Digital and analog signals
Grade 8 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.
Bo's game stores each color shade as 4 bits (each bit is a 0 or a 1). How many different shades can 4 bits tell apart?
Esme's music app stores each volume setting as 5 bits (each bit is a 0 or a 1). How many different volume settings can it store?
Read this first
Use this
(example data). Top: an analog signal, a smooth wave. Bottom: a digital signal of 8 pulses, read as 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 1, 0.
Using the signal pair, which signal is digital, and why, Jun?
- Both are digital, since both signals carry a message
- The top one, since it is made of separate 0s and 1s
- The top one, since it is smooth and so is copied exactly
- The bottom one, since it has two levels, 1 and 0
A text message is stored as groups of 0s and 1s. Is that signal analog or digital, and why, Luz?
- Digital, since each pulse is a 0 or a 1
- Analog, since it travels through the air
- Analog, since letters change smoothly
- Neither, since a message is not a signal
Copies of a recording (example data)
copy tape difference (%) digital file difference (%) 1 2 0 2 4 0 3 7 0 4 11 0 5 16 0 Using the table, what happens to the tape copies' difference from the original as more copies are made, Milo?
- It grows at first, then stops
- It gets bigger with every copy
- It shrinks, since later copies are cleaner
- It stays the same, since a copy is a copy
What does the digital file's column show, Noah?
- It got worse, but more slowly than the tape
- It got better with every copy
- It could not be copied
- It matched the original in all five copies
Which statement does the whole table support, Pia?
- Both kinds got worse, at different speeds
- Digital copies are better because 0 is a small number
- Tape drifted further with each copy; digital did not
- Tape copies stay as close to the original as the first copy
Which bits does the receiver read from these four pulses, Ren?
Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1: 0.8, 0.2, 0.9, 0.1. Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1: 0.8, 0.2, 0.9, 0.1. Digital signal with noise (example data) 0 0.5 1 0.8 Pulse 1 0.2 Pulse 2 0.9 Pulse 3 0.1 Pulse 4 Pulse height The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1. - 0, 1, 0, 1
- 0.8, 0.2, 0.9, 0.1
- 1, 1, 1, 1
- 1, 0, 1, 0
Which bits does the receiver read from these five pulses, Tala?
Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1: 1.1, 0.3, 0.7, 0.2, 0.6. Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1: 1.1, 0.3, 0.7, 0.2, 0.6. Digital signal with noise (example data) 0 0.5 1 1.1 Pulse 1 0.3 Pulse 2 0.7 Pulse 3 0.2 Pulse 4 0.6 Pulse 5 Pulse height The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Pulse heights, where a full pulse is 1. - 1.1, 0.3, 0.7, 0.2, 0.6
- 1, 0, 1, 0, 1
- 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
- 1, 0, 0, 0, 1
The sender sent 1, 0, 1, 1, 0. Did noise change any bit the receiver reads, Zee?
Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Bits sent: 1, 0, 1, 1, 0. Pulse heights received, where a full pulse is 1: 0.9, 0.2, 0.8, 1.2, 0.1. Digital signal with noise (example data). The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. Bits sent: 1, 0, 1, 1, 0. Pulse heights received, where a full pulse is 1: 0.9, 0.2, 0.8, 1.2, 0.1. Digital signal with noise (example data) 0 0.5 1 Pulse 1 Pulse 2 Pulse 3 Pulse 4 Pulse 5 where a full pulse is 1 Bits sent Pulse heights received The receiver reads a pulse as 1 if it is above the halfway line at 0.5, and as 0 if it is below. - Yes, because the heights are not exactly 0 and 1 anywhere
- Yes, because the 0.8 should have been a full 1.0 pulse
- No, every pulse is on the correct side of 0.5
- Yes, the 1.2 is higher than a full pulse