General Information
First course in electrical circuits and electronics. Establishes the fundamental properties of circuits with application to modern electronics. Teaches students circuit theory and analysis techniques. It is one of the three 2000 level classes required to major in ECE. (Crosslisted as ENGRD 2100)
Corequisites
MATH 2930 and PHYS 2213
Topics Covered
- Resistor, Capacitors, and Inductors
- Ohm's Law
- Kirchoff's Voltage and Current Law
- Node-Voltage and Mesh Current Circuit Analysis
- Norton - Thevenin Source Transforms
- Step Response to RLC circuits
- Laplace Transforms
- Op Amps
- Filter Design
- Transformers
Workload
- The workload can be moderate to fairly heavy, depending on the semester and the professor teaching the course. There are typically 5-6 labs, 2 prelims, and homework assigned every 1.5-2 weeks.
- The workload is heavy regardless of the professor, but some professors do give more than others.
- The lab sections and reports can also tend to take as much time as you are willing to put in - be warned that you may find yourself returning day after day to improve results, but final grading is generous after the first few labs and homeworks.
- Molnar's class is particularly work intensive. The homeworks are intended to take 10+ hours minimum and the labs can be the same for both the practical and writeup.
Advice
- Between prelabs, labs, lab reports, problem sets, and exams, the work can seem overwhelming, so it's important to keep up and manage your time well. This class has also been notorious for being somewhat more conceptually demanding than the other two 2000 level classes, so it's also a good idea not to fall behind on your understanding of the material.
- Although MATLAB is not a prerequisite for the class, being able to make professional, well-labeled plots will be a big benefit for lab reports. Excel/NumPy/SciPy are also good tools you don't want to buy MATLAB. (Though if you are planning on being an ECE, you'll definitely want a copy of MATLAB at some point - it's free!)
- Took the class with Pollock and the problem sets were all out of the book. I didn't find the lectures to be necessary because I could go at my own pace with the book. Actually hardly went to class and did well in the course. Best thing about lecture is when Pollock will give his asides about cool applictions of some circuits or other things concerning ECE.
Past Offerings
| Semester | Time | Professor | Median Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2013 | Alyosha Molnar | B | |
| Fall 2014 | MW 8:40 - 9:55 | Ehsan Afshari | A- |
| Spring 2015 | MWF 10:10 - 11:00 | Clifford Pollock | A |
| Spring 2016 | MWF 10:10 - 11:00 | James Shealy | B+ |
| Fall 2016 | MWF 9:05 - 9:55 | Clifford Pollock | B |
| Fall 2017 | MWF 9:05 - 9:55 | Alyosha Molnar | B+ |