ENGR-240: Circuits

School
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Division
Pre-Engineering
Department
Pre-Engineering
Academic Level
Undergraduate
Course Subject
Engineering
Course Number
240
Course Title
Circuits
Credit Hours
5.00
Instructor Contact Hours Per Semester
77.00 (for 15-week classes)
Student Contact Hours Per Semester
77.00 (for 15-week classes)
Grading Method
A-E
Pre-requisites
MATH-183 with a grade of C or better
Co-requisites
PHYS-232
Catalog Course Description

Intended for students planning to pursue an electrical engineering or biomedical engineering concentration. Topics covered include: Voltage, Current, Power, Resistance, Ohm’s law, Kirchhoff’s laws, Independent and Dependent Sources, Voltage Divider, Current Divider, Delta-Wye and Wye-Delta Transformations, Nodal and Mesh Analysis, Source Transformation, Thevenin and Norton Theorems, Maximum Power Transfer, Operational Amplifier Analysis, Inductance and Capacitance, Natural Response and Step Response of 1st and 2nd Order Systems, Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis, Phasors. This course will incorporate a lab utilizing circuit components, breadboard, multimeter, oscilloscope, and function generator. Labs will also incorporate the use of an industry standard circuit simulation software package.

Goals, Topics, and Objectives

Core Course Topics
  1. Circuit Variables
    • Voltage
    • Current
    • Ideal basic element
    • Power
    • Energy
  2. Circuit Elements
    • Voltage and current sources
    • Resistance
    • Circuit model
    • Kirchoff's laws
    • Dependent sources
  3. Simple Resistive Circuits
    • Resistors in series, parallel
    • Voltage-divider
    • Current divider
    • Wheatstone bridge
    • Delta-wye and wye-delta transformation
  4. Techniques of Circuit Analysis
    • Nodal analysis
    • Nodal analysis with dependent sources
    • Mesh analysis
    • Mesh analysis with dependent sources
    • Source transformation
    • Thevenin and Norton theorems
    • Maximum power transfer theorem
  5. Operational Amplifier
    • Terminal voltage and current
    • Inverting-amplifier
    • Summing amplifier
    • Non-inverting amplifier
    • Difference amplifier
    • Equivalent circuit
    • Differential mode
    • Common-mode rejection radio
  6. Inductance and Capacitance
    • Inductor
    • Capacitor
    • Series-parallel combination of inductance and capacitance
  7. The Natural Response of RL and RC Circuits
    • Natural response of RL circuit
    • Natural response of RC circuit
  8. Step Response of 1st Order RL and RC circuit
    • Step response of RL circuit
    • Step response of RC circuit
    • Finding the step response of a 1st order RL or RC circuit
    • Integrating amplifier
  9. Natural Response and Step Response of RLC Circuits
    • Natural response of a parallel RLC circuit
    • Step response of parallel RLC circuit
  10. Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis
    • Sinusoidal source
    • Sinusoidal response
    • Phasor and phasor domain
    • Kirchoff's laws in the phasor domain
    • Series-parallel and delta-wye simplification
    • Source transformation and Thevenin-Norton theorems
    • Nodal analysis
    • Mesh analysis
    • Phasor diagrams
  11. Industry standard circuit simulation software package utilization
Core Course Learning Objectives (Separated)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Describe circuit variables.
  2. Describe the voltage and current relationship for DC voltage and current sources, resistors, and DC dependent sources.
  3. Analyze simple DC resistive circuits.
  4. Demonstrate proficiency using advanced DC circuit analysis techniques.
  5. Analyze operational amplifier circuits.
  6. Describe voltage and current relationship for inductors and capacitors.
  7. Analyze the natural response to 1st order RL and RC circuits.
  8. Demonstrate knowledge of the step response of 1st order RL and RC circuits.
  9. Analyze the natural response and step response of 2nd order RLC circuits.
  10. Demonstrate proficiency using advanced AC circuit analysis techniques.
  11. Demonstrate proficiency in building circuits and making measurements utilizing a breadboard, multimeter, oscilloscope, and function generator.
  12. Demonstrate proficiency in building and analyzing circuits utilizing an industry standard circuit simulator software.

Assessment and Requirements

Assessment of Academic Achievement

Exams will be administered throughout the course to assess the students' learning of the subject matter. All students will be required to complete a comprehensive final examination that assesses the learning of all course objectives. Students are required to conduct circuits laboratory experiments, and write reports about their findings.

General Course Requirements and Recommendations
  • Students must complete several homework assignments during the course of the semester. These assignments may be tied to the lecture, text, or lab, and require some design on the part of the student.

  • Students should complete at least one major computer project involving the design and analysis of a 1st or 2nd order circuit using a circuit simulation software package.

Texts

Text will be chosen from among recognized "major-level" texts.

Outcomes

Satisfies Wellness Requirement
No
Satisfies Honors Requirements
No
Effective Term
Fall 2020