Analog vs Digital Signals Quiz

Analog vs Digital

• Analog signals are continuous, representing a constantly changing physical quantity.
• Digital signals are discrete, having specific, distinct values at set points in time.
• Analog systems are less tolerant to noise, but efficiently use bandwidth, and are easily manipulated mathematically.
• Digital systems are more tolerant to noise, as they rely on discrete values.
• Analog signals require specialized hardware for transmission, while the simple, standardized components of digital systems allow software to handle the signal.
• Analog systems are less flexible to adjust once implemented, as changing one part requires changing the entire system, while digital systems are relatively easy to adjust using software modifications.
• Changing an analog signal's characteristics often needs a complete system overhaul, unlike digital signals which are more easily altered.

Signal Representation

• Signals can represent various physical quantities such as sound, light or pressure.
• These are often measured and converted to electrical signals by a transducer in analog systems.
• Digital signals represent discrete values.
• Analog signals are continuous, varying over time, with waveforms showing the fluctuations.

Noise in Signals

• Noise, a fluctuating signal that is not the intended signal, is inherent in all electronic circuits.
• Noise can corrupt or introduce errors into all electrical signals during transmission.
• Digital signals often are less susceptible to noise than analog signals as they use discrete, fixed values; noise is less disruptive.

Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD)

• BCD uses a set of four-bit patterns (e.g., 0000–1001) to represent digits 0 through 9, as an alternative to binary representation of decimals.
• Some bit patterns are not used in the BCD system.

Analog vs Digital Summary Table