FOA Study Exam | Questions and Answers, Winter 2026

FOA Study Exam | Questions and Answers, Winter 2026 True/False Indicate whether the statement is true or false. ____ 1. Most outside plant installations are singlemode fiber. ____ 2. Splicing is very rare in premises networks. ____ 3. Fiber is used in long distance phone networks because it is much cheaper than copper wire. ____ 4. Dangerous light from fiber optic cables is bright and easily visible. ____ 5. Besides causing attenuation, dirt particles can cause scratches on the polished fiber ends. True 1. True2. true 3. False4. true5. Outside plant cabling can be installed by ________. A. Pulling in underground in conduit B. Direct burial C. Aerial suspension D. All of the above Underground cable generally includes a gel, powder or tape for protection from _______. A. Pulling friction B. Lightning strikes C. Moisture D. Fiber abrasion Armored cable is used in outside plant installations to ________. A. Prevent rodent damage B. Protect from dig-up damage C. Increase pulling tension D. Conduct lightning strikes Concatenation or the joining of two cables in a long outside plant run is almost always done by ______. A. Mechanical splicing B. Fusion splicing FRG-OSP Textbook Guide-Q.doc, 7/26/10, 8 C. Field installation of connectors D. Splicing on pigtailled connectors Premise cables in LAN backbones often contain _______. A. Only multimode fiber B. Only singlemode fiber C. Both multimode and singlemode fiber D. Plastic optical fiber Premises cables must be rated for ______ to meet codes. A. Pull strength B. Bend radius C. Weight in cable trays D. Fire retardance The protective gear every VDV installer must always wear is _______. A. Eye protection B. Plastic apron C. Gloves D. Shoe covers Information on the safety of chemicals used in fiber optics are ________. A. Available from National Institutes of Health B. In MSDS sheets supplied by manufacturers C. Required to be in every installerʼs tool kit D. Rarely useful Always keep ________ on connectors when not connected to equipment or being tested. A. Mating adapters B. Strain relief boots C. Sticky tape D. Dust caps True/False 1. Optical fibers can transmit either voice, data or video and either analog or digital signals. 2. Singlemode fiber has a smaller core than multimode fiber. 1. true 2. true In an optical fiber, the light is transmitted through the ___________. A. Core B. Cladding C. Buffer D. Jacket The diameter of an optical fiber is traditionally measured in _____. A. Meters B. Millimeters C. Microns (micrometers) D. Nanometers Rays of light transmitted in multimode fiber are called ________. A. Reflections B. Refractions C. Waves D. Modes Loss of a fiber or any fiber in a cable is measured in ______. A. dB B. dBm C. milliwatts 10 dB corresponds to a factor of _____ in power. A. 2 B. 10 C. 20 D. 100 A fiber stripper removes the _________ of the fiber. A. Core B. Cladding C. Buffer coating The ___ protects the fiber from harm. A. Primary buffer coating B. Aramid fiber strength members C. Jacket D. All of the above Which fiber optic test instrument uses backscattered light for measurements? A. OLTS B. OTDR C. VFL D. Tracer The wavelength of light used for most fiber optic systems is in the ________ region and _______ to the human eye. A. ultraviolet, invisible B. solar, visible C. infrared, invisible True/False 1. The biggest advantage of optical fiber is the fact it is the most cost effective means of transporting information. 2. Telephone networks have been converted to fiber, including long distance and metropolitan networks, but fiber to the home (FTTH) is not yet feasible. 1. true 2. false Today, with the exception of some _________, the entire telephone backbone is fiber optics. A. Rugged or remote locations B. Ultra-high speed connections C. Ultra-high speed connections D. Triple play systems _______ companies "overbuild with fiber, often lashing fiber optic cables to installed aerial coax cable. A. Independent telephone B. CATV C. Utilities D. Private network Copper networks can be converted to fiber optics easily using: A. Fiber hubs B. Media converters C. Patch panels D. Rewiring The bandwidth and distance capability of optical fiber means that _________. (choose all that apply) A. Fewer cables are needed B. Fewer repeaters are needed FRG-OSP Textbook Guide-Q.doc, 7/26/10, 14 C. Less power is consumed by the network D. Less maintenance is required Which of the following typicall use fiber optic backbones? (choose all that apply) A. Telephones B. CATV C. Internet D. Cell Phones True/False 1. Fiber optic links generally use two fibers for full duplex (bidirectional) links. 2. LEDs have higher output power and bandwidth than lasers. 1. true 2. False Singlemode fiber systems covering long distances and using DWDM use ____ sources. A. F-P laser B. DFB laser C. VCSEL D. LED Wavelength division multiplexing uses ___________ to transmit multiple signals on a single fiber. A. The ability of fiber to transmit multiple wavelengths without mixing B. F-P Lasers C. The wide spectral width of lasers D. The high fiber bandwidth CWDM systems require ____________ to allow transmitting in the E-Band ( nm). A. Low water peak fiber B. DFB lasers C. 1490 nm pump lasers Long wavelength singlemode links at wavelengths in the range of nm links must use ______detectors in the receiver for the best sensitivity performance. A. Silicon B. Germanium C. InGaAs Fiber amplifiers and DWDM work in the ______ wavelength range. A. 650-850 B. 850-1300 C. D. Singlemode transceivers use _____ sources for their higher coupled power and bandwidth. A. LED B. VCSEL C. F-P lasers D. DFB lasers Multimode transceivers use _____ sources depending on their requirements for coupled power and bandwidth. A. LED B. VCSEL C. F-P lasers D. DFB lasers Singlemode fiber has a ______ light-carrying core than multimode fiber. A. Smaller B. Larger C. Same size What is the core size of singlemode fiber? A. 5 mm B. 9 microns C. 50 microns D. 63.5 microns Singlemode fiber has ________ bandwidth than multimode fiber. A. More B. Less C. The same What wavelengths are appropriate for use with singlemode fiber? A. 650 & 850 nm B. 850 & 1300 nm C. 850 & 1310 nm D. 1310 & 1550 nm The diameter of the core in OM2 and OM3 multimode fiber is how large? A. 50 microns B. 62.5 microns C. 62.5 mm D. 9 mm Which of the following fiber specifications is most important to the user and is an important factor in testing? A. Attenuation B. Bandwidth C. Numerical aperture D. Core-cladding concentricity The largest contributor to fiber attenuation is ____________. A. Absorption B. Scattering C. Bending losses D. Microbends Which fiber typically has the largest core? A. POF B. Multimode Step Index C. Multimode Graded Index D. Singlemode The loss of a singlemode fiber is lowest at _________. A. 850 nm B. 1300 nm C. 1310 nm D. 1550 nm Which type of dispersion affects singlemode fiber as well as multimode fiber? A. Modal B. Differential C. Chromatic D. Polarization mode Which types of dispersion needs to be tested in long singlemode fiber links? A. Modal B. Differential C. Chromatic D. Polarization mode Matching