The reduction in signal strength as it travels along a transmission path is called what?

• A. Attenuation
• B. Reflection
• C. Distortion
• D. Loss Factor

Answer: (A)

Attenuation is the decrease in signal strength as it travels along a transmission path. As a signal moves through cable, it loses power due to conductor resistance, dielectric losses, radiation, and connector or fitting losses. This loss adds up with length and tends to increase with frequency, which is why longer cables or higher-frequency signals show more attenuation. It is usually measured in decibels (dB) per length or for the entire run. The other terms describe different effects: reflections happen when there’s an impedance mismatch causing part of the signal to bounce back, distortion refers to changes in the waveform shape or timing of different frequency components, and loss factor isn’t the standard term used for this specific phenomenon. So the reduction in signal strength along a transmission path is attenuation.