nerdexam
Cisco

350-401 · Question #1278

What happens to the signal strength of an RF signal due to wave spreading?

The correct answer is B. The signal strength of the RF signal will fall off quickly near the transmitter but more slowly farther. Due to wave spreading, RF signal strength attenuates rapidly in the near field of the transmitter and then falls off more gradually as the distance increases.

Submitted by alyssa_d· Mar 6, 2026

Question

What happens to the signal strength of an RF signal due to wave spreading?

Options

  • AThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off equally near the transmitter and also farther away
  • BThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off quickly near the transmitter but more slowly farther
  • CThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off slowly near the receiver and more quickly farther
  • DThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off slowly near the transmitter but more quickly farther

How the community answered

(40 responses)
  • A
    3% (1)
  • B
    90% (36)
  • C
    3% (1)
  • D
    5% (2)

Why each option

Due to wave spreading, RF signal strength attenuates rapidly in the near field of the transmitter and then falls off more gradually as the distance increases.

AThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off equally near the transmitter and also farther away

Signal strength does not fall off equally; the rate of attenuation changes with distance.

BThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off quickly near the transmitter but more slowly fartherCorrect

RF signal strength attenuation due to wave spreading follows an inverse square law in free space. This means the power density decreases rapidly close to the transmitter where the surface area of the expanding sphere increases dramatically, but this rate of decrease becomes slower at greater distances.

CThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off slowly near the receiver and more quickly farther

The signal strength falls off quickly near the transmitter, not slowly near the receiver, and generally faster initially, then slower with increasing distance.

DThe signal strength of the RF signal will fall off slowly near the transmitter but more quickly farther

The signal strength falls off quickly near the transmitter, not slowly, due to the inverse square law where the initial increase in spherical area is most significant.

Concept tested: RF signal attenuation (inverse square law)

Source: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/8-0/configuration/guide/c80cg/c80ch3.html

Topics

#RF signal strength#wave spreading#signal propagation

Community Discussion

No community discussion yet for this question.

Full 350-401 Practice