Which statement best describes the relationship between distance traveled and attenuation?

Which statement best describes the relationship between distance traveled and attenuation?

• A. Attenuation decreases as distance increases
• B. Attenuation fluctuates with distance
• C. Attenuation increases as distance increases
• D. Attenuation is untouched by distance

Answer: (C)

Attenuation is the loss of signal strength as it travels through a medium. The farther the signal travels, the more energy is absorbed, scattered, or otherwise dissipated, so the total attenuation increases with distance. In a uniform medium, the loss accumulates along the path, so longer distances yield greater attenuation. A simple way to picture it is that more distance means more opportunities for the signal to be weakened. This is why the statement that attenuation increases as distance increases is the best description. The other options imply less loss with distance, unpredictable fluctuations, or no effect at all, which contradicts the basic propagation behavior where energy diminishes with travel through a lossy medium.

Attenuation is the loss of signal strength as it travels through a medium. The farther the signal travels, the more energy is absorbed, scattered, or otherwise dissipated, so the total attenuation increases with distance. In a uniform medium, the loss accumulates along the path, so longer distances yield greater attenuation. A simple way to picture it is that more distance means more opportunities for the signal to be weakened.

This is why the statement that attenuation increases as distance increases is the best description. The other options imply less loss with distance, unpredictable fluctuations, or no effect at all, which contradicts the basic propagation behavior where energy diminishes with travel through a lossy medium.