Course Content and Goals
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a working knowledge
of simple electronic circuitry. Topics to be covered include passive
components, filters, transistors, FET's, operational amplifiers and
an elementary treatment of signal processing and data acquisition
techniques. The course will not emphasize abstract circuit theory
or the physical basis of device function but rather will aim to provide
students with the know-how required to use modern electronic instrumentation
and to design, build and repair circuits. Lectures (one each week)
and text readings will provide background for the practical laboratory
assignments.
Assignments and Expectations
Ten
labs from the student manual, 11 quizzes and a skunk work project
are assigned. Each lab will require an individual laboratory write-up
(report). Late work* will incur a severe
penalty of 15% off per day
late. After 4 days late the maximum grade for the assignment (assuming
perfect work) will be 40%.
Lab
Reports should include (see the sample
report 1, sample
report 2 ):
• Circuit
description
• Drawings of circuits you worked on including values and part names
• Data and Analyses (Oscilloscope images)
• Answers to the question posed in the manual
Lab reports are due by 5
pm on Thursdays shown on the Class Schedule.
While you will work in teams of 2 for building the circuits and
recording data, the lab reports and homework are
to be individual efforts.
Discussion with, and help from your peers are encouraged,
but copying of work
is not. Both of the members in a group should participate
in taking data and analyses. Exclusively sharing the duty
of lab work is
not allowed. At the middle of the semester lab partners
will be reshuffled.
Quiz
11 quizzes will be given throughout the course. Best 10
quizzes will be reflected in your grade. On Thursdays,
a set of quiz will
be delivered
through e-mail. Students should submit the quiz
on Tuesday at the lecture session.
Skunk
Work (sample
1 | sample
2 | sample
3)
The skunk work project will consist of a circuit
devised, or selected from the literature, by
each team of two students,
that will be
built and demonstrated for the class (including
a description of its operation).
It will be judged on a combination of complexity,
execution, and comprehension.
Grading
Report (45%), Quiz (40%), and Skunk work (15%).
The letter grade will be based on the curve
(not absolute
score).
* Assignment due will be forced strictly.
However, each student will be allowed 1
one-week extension
without penalty
for lab reports.
Advice from the Professor
Because students have varied backgrounds the course will start
with the basics and appear at first to be rather easy. Do not
be lulled by this into, falling behind, thinking you will be
able to cram later, to catch up. The material builds rapidly
and requires mastery of the basics. The student manual elaborates
on the text, but is not a substitute for it. You are strongly
encouraged to do the assigned readings. You will in fact be
expected to learn more material than there is time to go over
in the lectures (where only major points can be covered). it
will help your progress tremendously to read through and attempt
to understand the lab to be performed before attempting to
do it. Lecture attendance is strongly encouraged and will aid
in doing the labs and homework assignments.
The text usually defines terminology and then uses it extensively.
Disconcertingly, sometimes this order is reversed, with the
terminology appearing first. Similarly, a text problem sometimes
appears before the section giving the material appropriate
for its solution. A good strategy for getting the most out
of the text is to read through several sections once quickly
and then go back and re-read them to improve comprehension,
doing the problems on the second sweep.
Participate with enthusiasm and have fun - learning will
automatically follow.
Advice from Students who took this
course
- This course is an excellent alternative to the “theory” usually
found in other physics courses. It offers practical experience in
working with circuits .. However, be prepared to spend a lot of time
on the
lab.
-
Keep up with the course material.
-
What I would do differently is to start lab write-up's sooner, much sooner!
-
Start doing homeworks and quizzes early in advance!
-
Future students would take quizzes more seriously. Put more effort into
the quizzes.
-
Start your skunk work early ... it would be a huge help if you order
parts online.
-
If you have doubts as to whether or not to take oscilloscope
images, take it! .. don't be discouraged if you burn many
diodes on multiple
occasions..
-
This is an awesome course, unlike any other physics course you can take.
-
Do not leave things for the last minute. Read the book.
-
... if you are too sleepy to understand what's going
on, you get behind. Take it in the afternoon if you
can.
-
I like this course a lot!
If you wish to put in more time, the laboratory (Room 1249)
is accessible during off-hours. A combination locked box on the
door contains the key to the room. You will be given the combination
in class. Be sure that the box with the key and the room are
locked when you leave. For safety reasons, more than
two students should be working in the laboratory at any time. This access
is intended for make-up and for when simply more time is needed.
updated
August 19, 2005
