of the relative power levels of voice/data communications signal &
the noise on a line, expressed in decibels (db), & formulated SNR = Signal / Noise.
A high SNR means the signal is less corrupted by noise; a low SNR means the

signal is more corrupted by noise.

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