Basic

Math and Electronics

Math and Electronic Formulas

TABLE OF INDEX
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................3
MATH...........................................................................................................................................................................3
RADICALS AND POWERS (REVIEW) .............................................................................................................................3
NOTATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................4
LOGARITHMS ..............................................................................................................................................................4
ANTILOGARITHMS ......................................................................................................................................................5
DECIBEL .....................................................................................................................................................................5
DBM ............................................................................................................................................................................6
ELECTRONIC CONCEPTS......................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................................................7
Direct Current .......................................................................................................................................................7
Alternating Current ...............................................................................................................................................7
Transmission Media Characteristics .....................................................................................................................8
Effects of Impedance..............................................................................................................................................8
Types of Media.......................................................................................................................................................9
Noise ....................................................................................................................................................................11
Single Telco Channel...........................................................................................................................................11
Electromagnetic Spectrum...................................................................................................................................12
EXAM 2 NOTE SHEET ............................................................................ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

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Math and Electronic Formulas

Introduction
The purpose of this section is to revisit basic math and introduce some general electronic concepts for use in the
TCM130: Introduction to Telecommunications Technology course.
The field of telecommunications is an industry of electronic communication equipment and theory. The equipment
(tools) and working principles of telecommunications all are based in laws of physical science and require various
levels of mathematical aptitude.
A basic understanding of math is required for this course work. This workbook will present relationships of some of
the basic math and formulas used in the telecommunications industry and relate their use to areas of use.
A number system can be created using any number as a BASE (RADIX). Number systems are built around three
basic components: unit, number, and base.

UNIT. The unit is a single object.

NUMBER. A number is a symbol representing a unit or a quantity. The highest value symbol used in
a number system is always one less than the base of the system.

BASE (RADIX). The base, or radix, of a number system indicates the number of symbols used in that
system. When a base other than the decimal system is used, the division between the whole numbers
and fractional numbers is referred to as the RADIX POINT.

If the BASE is not indicated for a number, it is assumed to 10: decimal number system.

Math
Radicals and Powers (review)
The operation of raising a number to a power is the inverse of
finding a root.

Reference figure 1. Place the equations from the lower

section in their respective box.

Reference figure 1. Clearly label each component for

each equation using the labels in the lower section.

When an exponent occurs, it must always be written unless its

value is 1. Thus, the number 5 is actually 51.
When a decimal is raised to a power the number of decimal
places in the result is equal to the number of places in the
decimal multiplied by the exponent.
There are two types of exponents which are not positive
integers, and two which are treated as special cases even though
they may be considered as positive integers.

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When a number N has zero as an exponent, the

answer is always 1.

When a number N has one as an exponent, the

answer is always (N) the number itself.

When a number N has a negative exponent, the

number is equivalent to a fraction having 1 as the
Figure 1
numerator and N in the denominator with a
positive exponent whose absolute value is the same as the absolute value of the original exponent.

Math and Electronic Formulas

Notations
The laws of exponents form the basis for calculations using powers of 10. Scientific and Metric notation use this
technique of representing very large and very small numbers. The metric notation powers from pico to tera are
listed below.
tera T 1,000,000,000,000 trillion 1 x 1012
giga G 1,000,000,000 billion 1 x 109
mega M 1,000,000 million 1 x 106
kilo k 1,000 thousand 1 x 103
hecto h 100 hundred 1 x 102
deka da 10 ten 1 x 101
deci d 0.1 tenth 1 x 10-1
centi c 0.01 hundredth 1 x 10-2
milli m 0.001 thousandth 1 x 10-3
micro (mu) 0.000 001 millionth 1 x 10-6
nano n 0.000 000 001 billionth 1 x 10-9
pico p 0.000 000 000 001 trillionth 1 x 10-12
femto p 0.000 000 000 000 001 zillionth 1 x 10-12
atto p 0.000 000 000 000 000 001 _________nth 1 x 10-12
Metric notation is used with the electronics and communications industry. Many of the electrical quantities will be
on the very large to very small skill.

Logarithms
Logarithms represent a specialized use of exponents. By means of logarithms, computation with large masses of
data can be greatly simplified. The process of multiplication is replaced by simple addition and division is replaced
by subtraction. Raising a power is replaced by multiplication and extracting a root is replaced with simple division.
Many natural phenomena are most easily described in terms of logarithmic or exponential formulas. "Natural
logarithms" use the base e, which is an irrational number approximately equal to 2.71828. This system is sometimes
called the Napierian system of logarithms in honor of John Napier, who is credited with the invention of logarithms.
The abbreviation, ln is sometimes used to identify the use of the natural logarithm system (loge 45 or ln 45).
The relationship between an equation in its exponential form and logarithmic form
are shown in figure 2.

In general, the logarithm of a number N with respect to a given base is the

exponent which must be used with the base to produce N
bx = N implies that log bN = x

In the expression 23 = 8, the number 2 is the base (not to be confused with

the base of the number system), and 3 is the exponent which must be used
with the base to produce the number 8.

The exponent 3 is the logarithm of 8 when the base is 2. The logarithm of 8 to the base 2 is 3.

The base of the logarithm is written as a subscript immediately after the abbreviation "log".

Figure 2

Any number may be used as a base for a system of logarithms. The selection of a base is a matter of convenience.
In 1617, Briggs found that base 10 possessed many advantages not obtainable in ordinary calculations with other
bases. By the year 1628, logarithms for all integers from 1 to 100,000 had been computed.

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Math and Electronic Formulas

The selection of 10 as a base proved so satisfactory that today it is used almost exclusively for ordinary calculations.
Logarithms with 10 as a base are therefore called COMMON LOGARITHMS. When 10 is used as a base, it is not
necessary to indicate it in writing. The table below shows some basic characteristics of the base 10 log.
Exponential form
0

10

1/2

10

101

= 10

Logarithmic form

=1

Log 1

=0

= 3.1623

Log 3.1623

= .5

= 10

Log 10

=1

Notice that the logarithm of 1 is 0 and the logarithm of 10 is 1. Therefore, the logarithm of a number between 1 and
10 is between 0 and 1. The only powers of 10, which produce numbers between 1 and 10 are fractional powers.

Antilogarithms
The procedure of finding a number when we know its logarithm is called "finding the antilogarithm," which is
abbreviated as "antilog", and sometimes indicated as "log-1". NOTE: the -1 is not an exponent, but is merely an
indicator to emphasize the INVERSE relationship between logs and antilogs.

Decibel
The use of logarithms can simplify the solution of many problems encountered in mathematics, science, and
engineering. The depth of understanding will vary with different job skills.
Because of the need for some unit which expressed the comparison of output power to
input power, a unit known as the bel (figure 3) was originated for use in power
measurements.

P1 = smaller value of power to be compared.

P2 = larger value of power to be compared.

Figure 3

This unit of measurement is often too large for general use. The decibel, which is
equal to one tenth of a bell is used instead (figure 4).
Both of these units are relative measurements and do not specify any definite amount
of power. They are the logarithmic ratio between any two values.

If an amplifier with a 10 watt input delivers a 100 watt output, the gain
in db would be calculated as shown in figure 5.

An amplifier with a 10 watt input that delivers a 1000 watt

output, has a 20 db gain.

An amplifier with a 10 watt input that delivers a 10,000 watt

output, has a 30 db gain.

Notice, every time the amplifier increased the output by a factor of

10, the gain changed by 10 db.

An amplifier with a 10 watt input that delivers a 20 watt

output, has a 3 db gain.

An amplifier with a 10 watt input that delivers a 40 watt

output, has a 6 db gain.

Notice, for every 3 db of gain, there is a doubling of the input to

output poser.
Figure 5

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Figure 4

Math and Electronic Formulas

Gain can be positive or negative. Negative gain is usually referred to as attenuation. Gain and attenuation are
handled by algebraic addition. With a logarithmic system, the process of multiplication is replaced by simple
addition and division is replaced by subtraction; thus, the positive and negative gains can be algebraically summed.
A communications circuit will have a combination of inherent resistance, inductance, and capacitance (known as
impedance) in its media. The technician designing a circuit will calculate possible signal loss due to these factors
and will balance the circuit as best as possible. This may include "tuning the circuit" by adding a specific
inductance or capacitance to counteract reactance of the circuit.
One of the devices used to counteract signal loss on a circuit due to resistance is the use of an amplifier or repeater.
Many devices will list their gain or attenuation (negative gain) in decibels (db). Coaxial cable and category wires
will have charts to show their attenuation for a specific range of frequencies (bandwidth).

dbm
For power measurement testing of a communication circuit, a
reference signal of a 1-mW power level is used. This provides an
absolute measure. A dbm is a specific amount of power, while zero
dbm is equal to 1 milliwatt. A 40 dbm represents an actual power
level, 40 db above 1 milliwatt. The formula for finding dbm is a
variation of the db power formula (figure 6).

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Figure 6

Math and Electronic Formulas

Electronic Concepts
Introduction
Formulas can be found in the course book and
the "Lab & Physics Supplemental."
Symbols are used in electronics to represent
both quantities and their units. One symbol is
used to represent the name of the quantity, and
another is used to represent the unit of
measurement of that quantity. See Table 1.
A person working with electronic equipment
should have basic skills with electronic test
equipment and the ability to measuring and
calculate various electrical quantities.
The two main types of energies in
telecommunications are DC (direct current) and
AC (alternating current).

Direct Current

Quantity
Capacitance
Charge
Conductance
Current
Energy
Frequency
Impedance
Inductance
Power
Reactance
Resistance
Time
Voltage

Symbol
C
Q
G
I
W
f
Z
L
P
X
R
t
V

Unit
Farad
Coulomb
Siemens
Ampere
Joule
Hertz
Ohm
Henry
Watt
Ohm
Ohm
Second
Volt

Symbol
F
C
S
A
J
Hz

H
W

s
V

Table 1

DC is mainly used to supply power to components. The 110 VAC power signal from the electric company is
converted to DC power inside most systems. A DC circuit/device is purely resistive. Kirchhoff's Current and
Voltage Law together with Ohm's Law and Watt's Law provide the basic tools for calculating current, resistance,
voltage, and power in a DC circuit.

Alternating Current
AC power has a current/voltage flow that resembles a periodic sine wave. It has frequency, wavelength, amplitude,
and a period (see figure 7). Currently, the usable frequency range for AC signals extend over the electromagnetic
spectrum from about 15 cps (101) to several hundred tera-hertz (1014).

Figure 7
Digital signals used in communications circuits are comprised of a fundamental frequency and an infinite number of
odd harmonics. The odd harmonics combine with the fundamental to form a square wave.

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Math and Electronic Formulas

Transmission Media Characteristics

A transmission line is a conducting system used to guide electrical energy from one point to another. Of interest to
the user is the distribution of voltage and current along the transmission line for a wave to achieve maximum energy
transfer along the line.

Conductive transmission media exhibit resistance, capacitance, and inductance for the length of the
circuit.

The impedance of any transmission media will be different for each frequency propagating on that
media. Thus, not all frequencies travel at the same rate on a given media.

Inductance is the property of a circuit that tends to oppose a change in the existing current flow.
Current causes a magnetic field to be produced. The production of the magnetic field requires energy
to produce. In short, when voltage is applied to a inductive circuit, a magnetic field is created before
current begins to flow. Current lags the voltage in a purely inductive circuit by 90 degrees.

Capacitance is the property of a circuit that opposes changes in voltage. It exists between any two
conductors separated by an insulator. It is a charge between the two conductors.

Both capacitive and inductive reactance change with frequency. Capacitance and inductance
counteract each other and at a given frequency, XL = XC. This is called resonance.

Effects of Impedance

Figure 8

Figure 9

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Math and Electronic Formulas

Figure 10

Types of Media
Media is of two classes: Conducted (hardwire) media and radiated (software) media.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

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Math and Electronic Formulas

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

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Math and Electronic Formulas

Noise
Noise is the primary limiting factor for data transmission. Noise itself does not
cause a significant amount of errors in low-speed transmission up to 2400 BPS.
For higher transmission rates, the combined effects of other impairments make the
actual noise encountered a significant factor. A standard signal to noise ratio is
90db. The signal-to-noise ratio is shown in figure 17.
Other names of noise include message circuit noise, background noise, Gaussian
noise, amplifier noise, white noise, and hiss. Noise can be caused by crosstalk on
adjacent channels, switching, power fluctuations, component failures, impedance
mismatches, atmospheric conditions, interface mismatches, analog to digital
conversion, and inherent design of the equipment being used.

Single Telco Channel

Figure 18

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Figure 17

Math and Electronic Formulas

Electromagnetic Spectrum

Figure 19

Figure 20

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