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 a circuit with
both independent and dependent sources.Be able to check your results for
self consistency and determine power use by devices in the circuit.
- Be able to apply Node-Voltage techniques to successfully analyze a circuit
with both independent and dependent sources. Be able to check your results
for self consistency and determine power use by devices in the circuit.
- Be able to apply Mesh-Current techniques to successfully analyze a circuit
with both independent and dependent sources. Be able to check your results
for self consistency and determine power use by devices in the circuit.
- Be able to determine the Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits for a
circuit with both independent and dependent sources.
- Be able to mathematically and conceptually describe the transient behavior
of capacitors and inductors in planar circuits.
- Be able to apply the ideal rules describing the behavior of an op amp
to predict the performance of simple ciruits containing such devices.
- Be able to understand how to apply all the the above tools in the context of AC
circuits. This includes the ability to use complex math to determine phase
shifts and peak voltages as well as average power consumption of devices.
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 circuits on
a breadboard and verify predictions from class.
- Be able to safely and effectively use a Digital MultiMeter (DMM) to determine
voltages, currents, and resistance in circuits as needed.
- Be able to safely and effectively use basic oscilloscopes and function
generators as commonly used to test various circuits.
- To develop concrete conceptual understanding of the basic building blocks
of modern circuits including resistors, diodes, transistors, op amps, capacitors,
and inductors.
- Be able to clearly and effectively communicate your understanding of the
behavior of a circuit to a colleague.
