Parallel transmission

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which describes parallel transmission?

A Bits are sent one after another down a single wire

B Several bits are sent at the same time, each down its own wire

2. How many wires could send 8 bits at the same time in parallel transmission?

A 1 wire shared by all 8 bits

B 8 wires, one for each bit

3. Where are the wires in parallel transmission found?

A Several wires together in the same cable

B Each wire is in a separate cable

4. True or false: in parallel transmission, 8 bits are sent down 8 wires at once.

A True

B False

5. A cable has 8 wires and each wire carries one bit at the same moment. Which type of transmission is this?

A Parallel transmission

B Serial transmission

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1parallel transmission		ASends several bits at the same time, each down its own wire in the same cable
28 bits, 8 wires		Bwires = 8; bits_at_once = 8
3Parallel transmission sends several bits at the same time, each down its own wire		CEach bit needs its own wire. One wire cannot send 8 bits at the same time.
4A parallel cable contains several wires side by side in one cable		Dcable = [wire1, wire2, wire3, wire4, wire5, wire6, wire7, wire8]
5Parallel transmission: 8 bits sent one after another down 1 wire		EThis describes serial transmission, not parallel. Parallel sends the bits at the same time, each on its own wire.
6Parallel transmission: 8 bits sent at once down 1 wire		FA byte is sent all at once, with every bit using its own wire

Definitions

parallel transmission

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

bits ← 8 wires ← ____

method ← "________"

IF bitsAtOnce _ 1 THEN method ← "parallel" ENDIF

serialWires ← 1 parallelWires ← serialWires _ 8

cable ← ["w1","w2","w3","w4"] wires ← ______(cable)

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A TYPE: serial

B WIRES: 8

C BITS AT ONCE: 8

Question 2

A Parallel transmission:

B All bits share one wire

C All wires are in one cable

Question 3

A wires ← 8

B bits ← 8

C ticks ← bits * wires

D OUTPUT ticks

Question 4

A FOR w ← 1 TO 8

B SEND 8 bits down wire[w]

C NEXT w

Question 5

A wires ← 16

B bitsAtOnce ← 1

C OUTPUT bitsAtOnce

Answer Key

Parallel transmission

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Several bits are sent at the same time, each down its own wire

B — 8 wires, one for each bit

A — Several wires together in the same cable

A — True

A — Parallel transmission

Section B: Match the Pairs

parallel transmission → Sends several bits at the same time, each down its own wire in the same cable

8 bits, 8 wires → A byte is sent all at once, with every bit using its own wire

Parallel transmission sends several bits at the same time, each down its own wire → wires = 8; bits_at_once = 8

A parallel cable contains several wires side by side in one cable → cable = [wire1, wire2, wire3, wire4, wire5, wire6, wire7, wire8]

Parallel transmission: 8 bits sent one after another down 1 wire → This describes serial transmission, not parallel. Parallel sends the bits at the same time, each on its own wire.

Parallel transmission: 8 bits sent at once down 1 wire → Each bit needs its own wire. One wire cannot send 8 bits at the same time.

Section C: Definitions

parallel transmission — Sends several bits at the same time, each down its own wire in the same cable, e.g. 8 bits down 8 wires at once.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

bits ← 8
wires ← bits

method ← "parallel"

IF bitsAtOnce > 1 THEN
  method ← "parallel"
ENDIF

serialWires ← 1
parallelWires ← serialWires * 8

cable ← ["w1","w2","w3","w4"]
wires ← LENGTH(cable)

Section E: Spot the Error

A — Eight wires carrying 8 bits at once is parallel transmission, not serial. Serial sends bits one after another down a single wire. The line should be TYPE: parallel.

B — In parallel transmission each bit travels down its own wire. Bits sharing one wire describes serial transmission. The line should be: Each bit has its own wire.

C — With 8 wires, 8 bits are sent in 1 tick, because all the bits travel at the same time. The number of ticks is bits / wires, not bits * wires.

B — Each wire carries only one bit at a time. The 8 bits are spread across 8 wires, so each wire gets 1 bit, not 8.

B — Each wire carries one bit, so 16 wires send 16 bits at once. bitsAtOnce should be set to wires, not 1.