What is the average value of one complete cycle if the positive and negative alternations are the same?

What is the average value of one complete cycle if the positive and negative alternations are the same?

• A. The peak value
• B. The average value
• C. The RMS value
• D. The peak-to-peak value

Answer: (B)

When a waveform spends equal time above and below zero with the same magnitudes, the areas of positive and negative portions cancel over one full cycle. That makes the average (DC) value of the cycle zero. The option that matches this idea is the average value, since it describes the constant level you’d get if you averaged the waveform over a complete cycle. The peak value is just the maximum magnitude, RMS is about heating effect and not the average, and peak-to-peak is the total swing from top to bottom, not the average.

When a waveform spends equal time above and below zero with the same magnitudes, the areas of positive and negative portions cancel over one full cycle. That makes the average (DC) value of the cycle zero. The option that matches this idea is the average value, since it describes the constant level you’d get if you averaged the waveform over a complete cycle. The peak value is just the maximum magnitude, RMS is about heating effect and not the average, and peak-to-peak is the total swing from top to bottom, not the average.