*Question E7F14:
Which of the following would allow a digital signal processing filter to create a sharper filter response?*  

*Correct Answer is  B: More taps*  

### AI Response: (may contain errors)  

In digital signal processing (DSP), a filter's ability to distinguish between different frequencies is determined by its filter response. A sharper filter response means the filter can more precisely separate desired signals from unwanted ones.

### Correct Answer: More taps

1. **Why the correct answer is correct:**
   - **More taps**: In a digital filter, "taps" refer to the number of coefficients used in the filter's impulse response. Increasing the number of taps allows the filter to have a more complex and precise response, which results in a sharper cutoff between passband and stopband frequencies. This is because more taps provide more degrees of freedom to shape the filter's frequency response.

### Why the other choices are incorrect:

2. **Higher data rate**:
   - Increasing the data rate does not inherently sharpen the filter response. Instead, it affects the bandwidth and the amount of data processed per unit time. A higher data rate might require a filter with a wider bandwidth but does not directly influence the sharpness of the filter's response.

3. **Lower Q**:
   - The quality factor, or Q, is a measure of how underdamped a resonator is, and it relates to the bandwidth of the filter. A lower Q means a wider bandwidth, which is the opposite of a sharper response. A sharper filter response typically requires a higher Q, not a lower one.

4. **Double-precision math routines**:
   - Using double-precision math increases the numerical accuracy of calculations but does not directly affect the sharpness of the filter response. It helps in reducing quantization errors but does not change the filter's ability to distinguish between frequencies.

### Useful Formula:

- The filter's frequency response is determined by its impulse response, which is a function of the number of taps. More taps allow for a more detailed impulse response, leading to a sharper frequency response.

In summary, increasing the number of taps in a digital filter allows for a more precise and sharper filter response, making it the correct choice for this question.