ENGR 260 Circuits and Devices

COURSE SYLLABUS Spring 2015

Instructor: Nick Langhoff
Office: 16-106
Email: langhoffn@smccd.edu
Office Hours: 11:30-12:30pm T/Th
Course: 55242
Lecture

ENGR 260 Circuits and Devices

MTWR 9:15-11:20 p.m.

Units: 3.0

Rm: 16-106

Description:
Introduction to the theory and techniques of circuit analysis. Circuit laws and nomenclature, resistive circuits
with DC sources, controlled sources, ideal operational amplifiers, natural and complete responses of first- and
second-order circuits, steady-state sinusoidal analysis, power calculations, amplifiers, and three-phase circuits.
Pre-requisites:

Math 252, and Phys 260

Text (Required):
Svoboda, Introduction to Electric Circuits, 5th ed., ISBN-10: 978-1-118-56058-7
Get e-book with WileyPlus education system
Recommended Texts:
Alexander, C.K., and M. Sadiku, Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, 5th Edition, 2013, ISBN: 10 0073380571.
Course Webpage:
All course content is available at:

https://smccd.mrooms.net/

(enter g-number and password)

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Upon successful completion of this course, a student will meet the following outcomes:
1. Analyze electric circuits for DC, transient, and AC voltage and current responses.
2. Evaluate different circuits analysis techniques and choose an appropriate technique for a particular circuit.
3. Synthesize a method of solution to the determine current or voltage in any circuit using a combination
Kirchhoffs Laws, loop and node analysis, the solution of differential equations, generalized impedance and
admittance techniques, phasor methods.
4. Apply a simple model for transistor and operational amplifiers to design and analyze simple circuits.
5. Analyze magnetically coupled circuits.
6. Solve steady state AC circuit and network problems involving power transfer and resonance.
7. Use a circuit simulation program (MultiSIM, PSPICE/LTSPICE) to analyze circuit behavior.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Homework: Homework sets will be assigned each week, with typically two chapters (two assignments) given per
week. Homework will be assigned and completed using WileyPlus (details on account setup below); WileyPlus will
provide immediate feedback on your performance as youre working on the problems. In addition, all calculations,
diagrams, and work must be written down and submitted for review by the instructor (this factors into your HW
grade also). Hand work must be done on 8-1/2 X 11 paper following recommended homework format described
below. The beginning of each class will be devoted to discussing difficult homework problems.
Homework Format:
Given: A concise statement of the information supplied.
Find: A concise statement of the required information.
A sketch of the original system should be included where helpful.
Solution:
Make additional sketches if necessary.
Working from the diagrams, list the basic equations and assumptions to be employed.
Using the equations, work through the analysis, simplifying the algebra as much as possible before
substituting numerical values. (Much insight into the dynamics of the system can be gained from the
symbolic representation of the solution.)
Substitute numerical values as needed in the problem to obtain a numerical result.
Inspect the answer to make sure it is reasonable. For numerical answers, determine whether the
magnitude (and direction) is reasonable. For algebraic answers, check the dimensions.
Note: The neater and more organized the work, the easier it is to learn the material.
WileyPlus Online Textbook and HW: All Homework will be distributed through the WileyPlus system.
Registration also comes with access to the e-book for the course.
Heres the link to register: http://edugen.wileyplus.com/edugen/class/cls455362/
Quizzes: Quizzes (may or may not be announced) will be given at the beginning of class. There will be absolutely
no make-up quiz given for any reason.
Exams: There will be four one-hour exams during the semester. Exam dates will be announced one week prior to
the exam, and tentative dates are given on the schedule below.
Final Exam: The final examination will be comprehensive, and will be held on Thursday June 23rd, 9:15
11:20am.
Grading Policies:
The final grade will be determined as follows:
Homework and Quizzes..........................................
Exams ....................................................................
Final Exam .....................................

12%
60%
28%

A student whose class average is 93% or better before the final exam, with each test 80% or higher, will be
exempted from taking the in-class final exam.
The corresponding letter grade is given by the following table:
Letter Grade
Final Grade

A
93

A90

B+
87

B
83

B80

C+
75

C
70

C65

D+
60

D
55

F
0

A student who gets a grade of 60% or less in any of the tests or quizzes should see the instructor immediately to
devise a plan to improve the students performance in class.
2

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:
The below schedule is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class and/or on WebAccess.
Week

Date:

Discussion Topic

Sections

Lecture videos

6/15

Introduction; Basic Concepts

1.1-1.4

Lecture 1

6/16

Power Generation/Absorption, Power Sources, Ohms Law

1.5, 2.2-2.5, 2.7

Lecture 2

6/17

Kirchhoffs Rules; Series and Parallel Resistors

3.1-3.2

Lecture 3

6/18

Voltage and Current Dividers

3.3-3.6

6/22

Analysis of DC Circuits: Nodal Analysis

4.1-4.4

6/23

Mesh Analysis;

4.5-4.7

6/24

Superposition; Source Transformations

4.1-4.4

6/25

Exam 1 Chapters 1 3

6/29

Thvenins and Nortons Theorems

6/30

Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps)

7/1

Op-Amps; Capacitors and Inductors

7/2

Exam 2 Chapters 4 & 5

7/6

First-Order Circuits

7/7

Op Amp Circuits; Second-Order Circuits

7/8

Step Response; General Second-Order Circuits

7/9

Exam 3 Chapters 6-8

7/13

AC Circuits

7/14

Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis

7/15

Generalized Impedance Function; AC Power Analysis

7/16

Exam 4 Chapters 9-12;

7/20
6

Resonance
Ideal Transformers

7/21

Magnetically Coupled Circuits

7/22

Transformer Applications

7/23

Final Exam 9:15 11:20am (Room 16-106)

MISCELLANEOUS:
Means of Communication:
Getting email:
To avoid missing important messages from your instructors and from the college/District, please activate your
student email account by logging in at http://my.smccd.edu/ if you have not already done so. Messages regarding
your registration status, as well as other necessary information, will be sent to you through this means of
communication.
Sending email:
When you send an email to professor Langhoff, you must include in the subject line: ENGR 100 .
How to Forward Your my.smccd.edu Email to Another Email Address:
Your teacher, and the college, will use your my.smccd.edu email account to share information with you. If you
dont check that email, you will miss important news. If you dont want to check your my.smccd.edu account, and
you would rather use an email account such as hotmail, yahoo, gmail, or another, please take a few minutes to set
up forwarding for your my.smccd.edu email to your regular account. Follow these steps:
1. Go to Websmart at https://websmart.smccd.edu/
2. In your student account area, click on the link that says "New! Student Email"
3. Here, you may view your email address and password, and you may reset your password.
4. IMPORTANT: Open your my.smccd.edu email.
5. Click Settings at the top of the page.
6. Click the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
7. Under Forwarding, click the Forward a copy of incoming mail button.
8. Enter the email address you want to forward your email to
9. Click Save Changes.
Accommodations: If you have a disability that may affect your academic experience and are seeking
accommodations, it is your responsibility to inform Disability Resource Center (DRC) as soon as possible. Please
contact the DRC to arrange for disability related accommodation. The DRC office is in Building 5, Room 303.
Their phone number and email address are available on their website, at
http://canadacollege.edu/disabilityresourcecenter/
Important Dates to Remember:
6/15

Classes begin
Last day to DROP a semester length course with partial refund see WebSMART

7/3

No classes: Independence Day

7/7

Last Day to apply for a degree or certificate for Summer Award

7/23

ENGR 260: FINAL EXAM 9:15 11:20am

Varied

Last day to withdraw with W from semester length classes see WebSMART
Final exams see Instructor