Pulse duration is inversely proportional to frequency.

Pulse duration is inversely proportional to frequency.

• A. Directly proportional
• B. Not related
• C. Quadratically proportional
• D. Inversely proportional

Answer: (D)

Pulse duration tracks the time for one cycle of a repeating signal, which is the period. The period is the reciprocal of frequency: period = 1/f. So when frequency increases, each cycle—and thus the pulse width—becomes shorter. That’s why pulse duration is inversely proportional to frequency: doubling the frequency halves the pulse duration, halving the frequency doubles it, and so on. If you think in practical terms, higher frequency means you fit more cycles into the same amount of time, so the time Span of a single pulse shrinks. This is the behavior described by an inverse proportional relationship. The other ways of relating would not match what happens in a cycle: directly proportional would imply longer pulses at higher frequency, not correct; not related would ignore the clear link via the period; quadratic proportionality would imply pulse duration grows with the square of frequency, which isn’t how cycle time behaves.

Pulse duration tracks the time for one cycle of a repeating signal, which is the period. The period is the reciprocal of frequency: period = 1/f. So when frequency increases, each cycle—and thus the pulse width—becomes shorter. That’s why pulse duration is inversely proportional to frequency: doubling the frequency halves the pulse duration, halving the frequency doubles it, and so on.

If you think in practical terms, higher frequency means you fit more cycles into the same amount of time, so the time Span of a single pulse shrinks. This is the behavior described by an inverse proportional relationship.

The other ways of relating would not match what happens in a cycle: directly proportional would imply longer pulses at higher frequency, not correct; not related would ignore the clear link via the period; quadratic proportionality would imply pulse duration grows with the square of frequency, which isn’t how cycle time behaves.