Executive Summary
Purpose
This document analyzes two basic circuits books for use in the Electrical Engineering
Department of the University of Memphis. The course for which the book is being
evaluated is EECE 2201 – Circuits I. The two books being compared are The Analysis
and Design of Linear Circuits by Roland E. Thomas and Albert J. Rosa and Basic
Engineering Circuit Analysis by J. David Irwin and Chwan-Hwa Wu.
The areas of consideration for a proper evaluation of the two books include:
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Topic Coverage
Level of Complexity
Exercises
Figures
Examples
These five areas will be considered for the following topics: Kirchoff’s Laws, Nodevoltage analysis, Mesh-current analysis, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits, and
electronic devices. These topics were chosen for their fundamental importance within the
electrical engineering curriculum. The importance of these topics was expressed by
ABET, which is responsible for the accreditation of the degree program. Based on these
areas of interest, the appropriate textbook can be selected.
Findings
Comparison of the texts in each are provided a clear distinction between the texts.
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The topics were covered much more thoroughly in the Thomas and Rosa textbook
than in the Irwin and Wu book.
The complexity of the Thomas and Rosa book was reduced by the use of colors to
distinguish figures and calculations. While the complexity of the Irwin and Wu
book was increased by introducing topics too early without clearly defining them
first.
The exercises in the Thomas and Rosa book were less difficult to work than the
Irwin and Wu book.
The figures were placed better and more descriptive in the Thomas and Rosa
book.
The examples provided a more logical step-by-step approach in the Thomas and
Rosa book.
Recommendation
Upon evaluation of both of the texts, the recommendation is made for the Thomas and
Rosa book to be used.
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Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
Table of Contents
Title Page……………………………………………………………………-1Executive Summary………………………………………………………...-2Table of Contents…………………………………………………………...-3Report Body
Introduction…………………………………………………………-4Background of the Situation………………………………………..-5Criteria………………………………………………………………-5Evaluation…………………………………………………………...-6Conclusion…………………………………………………………...-9-
Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
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Introduction
In this comparative analysis, the two books being evaluated are The Analysis and Design
of Linear Circuits by Roland E. Thomas and Albert J. Rosa and Basic engineering
Circuit Analysis by J. David Irwin and Chwan-Hwa Wu. The purpose of this report is to
comparatively analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each book, and upon this analysis,
make a recommendation of which book is appropriate for a sophomore level Circuits I
class.
The analysis will be done based on the following criteria especially in the subject matter
that is the most critical to mastering the course. The subjects to be considered in this
evaluation will be Kirchoff’s laws, Node-voltage analysis, Mesh-current analysis,
Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits and electronic devices. The areas under
evaluation within these five subjects are topic coverage, level of complexity, exercises,
figures, and examples. These subject areas were chosen because they are fundamental to
the circuits class and to the classes that proceed the circuits class.
This analytical report will address the issue of choosing the proper textbook for the
Circuits I class. The report will include the background of the situation, the criteria that
will be evaluated, evaluation of this criteria, and finally the conclusion where the
recommendation will be made.
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Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
Background of the Situation
Every semester college faculty and staff members are faced with the decision of selecting
the proper textbook for their classes. This time consuming task of evaluating books
based on select criteria was given to our company. An in-depth analysis will be given
focusing on the strong points and negative points of each of the two books in question
and then a recommendation given.
Criteria
The areas chosen for consideration were Kirchoff’s laws, Node-voltage analysis, Meshcurrent analysis, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits and electronic devices. These
were chosen because they are fundamental principles of Circuits I and are also viewed by
the ABET accreditation as vital to a student in electrical engineering. Within these areas,
the recommendation will be given based upon, topic coverage, level of complexity,
exercises, figures and examples. Organization and layout of both books will also be
evaluated.
Topic coverage was selected as a point of interest because it is critical for the subject
material to be thoroughly covered. The student needs enough detail within the text to
grasp the ideals and concepts being discussed. Level of complexity was chosen because
the author of the books should strive to keep the tone as simple as possible within reason.
The material within electrical engineering textbooks is complex as it stands with all of the
formulas, calculations, and figures without adding to the complexity. The chapter
exercises is of special interest as well because they are a great way for students to
practice the new ideals that they just learned. The chapters should contain enough
problems so that the students feel that they have had plenty of practice. The problems
should start off easy and then progress to harder problems. This helps the students feel
more comfortable with their abilities to do the problems. The figures within the chapters
were also evaluated because of the importance of good and abundant figures. Within the
electrical engineering curriculum figures are vital to the learning of the material, because
the students are dealing with things like voltage and current which can not be visualized.
Therefore, an adequate amount of figures should be present and the figures should be
easy to understand. The figures should have enough white space around them to
distinguish them from the text, have good captions clearly describing the content, and
proper placement within the chapter. Next, the example problems were evaluated
because the example problems are so important for visualizing the concepts just learned
in the chapter. The majority of students learn the most from the example problems,
because they show how to apply the information just learned. The example problems
Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
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should also closely resemble the exercises. Lastly, the organization and layout of both
books were compared because this is the overall impression of the books.
Evaluation
Organization/Layout
The Thomas and Rosa book gives a brief summary at the beginning of each chapter to
inform the reader of the contents of the chapter. The book also contained a summary at
the end of each chapter highlighting the important information that the reader should
have gathered from the text. The text was presented in an easy to read fashion, because
the authors presented it almost in a narrative form, and the information flowed together in
a logical manner. The book provided good tables in the front cover with informative
conversions and equations. The book also contained a table of contents, appendixes,
glossary and index. Thomas and Rosa gave a brief introduction to the background of
circuits analysis before they started introducing new material to the reader. The
background information was perfect, because they didn’t spend too much time rehashing
material that the student should have learned from prior courses.
Irwin and Wu also had good organizational layout in their book. However, the book
started out with the first two chapters being dedicated to material that should have been
review for a circuits student. The text was a little choppy, and the ideas didn’t really flow
together. The authors did, however, provide a summary at the end of each section which
was a definite advantage over the other book. There was also an introduction at the
beginning of each chapter over which topics would be discussed. The problems at the
end of the chapters were separated by thin blue lines which organized those quite well.
One big disadvantage of this book was the lack of color in the figures, and important
concepts.
Kirchoff’s Laws
In the Rosa and Thomas book Kirchoff’s Laws were placed at the beginning of chapter
two. The laws were presented in a logical manner with the authors first identifying
Kirchoff’s current law and then Kirchoff’s voltage law. The coverage of the material was
adequate enough so that the reader could grasp the concepts fairly well. The complexity
of the material was drastically reduced by the authors presenting the material in a way
that was visually pleasing to the eye. This was done through the use of two different
colors used to visually separate equations, important points and figures. There were also
ample exercises included for the student to practice the concepts just learned. The figures
were placed near the text that referenced them, and they accurately described what was
being discussed. There were a couple of figures that demonstrated KVL and KCL.
There was also ample white space around the figures with a different color caption to
distinguish them. The examples in this section of the book were also very good in that
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Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
they adequately assessed the material that was just discussed before the example
problem. After looking through the examples, the reader felt more knowledgeable and
confident about the problems.
In the Irwin and Wu book, Kirchoff’s Laws were also placed at the beginning of chapter
two. The coverage of the material was descent, but the contents were not presented in a
very logical way. The authors didn’t use any other color in the entire section except to
distinguish the figures and exercises. Therefore, it seemed as though everything just ran
together. The language was more complex, making it more difficult to understand what
the authors were trying to express. The exercises were more scarce, so that the student
didn’t get adequate practice. The figures were good, but they didn’t really stand out to
show the significance of them. The examples were far more difficult in this book,
because they started working problems with dependant sources which wasn’t even
covered in the other book until chapter four.
Node-voltage Analysis and Mesh-current Analysis
In the Thomas and Rosa book, these two topics were covered very well. They presented
step-by-step instructions needed to develop node-voltage equations and mesh-current
equations. They included several ways to solve the problems either by the equation
method or inspection method. There was also a review on solving linear algebraic
equations using Cramer’s rule and node and mesh analysis with voltage and current
sources. The book also discussed supernodes and supermeshes. There were enough
exercises so that the student would feel comfortable with working the problems at the end
of the chapter. The figures again were ample and accurately conveyed the information in
the text. Examples were very good in that even in the examples they provided a step by
step breakdown of how to analyze these types of problems.
In the Irwin and Wu book, this subject matter was not impressive by any means. The
topic coverage was adequate enough, but the complexity was increased by lack of distinct
separation of the two different topics. Difficulty in the exercises was present again with
the addition of dependant sources to the problems. The figures were bad and not really
presented in a logical way. The examples were harder to follow, because there were no
step-by-step methods included.
Thevenin and Norton Equivalent Circuits
Both of the books did a good job in presenting material for this subject. The topic was
fully covered in basically the same fashion. They both demonstrated how the circuit is
broken down using this method. The exercises were also good in that they assessed the
students’ knowledge in working a variety of problems that they might be faced with in
the work environment. The figures pictorially showed how the circuits are simplified
using Thevenin and Nortons method. Examples were also good because they matched up
Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
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with the exercises, but were changed just enough as to give the student a bit of a
challenge.
Electronic Devices
The coverage of electronic devices is important to a student at the Circuits I level because
it is their first chance for exposure to these topics. It is the precursor to Electronics I and
other electrical engineering classes to follow. In the Thomas and Rosa book the topic
was covered very well in that they discussed the transistor, the op-amp, the comparator,
the capacitor, and the inductor in great detail. The complexity of the topics was again
drastically reduced by the layout of the material, and the distinction of the figures and
calculations by the use of different colors. The exercises were ample, and were
challenging enough. The figures were again done very well, and the examples were
perfect for the exercises.
In the Irwin and Wu book, the coverage of electronic devices was not done very well. In
fact, the book only contained a brief amount of information on op-amps, inductors, and
capacitors. They didn’t even cover transistors or comparators which are the basic
building blocks for an introduction to electronics. Therefore, because of the lack of
information on any of these devices, the examples, figures, and exercises were also very
scarce.
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Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
Conclusion
Thomas/Rosa
Criteria
Kirchoff’s
Laws
Node-Voltage and
Mesh-Current
Analysis
Topic Coverage
Thorough
Good coverage of all
coverage of this the main points.
material.
Level of
Complexity
Complexity
was decreased
by figures used
and main
points
highlighted.
Easy to comprehend
and follow due to the
layout and
organization.
Exercises
Provided
several good
exercises
within the text
and at the end
of the chapter.
Colorful
figures that
allow the
student to see
current flow
pattern.
A little complex, but
the student should be
able to work them
with a little guidance.
The examples
given provided
a variety of
ways to work
the problems.
Plenty of examples
showing the different
methods of solving the
problems.
Figures
Examples
Again, good figures
showing current flow
and voltage drops.
Thevenin and
Norton
Equivalent
Circuits
Through
coverage of this
material.
The subject
matter is
confusing, but
the authors did
a good job
trying to reduce
the complexity.
The exercises
were placed in a
logical manner
(from easy to
hard)
The figures
were vital in
learning this
material, and
the authors did
a great job of
showing how to
simplify
problems.
The examples
were excellent
and also vital in
learning this
material.
Electronic
Devices
Excellent job of
covering the main
electronic
devices.
Just provided an
overview of this
material, so it was
not too complex.
Fairly easy
exercises, but still
challenging
enough.
Good figures and
ample number of
them.
Examples
coincided with
the exercises.
Electrical Engineering Circuits Textbook Comparative Analysis
Irwin/Wu
Criteria
Kirchoff’s
Laws
Node-Voltage and
Mesh-Current
Analysis
Topic Coverage
Thorough
Descent coverage of
coverage of this this material, but
material.
doesn’t go into many
ways to work the
problems.
Level of
Complexity
Complexity
was increased
by lack of color
for main points
and figures.
Language used is a
little confusing, and
not represented in a
logical way.
Exercises
Did not provide
many exercised
within the
chapter.
Figures
Plain figures
placed in odd
places.
Some exercises were
good, but others were
introducing complex
material way too early
in the book.
Plain figures placed in
odd places.
Examples
The examples
are difficult to
follow, and
they start
introducing
some material
too early.
Too many examples
with dependant
sources, so that the
student never gets to
just focus on the topic
at hand.
Thevenin and
Norton
Equivalent
Circuits
Through
coverage of this
material.
The subject
matter is
confusing, but
the authors did
a good job
trying to reduce
the complexity.
Not a variety of
exercises were
present for this
material.
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Electronic
Devices
Horrible job of
covering these
topics. Didn’t
even discuss
transistors or
comparators.
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Plain figures
placed in odd
places.
Not Applicable
The examples
were excellent
and also vital in
learning this
material.
Not Applicable