PHN-313: Signals and Systems

Assignment 1 (2023-24)
INSTRUCTED BY: Prof. Peayush Kumar Choubey

Name: Aarav Ratra

Enrolment No: 21122002
Batch: S5
Date of Submission: 2023.08.08
 Note: I am learning LATEX, and hence for practice, I am submitting this assignment in LATEX
format as well as attaching handwritten solutions. For the initial questions I have provided a well
written explanation as well.

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 Figure 1: Q1(a) : Handwritten Solution

1 Question 1: Periodicity and Fundamental Period

Determine whether or not each of the following signals is periodic and find the fundamental period
if it is.

1.1 x(t) = ei(πt−1)

Answer: The signal is periodic and has a fundamental period = 2.
Explanation:
We know that eit has a fundamental period of 2π (thanks to the Euler Identity eit = cos t+i sin t).
If we have f (t) = eit , we can write x(t) as a transformation by:

1. Right shift by 1 unit: f1 (t) = f (t − 1) = ei(t−1)

2. Scale along the independent axis by a factor of π: x(t) = f1 (πt) = ei(/pit−1)

While shifting the function left or right does not change the periodicity, scaling it along the
independent axis does. The new period is:
T0 2π
T0 = = =2
π π

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 Figure 2: Q1(b) : Handwritten Solution

P∞ −(2t−k)
1.2 x(t) = k=−∞ e u(2t − k)
Answer: The signal is periodic and has a fundamental period = 0.5.
Explanation:
If we judge the function f (t) = et u(t), we get a function which is 0 for all values from -∞ to 0,
then sharply increasing to 1 at t=0 and following a regular exponential decay curve.
 t 
e , if t ≥ 0
f (t) =
0, if t0
We can also define g(t) = f (2t)
 
e2t , if t ≥ 0
g(t) =
0, if t0

The curve of g(t) would look similar, except the decay would occur much faster.
We can easily observe that our signal x(t) can be written as:
∞
X
x(t) = g(t − k/2)
k=−∞

The signal is a linear combination of the same signal g(t) superimposed on itself infinite times after
each being shifted by t=1/2 units.
Hence, on sketching the curve, we would get a periodic curve with a period of 1/2.

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 Figure 3: Q1(c) : Handwritten Solution

1.3 x[n] = cos ( π8 n2 )

Answer: The signal is periodic and has a fundamental period = 8.
Explanation:
If our signal is periodic, let us say that for some N0 ∈ Z :

x[n + N0 ] = x[n]
We can attempt to solve for N0 , but we can only know that the function is periodic if we obtain N0
for which n is unrestricted. Hence, effectively we are supposed to prove:

∀n, ∃N0 : x[n + N0 ] = x[n]

On solving, we get:
π π
cos( (n + N0 )2 ) = cos( n2 )
8 8
π π
=⇒ (n + N0 )2 = 2kπ ± n2 : k ∈ Z
8 8
=⇒ (n + N + 0) = 16k ± n2
2

=⇒ N0 (N0 ± 2n) = 16k

With all the variables being integers, this implies that the number N0 is an even number. Hence, we
substitute N0 = 2m:
4m(m + n) = 16k =⇒ m(m + n) = 4k
Keeping n unrestricted, the only possible answer would be to have m be a multiple of 4. If we look
for the smallest value of m, we have m = 4 =⇒ N0 = 8.
Hence, we can conclude that our function x[n] is periodic with a fundamental period of 8.

Note: This problem is pretty interesting as it shows that a function which is non-periodic in the
case of a continuous-time signal can be periodic in the case of a discrete-time signal. It is obvious
that the function x(t) = cos( π8 t2 ) is not periodic.

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 Figure 4: Q1(d) : Handwritten Solution

P∞
1.4 x[n] = k=−∞ (δ[n − 4k] − δ[n − 1 − 4k])
Answer: The signal is periodic and has a fundamental period = 4.
Explanation:
First, let us assess the following function:

g[n] = δ[n] − δ[n − 1]

It is easy to observe that the function can be written as:
 
 1, ;n=0 
g[n] = −1, ;n=1
0, otherwise
 

And hence the signal waveform can be understood as two peaks at n = 0 and n = 1, reaching values
+1 and -1, respectively.
It is easy to judge that the signal x[n] is a superposition of infinitely many g[n] signals, each
shifted by 4 units from the other. On sketching the graph and observing, we can redefine x[n] as
 
X∞  1, ; n = 4k 
x[n] = g[n − 4k] = −1, ; n = 4k + 1
0, otherwise
 
k=−∞

From the definition and the sketch of the waveform, since k ∈ Z, it is easy to conclude that the
signal x[n] is periodic and has a fundamental period of 4.

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 Figure 5: Plots of signals x(t) (a) and y(t) (b).

Figure 6: Q2: Handwritten Solution

2 Question 2: Signal Manipulation by Shifting and Scaling

Consider signals x(t) and y(t) as shown in the accompanying figure. Express y(t) in terms of x(t).
Answer:
It is easy to observe that y(t) is the same shape as x(t) except it is flipped twice, scaled and
shifted. We can use the following procedure to obtain y:

1. Scale x(t) about the independent axis such that it compresses by a factor of 2 ⇒ x(t) → x(2t)

2. Scale x(t) about the dependent axis such that it expands by a factor of 2 ⇒ x(2t) → 2x(2t)

3. Flip x(t) about both the independent and dependent axes as it would effectively cause a 180º
rotation about (0,0) ⇒ 2x(2t) → −2x(−2t)

4. Shift x(t) 1 unit upwards ⇒ −2x(−2t) → 1 − 2x(−2t)

5. Shift x(t) 1 unit rightwards ⇒ 1 − 2x(−2t) → 1 − 2x(−2(t − 1)) = 1 − 2x(2 − 2t)

With this series of manipulations, we have finally obtained y(t) = 1 − 2x(2 − 2t)

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 Figure 7: Q3: Handwritten Solution

3 Question 3: Unit Step Function

Given x(t) = 5u(t + 2)u(t) + 3u(t2)7u(t4), find and plot x(2t4).
Answer: A good first step would be to first plot x(t). We can analyse and arrive to a piece-wise
definition for x(t):  

 0; t − 2 

 5; −2 ≤ t0

 


x(t) = 4; 0 ≤ t + 2
 7; +2 ≤ t + 4 

 

 
0; t + 4
 

And the curve of x(t) can be drawn very easily. We can use this piece-wise definition as well as
the graphical method to find x(2t − 4). I shall use the graphical method. We can obtain x(2t − 4)
from x(t) by first scaling along the t-axis by a factor of 2 (compressing) followed by a right shift of
2 points. The analysis would arrive to the following definition for x(2t − 4):
 

 0; t1 

5; 1 ≤ t2

 

 
x(2t − 4) = 4; 2 ≤ t3 = 5u(t − 1) − u(t − 2) + 3u(t − 3)
7; 3 ≤ t4

 


 

0; t4
 

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 Figure 8: Q4(a): Handwritten Solution

4 Question 4: Even and Odd Signals

4.1 Continuous Signal Average
The average value x of a signal x(t) is given by
Z T
1
lim x(t)dt
n→∞ 2T −T

Let xe (t) and xo (t) be the even and the odd part of x(t), respectively. Show that xo = 0 and xe = x.

Answer:
While it is easy to intuitively understand from the graphical nature of the even and odd parts
that the mean of the odd part of any function would be 0, leaving only the even part to contribute
to the mean, we shall do it formally.
It is easy to establish that the function x(−t) also has an average value x. We can say so due to
the symmetry of the expression for the average.
Hence, on calculating xo and xe :
Z T
1 T (x(t) + x(−t))
Z
1 (x(t) + x(−t)) x+x
xe = lim dt = lim dt = =x
n→∞ 2T −T 2 n→∞ 2 −T 2T 2
Z T
(x(t) − x(−t)) 1 T (x(t) − x(−t)) x−x
Z
1
x0 = lim dt = lim dt = =0
n→∞ 2T −T 2 n→∞ 2 −T 2T 2
Hence, Proven.

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 Figure 9: Q4(b): Handwritten Solution

4.2 Discrete Signals

Let xe [n] and xo [n] be the even and the odd part of x[n], respectively. Show that
∞
X ∞
X ∞
X
x2 [n] = x2e [n] + x2o [n]
n=−∞ n=−∞ n=−∞

Answer:
We know that

xe [n] = 0.5(x[n] + x[−n]); xo [n] = 0.5(x[n] − x[−n])

Hence, the quantity x2e [n] + x2o [n] can be expanded as:
1 1
x2e [n] + x2o [n] = (x2 [n] + x2 [−n] + 2x[n]x[−n]) + (x2 [n] + x2 [−n] − 2x[n]x[−n])
4 4
1
= (x2 [n] + x2 [−n])
2
Hence, the quantity on the RHS can be written as:
∞
X ∞
X ∞
X
x2e [n] + x2o [n] = x2e [n] + x2o [n]
n=−∞ n=−∞ n=−∞
∞ ∞∞
X 1 2 2 1 2
X X
= (x [n] + x [−n]) = ( x [n] + x2 [−n])
n=−∞
2 2 n=−∞ n=−∞

In the second summation, we can substite n → −n and obtain the summation as

∞ ∞ ∞
1 X 2 X
2
X
( x [n] + x [n]) = x2 [n]
2 n=−∞ n=−∞ n=−∞

which is equal to the LHS.

Hence Proven.