Okay folks, here is your chance!
I will be teaching both a Circuits I and a Circuits II section this next semester. I am soliciting suggestions on specific tidbits that you think should be touched on in these courses but that frequently isn't.
These courses, at this school, are basically as follows:
Circuits I (EENG281):
Level: Sophmore
Prereqs: Physics II (Intro E&M)
Description: This course provides an engineering science analysis of electrical circuits. DC and single-phase AC networks are presented. Transient analysis of RC, RL and RLC circuits is studied as is the analysis of circuits in sinusoidal steady-state using phasor concepts. The following topics are included: DC and single-phase AC circuit analysis, current and charge relationships, Ohm's Law, resistors, inductors, capacitors, equivalent resistance and impedance, Kirchhoff's Laws, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits, superposition and source transformation, power and energy, maximum power transfer, first order transient response, algebra of complex numbers, phasor representation, time domain and frequency domain concepts, and ideal transformers. The course features PSPICE, a commercial circuit analysis software package.
Circuits II (EENG382):
Level: Junior (but many take it as a sophomore)
Prereqs: Circuits I and Diffy-Q
Description: This course provides for the continuation of basic circuit analysis techniques developed in EENG281, by providing the theoretical and mathematical fundamentals to understand and analyze complex electric circuits. The key topics covered include: (i) Steady-state analysis of single-phase and three-phase AC power circuits, (ii) Laplace transform techniques, (iii) transfer functions, (iv) frequency response, (v) Bode diagrams, (vi) Fourier series expansions, and (vii) two-port networks. The course features PSPICE, a commercial circuit analysis software package.
Things to note:
1) The courses only deal with linear systems, so no diodes or transistors at all; those are introduced in a parallel course to Circuit II.
2) There is no hands-on laboratory component associated with either course (there use to be, and I am not happy that there no longer are). So it is, sadly, simulation based.
3) The Circuits I course is a multisection course with common homework and exams, thus I have very limited flexibility to make changes. But I can certainly include a limited number of small, related topics to help motivate practical, real-world thinking.
4) The Circuits II course is a single-section course and so I have a much greater degree of control and flexibility.
=========================================
Because there does not seem to be a lab component of any kind, one of the things I am thinking of doing is at least demonstrating live circuits in class on a regular basis. The problem here is that the classes will be held in another building and so I need to haul over any equipment that I would need.
I am thinking about getting a reasonably cheap USB scope so that I can use the projector to display the scope traces. Anyone have any recommendations? It would be wonderful to find something that has a function generator, at least two channels, a few programmable voltage outputs, a few ADC inputs (for multimeter type measurements), and perhaps some digital I/O. I don't care too much about bandwidth since I can tailor the demos to match the capabilities.
I'm also willing to give up features, especially if I can end up with something cheap enough that I can recommend it to students that it might be something worth investing in. Part of my goal is to get them to develop an interest in hand-on electronics, especially since it is being squeezed out of formal engineering education.
I will be teaching both a Circuits I and a Circuits II section this next semester. I am soliciting suggestions on specific tidbits that you think should be touched on in these courses but that frequently isn't.
These courses, at this school, are basically as follows:
Circuits I (EENG281):
Level: Sophmore
Prereqs: Physics II (Intro E&M)
Description: This course provides an engineering science analysis of electrical circuits. DC and single-phase AC networks are presented. Transient analysis of RC, RL and RLC circuits is studied as is the analysis of circuits in sinusoidal steady-state using phasor concepts. The following topics are included: DC and single-phase AC circuit analysis, current and charge relationships, Ohm's Law, resistors, inductors, capacitors, equivalent resistance and impedance, Kirchhoff's Laws, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits, superposition and source transformation, power and energy, maximum power transfer, first order transient response, algebra of complex numbers, phasor representation, time domain and frequency domain concepts, and ideal transformers. The course features PSPICE, a commercial circuit analysis software package.
Circuits II (EENG382):
Level: Junior (but many take it as a sophomore)
Prereqs: Circuits I and Diffy-Q
Description: This course provides for the continuation of basic circuit analysis techniques developed in EENG281, by providing the theoretical and mathematical fundamentals to understand and analyze complex electric circuits. The key topics covered include: (i) Steady-state analysis of single-phase and three-phase AC power circuits, (ii) Laplace transform techniques, (iii) transfer functions, (iv) frequency response, (v) Bode diagrams, (vi) Fourier series expansions, and (vii) two-port networks. The course features PSPICE, a commercial circuit analysis software package.
Things to note:
1) The courses only deal with linear systems, so no diodes or transistors at all; those are introduced in a parallel course to Circuit II.
2) There is no hands-on laboratory component associated with either course (there use to be, and I am not happy that there no longer are). So it is, sadly, simulation based.
3) The Circuits I course is a multisection course with common homework and exams, thus I have very limited flexibility to make changes. But I can certainly include a limited number of small, related topics to help motivate practical, real-world thinking.
4) The Circuits II course is a single-section course and so I have a much greater degree of control and flexibility.
=========================================
Because there does not seem to be a lab component of any kind, one of the things I am thinking of doing is at least demonstrating live circuits in class on a regular basis. The problem here is that the classes will be held in another building and so I need to haul over any equipment that I would need.
I am thinking about getting a reasonably cheap USB scope so that I can use the projector to display the scope traces. Anyone have any recommendations? It would be wonderful to find something that has a function generator, at least two channels, a few programmable voltage outputs, a few ADC inputs (for multimeter type measurements), and perhaps some digital I/O. I don't care too much about bandwidth since I can tailor the demos to match the capabilities.
I'm also willing to give up features, especially if I can end up with something cheap enough that I can recommend it to students that it might be something worth investing in. Part of my goal is to get them to develop an interest in hand-on electronics, especially since it is being squeezed out of formal engineering education.