Basic Sequences and

Signal Operations
Representation of Discrete Time (DT) Signals
 Basic Sequences
 Unit sample sequence or Unit Impulse, δ[n]
A sequence having an amplitude of 1 at n=0 and an
amplitude of 0 for all other n.
0 n  0
[n] = 
1 n = 0
 Basic Sequences
 Unit step sequence, u[n]
A sequence having an amplitude of 1 at n≥0 and
amplitude of 0 all other n.
0 n  0
u[n] = 
1 n  0
 Basic Sequences
 Unit ramp sequence, r[n]
A sequence having an amplitude of n for n≥0 and an
amplitude of 0 for all other n.
0 n  0
r[ n ] = 
n n  0
 Basic Sequences
 Exponential sequences

x[n] = An
 Basic Sequences
 Complex Exponential sequences

x[n] = r n e jn

Real and Imaginary Components

xR [n] = r n cos n
xi [n] = r n sin n
Basic Mathematical Operations
on Discrete-time Signals
Overview

The mathematical operations may

involve addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, or a
combination of these.
Time Reversal (Reflection)
 A time-reversed signal represents playing a
recorded audio tape(CT) or an audio CD (DT)
backwards.
 Time-reversal is obtained by multiplying the time
by negative one. For DT signal it is y[n]=x[-n]
 Graphically, time-reversed signal is obtained by
reflecting the signal about the vertical axis.
Proof for time reversal:
Problem: Given the input signal x[n]={ -9, -6, -3, 0, 3, 6, 9 }. Determine y[n]=x[-n].

Explanation of the problem: The objective here is to solve for y[n] such that the operation involved is
time reversal indicated by y[n]=x[-n].
When we graph x[n] it will look like this (remember that the arrow indicates the position n=0)

Before we solve, let me emphasize to you how to reference the content of x[n]. Those numbers could be
voltage level or current but we do not usually include the unit of measure.
x[-3]= -9 this means the amplitude of the signal at n=-3 is -9 (volt or ampere)
The amplitude value is usually written on top of each stem omitting the unit of measure.
x[-2]= -6
x[0] = 0
x[3]= 9 What is x[1] ? If your answer is 3, that is correct. How about x[5]? Yes, the answer is 0.
Let us now solve y[n]=x[-n] on the next slide…
Continuation of Proof for time-reversal
x[n]={ -9, -6, -3, 0, 3, 6, 9 }

Solution: y[n]=x[-n]
y[0]=x[0]=0
y[1]=x[-1]=-3
y[2]=x[-2]=-6
y[3]=x[-3]=-9
Solving for the left side of y[n] …
y[-1]= x[-(-1)] = x[1] = 3 Graph of the sequence for
y[n]
y[-2]=x[2]=6
y[-3]=x[3]=9
Therefore the answer is
y[n]={ 9,6,3,0,-3,-6,-9}

Without the arrow, the answer is wrong.

Time Scaling
 Scaling of the independent variable, n, produces a
signal that is either compressed (decimation) or
elongated (expansion) along the horizontal axis.
 Mathematically defined as:
y[n]=x[𝑎n] (decimation)
y[n]=𝑥[𝑛𝑎] (expansion)
𝑎 is an integer greater than 0
Proof for Time Scaling (Decimation)
Given x[n]={ 0.25, 0.5, 1, 0.5, 0.25 }

Determine y[n]=2n
Solution: y[0] = x[0] = 1
y[1]= x[2] = 0.25
y[2]= x[4] = 0

Solving for the left side of y[n] …

y[-1]= x[-2] = 0.25 Graph of the sequence for y[n]=x[2n]
y[-2]= x[-4] = 0

Therefore the answer is

y[n]={ 0.25 ,1, 0.25 }

You will notice that decimation process

removes some samples.
Proof for Time Scaling (Expansion)
Given x[n]={ 0.25, 0.5, 1, 0.5, 0.25 }

Determine y[n] = x[n/2]

Solution:
y[0] = x[0] = 1
y[1]= x[1/2] = 0 You will notice that x[0.5] is actually undefined. But for this process, it will
be set to 0. That is also what Matlab and Octave will do.
y[2]= x[2/2] = x[1] = 0.5
y[3] = x[3/2] = 0 Again the answer is set to 0
y[4] = x[4/2] = x[2] =0.25

Solving for the left side of y[n] …

y[-1]= x[-1/2] = 0 Graph of the sequence for y[n] = x[n/2]
y[-2]= x[-2/2] = x[-1] = 0.5
y[-3] = x[-3/2] = 0
y[-4] = x[-4/2] = x[-2] =0.25

Therefore the answer is

y[n]={ 0.25, 0 , 0.5 , 0 , 1, 0, 0.5 , 0, 0.25 }

You will notice that the expansion process

Adds more sample to the original number of samples.
Time Shifting
 The signal x[n-1] is obtained by delaying x[n] by 1
sample. x[n-3] delays x[n] by 3 samples. Delay
corresponds to shifting a signal to the right on the time
axis.

 On the other hand, x[n+1] is obtained by advancing

x[n] by 1 sample. Similarly, x[n+4] advances x[n] by 4
samples. Advance corresponds to shifting the signal to
the left.
Illustration of Time shifting

Practice:
Referring to the given x[n],
prove that x[n-3], x[n-4], and
x[n+1] agree with the signal
illustration on the right side.
Amplitude Scaling
 Amplitude scaling by a factor k corresponds to
amplification or attenuation of the signal.
 Mathematically defined as:
y[n]=kx[n]
Where k is the gain.
If k>1, the output signal is the enlarged version of x.
If 0<k<1, the output is the attenuated version of the input signal.
If k is negative, the output is the scaled version of the input
signal with phase reversal.
Here, you simply multiply each element of x[n] by the given
factor, k.
Example: if x[n]= { 1, -5, 2} , then, 3x[n]={3, -15, 6}
Examples: Determine the following
sequence as indicated.
1) y(n)=u[n]-u[n-1]
2) x[n]=δ[n]+2δ[n-1]-δ[n-3]
3) h[n]=2δ[n+1]+2δ[n-1]

Explanation of the given:

u[n] is the standard name for the unit step sequence and
δ[n] is the unit sample sequence.
How to solve: Simply sketch or write the sequence for
each terms on the right side and then do the
elementwise operation.
Explanation for #1:
y(n)=u[n]-u[n-1]

y[0]=1-0=1
y[1]=1-1=0
y[2]=1-1=0
.
.
.
y[n]=1-1=0
y[-1]=0-0=0 The entire left side is 0

Therefore: y[n]={1,0,0,0,….}
You can also solve graphically, if you prefer. Shown below is the
graphical solution for Ex. #1) y(n)=u[n]-u[n-1]

Answer:
y[n]={1,0,0,0,….} or y[n]={ 1,0,0,0,…}
or simply,
y[n]= { 1 }

Note: You may omit the arrow If there is no element

on the left of n=0
Additional Example:
4) Given:
𝑛
1+ − 3 ≤ 𝑛 ≤ −1
𝑥𝑛 = 3
1 0≤𝑛≤3
0 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒

Determine:
a) x[n]

b) x[n-2]

c) x[n-1]δ[n-3]
The operation here is
elementwise multiplication
Explanation for #4c
Let y(n)=x[n-1]δ[n-3] Here, I have the “Let” statement simply for
short-cut purpose only.
Solution:
y[0]=(2/3)(0)=0
y[1]=(1)(0)=0
y[2]=(1)(0)=0
y[3]=(1)(1)=1
y[4]=(1)(0)=0

y[-1]=(1/3)(0)=0

Therefore: y[n]={0,0,0,1}
Assignment: Solve as indicated.