Red Seal Electrician Practice
Signalling and communicationQuestion 120 of 1506

Sixteen level switches are sent to a priority encoder before transmission. How many data wires are needed?

  1. 16 wires, since each switch still needs its own wire
  2. 8 wires, plus the ground and power wires
  3. 4 data wires, plus power and ground wires if needed
  4. 2 wires, plus the ground and power wires
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Correct answer: 4 data wires, plus power and ground wires if needed

Four bits can represent 16 states. Without encoding, 16 wires would be needed.

Source: Lessons in Electric Circuits IV: Digital (Kuphaldt), 14.1: Introduction to Digital Communication

Practice signalling and communication

Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026