UNIVERSITY OF MINES AND TECHNOLOGY, TARKWA

SECOND SEMESTER EXAMINATIONS, MAY 2019

COURSE NO: EL 376
COURSE NAME: BASIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS
CLASS: EL III TIME: 3 HOURS

Name: __________________________________________ Index Number: _______________

Attempt ALL questions in Section A and any TWO from Section B.
Answer both Sections in the Answer Booklet

SECTION A
1. Two key barriers to human communication are
a. cost c. distance
b. ignorance d. language
2. Which of the following is not an example of a channel based on guided communication?
a. Telephone channel c. Coaxial cable
b. Satellite channel d. Optical fibre
3. The communications medium causes the signal to be
a. attenuated c. interfered with
b. amplified d. modulated
4. The original electrical information signal to be transmitted is called the
a. modulating signal c. modulated signal
b. baseband signal d. carrier
5. The function of the output transducer in a communication system is to
a. transmit the message signal c. modulate the message signal
b. convert message signal into d. convert electrical signal into
electrical signal message signal
6. The bandwidth used in TV broadcast system is
a. 5 kHz c. 200 kHz
b. 10 kHz d. 6 MHz
7. A frequency of 5.40 GHz has a wavelength of approximately
a. 5.6 m c. 0.56 m
b. 5.4 m d. 0.056 m
8. A telephone is.
a. Simplex c. Half-duplex
b. Full duplex d. Multiplex
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9. The energy of a photon that has a wavelength of 0.45 m is __________ J.
a. 2.2 × 10−26 c. 2.2 × 10−25
b. 4.4 × 10−26 d. 4.4 × 10−25
10. The wavelength of light (Å) that has a frequency of 3.22 × 1014 Hz is
a. 932 c. 9.32 × 10−6
b. 9320 d. 9.32 × 10−7
11. The energy of a photon that has a frequency of 5.59 × 1015 𝐻𝑧 is ………….….. J
a. 5.6 × 10−18 c. 5.4 × 10−8
b. 3.7 × 10−18 d. 1.86 × 107
12. The frequency range of infrared rays is approximately
a. 3 to 30 GHz c. 300 GHz to 300 THz
b. 30 to 300 GHz d. 300 THz to 3000 THz
13. A wavelength of 15 cm could be expected in:
a. VHF c. UHF
b. SHF 3 to 30 d. EHF30 to 300
14. The standard digital form of Pulse Modulation is known as
a. PCM c. PPM
b. PDM d. PAM
15. Which of the following is NOT a need for modulation?
a. Need for bandwidth c. Need for Multiplexing
b. Need for required antenna height d. Need for higher frequency
16. Modulation reduces the size of antenna for higher frequencies with ________ frequency
a. greater c. lower
b. middle d. none of these
17. Continuous voice or video signals are referred to as being
a. baseband c. digital
b. analog d. continuous waves
18. The bandwidth of an SSB signal with a carrier frequency of 5.0 MHz and a modulating
signal with a frequency range of 320 Hz to 4.5 kHz is
a. 4999.68 kHz c. 9.00 kHz
b. 4995.50 kHz d. 4.18 kHz
19. In AM, the modulation envelope has a peak value that is double the unmodulated carrier
level, when the modulation is
a. 100% c. 50%
b. 66.7% d. 33.3%

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20. In AM, the power carried by both sidebands is

a.
𝑚2
times carrier power c. 𝑚2 times carrier power
4
𝑚2
𝑚2 d. (1 + ) times carrier power
b. times carrier power 2
2
21. In AM, the amplitude of the modulated carrier signal, A, is given by
a. 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑐 c. 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑚 + 𝐴𝑐
b. 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑚 + 𝑣𝑚 d. 𝐴 = 𝐴𝑐 + 𝑣𝑚
22. For over-modulation in AM, the value of modulation index m is
a. 𝑚 < 1 c. 𝑚 ≤ 1
b. 𝑚 = 1 d. 𝑚 > 1
23. Information in an AM signal is conveyed in the
a. carrier c. both carrier and sidebands
b. sidebands d. none of them
24. For 100 percent modulation, the total sideband power is ___________ of the carrier power.
a. 33.3 percent c. 66.7 percent
b. 50 percent d. 150 percent
25. Which of the following is the most correct?
a. 𝑉𝑚 should be greater than 𝑉𝑐 c. 𝑉𝑚 should be less than or equal to
b. 𝑉𝑐 should be greater than 𝑉𝑚 𝑉𝑐
d. 𝑉𝑐 must always equal 𝑉𝑚
26. Which of the following is NOT another name for modulation index?
a. Modulation reciprocal c. Depth of modulation
b. Modulation factor d. Modulation coefficient
27. If 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 and 𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛 are the maximum and minimum voltages respectively, displayed on an
oscilloscope, then modulating amplitude, 𝐴𝑚 is given by
𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
a. 𝐴𝑚 = c. 𝐴𝑚 =
2 2
𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
b. 𝐴𝑚 = d. 𝐴𝑚 =
𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 −𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 +𝑉𝑚𝑖𝑛
28. The total bandwidth needed for an AM signal at 5.5 MHz with 0.07 MHz video modulation
is
a. 0.14 MHz c. 1.4 MHz
b. 0.35 MHz d. 5.57 MHz
29. When 𝑚1 , 𝑚2 , 𝑚3 etc. are the simultaneous modulation index, then the total modulating
index, 𝑚𝑡 2 is
a. = √𝑚1 2 + 𝑚2 2 + 𝑚3 2 + ⋯ b. = 𝑚1 2 + 𝑚2 2 + 𝑚3 2 + ⋯

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 c. = √𝑚1 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚3 + ⋯ d. = 𝑚1 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚3 + ⋯
30. The ability of a receiver to pick up weak signals.
a. Sensitivity c. Selectivity
b. S/N ratio d. Gain
31. The ratio of the total power in amplitude modulated wave to the unmodulated carrier power
is given by
𝑃𝑡 𝑚
a. = 1+ 𝑃𝑡 𝑚2
𝑃𝑐 2 c. = √1 +
𝑃𝑐 2
𝑃𝑡 𝑚2
b. = 1+ d.
𝑃𝑡
= √1 + 𝑚2
𝑃𝑐 2
𝑃𝑐

32. All these represent the equation of the standard AM except

a. V (t )  Ac [1  m sin  m t ]Sin c t c. V (t )  Ac Sin c t  mAc sin  m tSin c t

b. V (t )  [ Ac  Am sin  m t ]Sinc t
d. V (t )  Ac Sin c t  mAm sin  m tSinc t

Preamble 1: Use the following preamble to answer questions 33 to 36.

A transmitter radiates 9 kW power with the carrier unmodulated and 10.125 kW when the carrier
is sinusoidally modulated.

33. The modulation index will be

a. 40% c. 50%
b. 44% d. 66%
34. The power in one sideband is
a. 0.125 W c. 0.250 W
b. 0.5625 W d. 1.125W
35. If another sine wave, corresponding to 40% modulation is transmitted simultaneously,
determine the total modulation index
a. 41% c. 64%
b. 45% d. 90%
36. Following from Q. 35 above, what is the total radiated power?
a. 9.4 kW c. 10.42 kW
b. 10 kW d. 10.84 kW

Preamble 2: Use the following preamble to answer questions 37 and 38.

In amplitude modulation, the carrier and the modulating voltages are given by 𝑒𝑐 = 𝐸𝑐 sin 𝜔𝑐 𝑡

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and 𝑒𝑚 = 𝐸𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑚 𝑡 respectively.
37. The modulation index is
𝑒𝑚 𝐸𝑐
a. 𝑒𝑐
c. 𝐸𝑚
𝐸𝑚 𝑒𝑐
b. d.
𝐸𝑐 𝑒𝑚

38. The amplitude of the AM voltage will be

a. 𝐴 = 𝑒𝑐 (1 + 𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑚 𝑡) c. 𝐴 = 𝐸𝑚 (1 + 𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑚 𝑡)
b. 𝐴 = 𝐸𝑐 (1 + 𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑚 𝑡) d. 𝐴 = 𝐸𝑚 (1 + 𝑚 sin 𝜔𝑚 𝑡)
39. Given an AM radio signal with a bandwidth of 40 kHz and the highest-frequency component
at 600 kHz, what is the frequency of the carrier signal?
a. 560 kHz c. 620 kHz
b. 580 kHz d. 640 kHz
40. A carrier of 10 MHz is modulated by a 5 kHz sine wave. The LSB and USB are respectively
a. 5 kHz and 10.5 MHz c. 9995 and 10005 kHz
b. 9995 and 1005 kHz d. 9.95 MHz and 10.05 MHz
41. In AM, for frequency spectrum plot, the vertical axis is a measure of ________.
a. amplitude c. phase
b. frequency d. time
42. The circuit that recovers the original modulating information from an FM signal is known as
a. detector c. modulator
b. mixer d. antenna
43. In FM, the frequency deviation is
a. constant c. zero
b. proportional to modulating d. proportional to amplitude of
frequency modulating signal
44. What is the bandwidth of a signal that ranges from 5 kHz to 5 MHz?
a. 495 kHz c. 4.95 MHz
b. 4500 kHz d. 4.995 MHz
45. In frequency modulation, amplitude of the modulating signal is
a. zero c. constant
b. one d. variable
46. In FM modulation, when the modulation index increases, transmitted power is
a. zero b. constant

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 c. increased d. decreased
47. If the amplitude of the modulating signal decreases, the carrier deviation
a. increases c. remains constant
b. decreases d. goes to zero
48. What is the relative amplitude of the fourth pair of sidebands of an FM signal with m = 4?
a. – 0.4 c. 0.28
b. 0.36 d. 0.39
49. In frequency modulation, frequency of the carrier signal is
a. zero c. constant
b. one d. variable
50. AM and FM are examples of ________ modulation
a. analog-to-analog c. digital-to-analog
b. analog-to-digital d. digital-to-digital
51. As FM sidebands get farther from the centre frequency their power ___________.
a. remains constant c. decreases
b. increases d. Answer
52. In FM broadcast, the maximum modulation frequency is
a. 5 kHz c. 15 kHz
b. 10 kHz d. 20 kHz
53. In FM, the significant side bands converge with increased frequency.
a. True b. False
54. In FM, if the frequency of the modulating voltage is doubled, the maximum frequency
deviation
a. doubles c. becomes four times
b. becomes half d. remains unchanged
55. In FM, the modulation index is proportional to
a. 𝜔𝑚 c. 𝜔𝑚 2
1 1
b. d.
𝜔𝑚 𝜔𝑚 2

56. In FM, if the amplitude of the modulated voltage is doubled, the rate of deviation of carrier
frequency
a. doubles c. becomes four times
b. becomes half d. remains unchanged
57. In FM, noise

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 a. decrease by increasing deviation c. decrease with constant deviation
b. decrease by decreasing deviation d. is not affected by deviation

Preamble 3: Use the following preamble to answer questions 58 to 61.

In FM system when the audio frequency, (AF) is 3000 Hz and the voltage of the AF is 3.5 V, the
deviation is 21 kHz.
58. If a change in AF voltage causes the deviation to increase to 33 kHz, the new AF voltage is
a. 3.5 V c. 6 V
b. 5.5 V d. 198 V
59. The modulation index (in reference to Q58) will be
a. 3 c. 11
b. 7 d. 1.6
60. If AF voltage is raised to 7.5 V while the AF is dropped to 2500 Hz, the deviation will be
a. 3 kHz c. 45 kHz
b. 30 kHz d. 75 kHz
61. The modulation index in this case is
a. 18 c. 11
b. 15 d. 7
62. For an FM wave, the modulating frequency is 10 kHz and bandwidth is 2 MHz. If the
modulating signal amplitude is doubled, the bandwidth will be
a. 0.5 MHz c. 2 MHz
b. 1 MHz d. 4 MHz
63. FM broadcast band lies in
a. UHF c. HF
b. VHF d. MF
64. Digital systems
a. do not provide a continuous set c. can utilise decimal or binary
of values systems
b. represent values as discrete steps d. all of them
65. In ________, the frequency of the carrier signal is varied to create signal elements. Both
amplitude and phase remain constant.
a. OOK c. PRK
b. MSK d. QAM
66. Which modulation technique involves tribits and two amplitudes?

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 a. 4-PSK c. 8-PSK
b. 4-QAM d. 8-QAM
67. The constellation diagram of BPSK has ______ dots.
a. 2 c. 8
b. 4 d. 16
68. Which of these is a baseband signal?
a. AFSK c. ASK
b. FSK d. MSK
69. In a hexabit modulation the number of points in the constellation is_________.
a. 6 c. 32
b. 16 d. 64
70. If the bit rate for a PRK signal is 2400 bps, the baud rate is ________.
a. 600 c. 2400
b. 1200 d. 4800
71. If the baud rate is 1400 for a 128-QAM signal, the bit rate is ________ bps.
a. 200 c. 9800
b. 1400 d. 179200
72. PRK is an example of ________________.
a. ASK c. FSK
b. PSK d. Digital-to-digital modulation
73. Which of the following is most affected by noise?
a. ASK c. OOK
b. AM d. FSK
74. In 16-QAM, the angles are usually out of phase by__________ degrees.
a. 22.5 c. 90
b. 45 d. 180
75. The _______ is the number of signal units sent in one second.
a. Bit rate c. Baud rate
b. Signal time d. Bit time
76. A digital signal has a bit rate of 400 bps. The bit interval is _______ seconds.
a. 0.0025 c. 200
b. 0.005 d. 400
77. How many carrier frequencies are used in QPSK?

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 a. 0 c. 2
b. 1 d. 4
78. In QAM, ________ of a carrier signal is/are varied.
a. both frequency and amplitude c. both amplitude and phase
b. both frequency and phase d. only phase
79. The kind of filter that can be used to select a signal of one particular radio station is
a. low-pass c. high-pass
b. band-pass d. band-stop
80. The figure-of-merit of a band-pass filter depends on
a. only the centre frequency c. only the bandwidth
b. centre frequency and bandwidth d. the critical frequencies

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 SECTION B
Question 1
(a) Explain with the aid of a diagram a Bandstop filter (3 marks)
(b) The standard FM broadcast band has frequency range of 88 to 108 MHz. Stations are
spaced every 200 kHz. The maximum permitted deviation is 75 kHz, with modulating
frequencies up to 15 kHz. Compute the bandwidth of an FM station using the two methods
and then discuss how that bandwidth compares with the channel spacing. (9 marks)
(c) The antenna current of an AM broadcast transmitter modulated to a depth of 60% by an
audio sine wave is 12 A. It increases to 13.5 A as a result of simultaneous modulation by
another audio sine wave. What is the modulation index due to this second wave?
(7 marks)
(d) Sketch the QPSK waveform for the sequence 110 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1, assuming the carrier
frequency to be equal to the bit rate. (6 marks)

Question 2
(a) What is noise? Give any two examples of noise (3 marks)
(b) Give three (3) reasons why there is the need for modulation in communication system.
(3 marks)
(c) A carrier of frequency 106 Hz and amplitude 3 V is frequency modulated by a sinusoidal
modulating signal of frequency 500 Hz and peak amplitude 1 V. As a result, the frequency
deviation is 1 kHz.
(i) Write the equation for the FM signal.
(ii) Determine the bandwidth for the signal using both methods (10 marks)
(d) A 1–MHz carrier is simultaneously modulated with 75 𝐻𝑧, 900 𝐻𝑧 𝑎𝑛𝑑 1.25 𝑘𝐻𝑧 audio
waves. Determine the frequencies present in the output. (9 marks)

Question 3
(a) What is a constellation diagram? Draw the constellation diagram of 32 – PSK. (4 marks)
∆𝑓
(b) What is frequency modulation? If 𝑣 = 𝑉𝑐 sin 𝜃 and 𝑀𝑓 = , derive an expression for the
𝑓 𝑚
instantaneous voltage of the FM signal. (7 marks)
(c) A 400 – W carrier is modulated on a depth of 75 percent; calculate the total power in the modulated
wave in the following forms of AM:
(i) DSB-AM
(ii) DSBSC
(iii) SSBSC
(iv) SSBTC 8 marks
(d) A photon has energy of 4.08 × 10−16 J.
Determine:
i. the frequency of the photon.
ii. its wavelength (in nm)
iii. the energy in eV 6 marks

Examiners: S. Ofori/ Dr S. Nunoo

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