C) the combination of signaling speed and encoding method.
The technician will combine the signaling speed and encoding method to calculate the baud rate of a connection. The baud rate is a measure of how many symbol changes (also known as signaling events) can be communicated over a communication channel in a second. Symbols per second or bauds are frequently used to measure it.
The possible baud rate can be impacted by the transmission medium's properties, such as bandwidth and noise susceptibility. The encoding technique used to represent those symbols in the transmission and the signaling speed (how quickly symbols can change) are the two main considerations in the baud rate calculation.
Option A, the amount of information that can be transmitted per second, is related to the data rate or bit rate, which is influenced by the baud rate but also takes into account the number of bits per symbol.
Option B, the number of symbols that can be transmitted per second, is close but not entirely accurate because the baud rate refers to the rate of symbol changes rather than the absolute number of symbols transmitted.
Option D, the loss of signal strength between two measurements, is unrelated to the calculation of baud rate and pertains to signal attenuation over a distance or through a medium.
Therefore, option C is the most appropriate answer as it correctly describes what the technician will be calculating when determining the baud rate of a connection.