Exam Study Guide
YOU MAY WANT TO PRINT THIS GUIDE.
1. The Final Exam is "open book, open notes." The maximum time you can spend in the exam is three hours, 30 minutes. If you have not clicked the Submit For Grade button by then, you will be automatically exited from the exam. In the Final Exam environment, the Windows clipboard is disabled, so you will not be able to copy exam questions or answers to or from other applications.
2. You should click the Save Answers button in the exam frequently.
This helps prevent connection timeouts that might occur with certain Internet Service Providers, and also minimizes lost answers in the event of connection problems. If your Internet connection does break, when you reconnect, you will normally be able to get back into your Final Exam without any trouble. Remember, though, that the exam timer continues to run while students are disconnected, so students should try to re-login as quickly as possible. The Help Desk cannot grant any student additional time on the exam.
3. See Syllabus "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.
4. Reminders * You will only be able to enter your online Final Exam one time. * Click the Save Answers button often. * If you lose your Internet connection during your Final Exam, logon again and try to access your Final Exam. If you are unable to enter the Final Exam, first contact the Help Desk and then your instructor. * You will always be able to see the time remaining in the Final Exam at the top right of the page.

5. Assessments with Multiple Pages * Make sure you click the Save Answers button before advancing to the next page (we also suggest clicking on Save Answers while you are working). * Complete all of the pages before submitting your Final Exam for instructor review. * Do NOT use your browser's Back and Forward buttons during the Final Exam. * Please use the provided links for navigation.

6. Submitting Your Final Exam * When you are finished with the Final Exam, click on the Submit for Grade button. * Please note: Once you click the Submit for Grade button, you will NOT be able to edit or change any of your answers.

7. Exam Questions * There are 28 randomly selected multiple-choice questions each worth 5 points for a total of 140 points. * There are 7 randomly selected essay questions, 6 questions worth 15 points each and one question worth 20 points for a total of 110 points. * The Final Exam covers all course TCOs and Weeks 1–7. * The Final Exam is two pages and can be completed in any order. You may go back and forth between the pages. * The Final Exam questions are pooled. This means that not everyone will have the same questions. Even if you do have some of the same questions, they may not be in the same order. These questions are distributed amongst the TCOs. The entire exam is worth 250 points. * On the essay questions, your answers should be succinct, should fully address each part of the question, and should demonstrate your knowledge and understanding in a concise but complete answer. Most essay questions require answers that are a couple of paragraphs (not a couple of sentences) that directly speak to each part of the question. Some students opt to work on the essay questions first, due to their higher point value and the length of time needed to adequately address each question, but this is entirely your choice. * Remember to always use proper citation when quoting other sources. This means that ANY borrowed material (even a short phrase) should be placed in quotation marks with the source (URL, author/date/page #) immediately following the end of the passage (the end quote). Changing a few words in a passage does NOT constitute putting it in your own words and proper citation is still required. Borrowed material should NOT dominate a student’s work, but should only be used sparingly to support your own thoughts, ideas, and examples. Heavy usage of borrowed material (even if properly cited) can jeopardize the points for that question. Uncited material can jeopardize a passing grade on the exam. As a part of our commitment to academic integrity, your work may be submitted to turnitin.com, an online plagiarism checking service. Please be VERY mindful of proper citation.
8. Some of the key study areas are below. While these are key areas, remember that the exam is comprehensive for all of the assigned course content and that this study guide may not be all inclusive.
TCO 1 * Understand the concepts of small-scale fading and how multipath waves combine at the receiver. * Know and understand the definition of wavelength and how it relates to the speed of light and frequency. * Understand the definition and know how to calculate Doppler frequencies. * Understand coherence bandwidth and coherence time as it relates to the communication channel. * Understand the concepts of small-scale propagation and how they relate to coherence bandwidth and coherence time. * Understand how discrete channel impulse response is used to model a radio communication channel and how the delays impact the response. * Understand the concept of direct sequence spread spectrum communications and how to calculate correlation times based on chip rates, slide factors and the number of shift registers. * Understand the concepts associated with small scale fading based on multipath time delay spread. * Understand the concepts associated with small scale fading based on Doppler spread. * TCO 2 * Know the characteristics of spatial diversity and how they relate to frequency and bandwidth and power. * Know the Shannon capacity theorem and how to apply it. * Understand the characteristics of maximal ratio combining (MRC). * Understand the characteristics of equal gain combining (EGC). * Understand the characteristics of selection combining (SC). * Know the fundamental characteristics of multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antennas and how it is related to improving signal level. * Know the basic characteristics of beam forming. * Know the basic characteristics of spatial multiplexing and how it differs from spatial diversity. * Understand the characteristics associates with Nyquist filtering as it relates to inter-symbol interference in digital communication systems. * Understand the various filters that meet Nyquist criteria and how bandwidth of these filters is calculated. * Understand the characteristics of Gaussian pulse shaping filters. * Understand the characteristics of Rayleigh fading and its distribution function. * Understand the characteristics of Ricean fading and its relationship to Rayleigh fading.
TCO 3 * Know how to calculate zero crossing RF bandwidth based on Symbol rates. * Know the characteristics of a linear predictive coder (LPC) and how they are used in vocoders. * Understand the various types of vocoders and their classes. * Know how to calculate vocoder transmission bit rate. * Know how to calculate the bandwidth of a frequency hopped spread spectrum signal based on the hop bandwidth and the number of hop slots. * Know how to calculate processing gain for a spread spectrum system. * Understand the basic characteristics of a direct sequence spread spectrum system, including the use of PN sequences for spreading purposes. * Know the characteristics of a pseudo-random signal. * Know the characteristics of a correlation function. * Understand the definition of duplexing. * Understand the characteristics of frequency division duplexing (FDD). * Understand the characteristics of time division duplexing (TDD). * Know how to calculate the number of users in a TDMA system. * Know how to calculate frame efficiency of a system.

TCO 4 * Understand how cellular systems are divided into cells, clusters and coverage areas and their relationship to each other. * Know the characteristics of adjoining cells and clusters with regard to frequency sharing and reuse. * Know the fundamental capabilities of a 2G Mobile Radio System. * Know the fundamental capabilities of a 2.5G Mobile Radio System. * Know the fundamental capabilities of a high speed circuit switched data function with a cellular radio network. * Know the fundamental capabilities of a general packet radio system (GPRS) function with a cellular radio network. * Understand the basic fundamentals of how CDMA mobile radio systems operate and separate users. * Know how CDMA differs between Bluetooth and cellular systems. * Know the fundamental functions and capabilities of a UMTS mobile radio system.
TCO 5 * Know the advantages of wireless LAN systems. * Understand the fundamentals of error control in IEEE 802.11 systems. * Understand the basic protocol structure of IEEE 802.11 * Know the valid services provided by IEEE 802.11 LLC. * Know the characteristics and types of over-the-air modulation techniques employed by 802.11 protocol family. * Be able to analyze the security aspects of IEEE 802.11 protocol, including WPA.
TCO 6 * Know the fundamental characteristics of Bluetooth. * Know how CDMA differs between Bluetooth and cellular systems. * Understand the fundamental protocol structure of Bluetooth, including core protocols. * Know the operating characteristics and limitations of Bluetooth with respect to device support. * Understand the class structure and capabilities and limitations of a Bluetooth system. * Be able to analyze the FH-TDD-TDMA characteristics of the Bluetooth Baseband. * Be able to analyze the Bluetooth baseband physical link characteristics. * Be able to analyze the Bluetooth baseband access code characteristics.
TCO 7 * Understand what dictates the bounds on data rate and coverage range in a Broadband wireless system. * Be able to analyze the challenges of spectral efficiency in Broadband wireless. * Understand the characteristics of quality of service (QoS) in broadband wireless. * Understand the aspects of user security in Broadband wireless. * Understand the aspects of service provider security in Broadband wireless.
TCO 8

* Demonstrate proficiency to assess and interpret technical data in a written manner, such as a lab report. * Demonstrate proficiency to communicate technical data gathered from a lab experiment using verbal skills, such as an oral presentation. * Employ library research to strengthen written or oral presentation

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9. Areas that were discussed in the threads may be included.
10. Assignments will also be prime targets for revisiting.
11. Reviewing the TCOs, which I have listed below for your convenience, will also be a great preparation for the Final Exam. 1 | Given a radio channel and the key path loss models, discuss the principles of EM wave propagation, obtain small scale fading parameters for a random channel and show how these set limits to system performance. | 2 | Given a 2G or beyond wireless standard, discuss the principles of antenna operation, with specific emphasis on antenna systems such as MIMO and AAS. | 3 | Given a 2G or beyond wireless standard, examine the signal processing at baseband needed to achieve enhanced security, bandwidth efficiency and other QoS metrics. | 4 | Given a 3G cellular standard, describe the functions of all pertinent system elements, fixed or mobile. Discuss the communications principles involved and the evolution of the cellular architecture from voice towards multimedia standards. | 5 | Given a current amendment of the IEEE 802.11 standard, such as 802.11n, discuss the evolution of PHY and MAC layer technology responsible for its performance. | 6 | Given the pertinent technology at all levels of a PAN standard, such as Bluetooth, use said standard to implement practical wireless solutions. | 7 | Given a Broadband mobility supporting standard like IEEE 802.16e, discuss the key technologies at the PHY and MAC layers including OFDMA and MIMO, compare the standard with other 2G and 3G standards, and design optimal solutions using 802.16e. | 8 | Given prescribed technical documentation guidelines, develop written reports and oral presentations. |

Finally, if you have any questions for me, please post them to our Q&A or e-mail me. Good luck on the exam!