What follows is an articulation of the skills and understandings I expect you will have upon completion of this course. In the language of "education" these are currently called outcomes. In this class we are primarily working on building specific analytical skills with respect to planar electrical circuits. There is also a laboratory component that is intended to make the topics more concrete as well as teaching a range of practical skills in the use of measurement instrumentation and electrical hardware.

Circuit Analysis Skills:

  • Be able to apply Kirchoff's Laws to successfully analyze an AC circuit with both independent and dependent sources.Be able to check your results for self consistency.
  • Be able to apply Node-Voltage and Mesh-Current techniques to successfully analyze an AC circuit with both independent and dependent sources. Op amp and equivalent circuits are a natural extension of this understanding.
  • Be able to use appropriate tools to describe power use in an AC circuit and distinguish between real and reactive power.
  • Be able to determine line and phase currents and voltages for any balanced configuration of 3 phase power.
  • Be able to predict the frequency dependent behavior of simple filter through the use of Bode plots. Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of the Bode plot for the actual behavior of the circuit.

Laboratory Skills

  • Be able to keep a laboratory notebook that reflects professional standards and practices.
  • Be able to safely and wisely assemble and test low voltage AC circuits on a breadboard and verify predictions from class.
  • Be able to safely and effectively use an oscilloscope to determine voltages, phase, and frequency in AC circuits as needed.
  • Be able to safely and effectively use function generators as commonly used to test various AC circuits.
  • To develop concrete conceptual understanding of the basic building blocks of modern AC circuits including resistors, diodes, transistors, op amps, capacitors, and inductors.
  • Be able to clearly and effectively communicate your understanding of the behavior of an AC circuit to a colleague.