GRAND VALLEY
STATE UNIVERSITY
Padnos College of Engineering and Computing
School of Engineering
EGR 214 CIRCUIT ANALYSIS I, Lab Section 902
Syllabus Winter 2011
The laboratory sections of EGR 214 are designed to accompany the lecture section and will provide a
learning opportunity to complement the lecture topics. The laboratory assignments are intended to
reinforce student understanding of the theory, teach measurement and analysis techniques, and provide
an opportunity to apply the design skills to build a functional circuit.
Objectives
Students will:
o Demonstrate the ability to apply knowledge of circuit analysis techniques to electric
circuit design and verification.
o Demonstrate the ability to use basic electrical laboratory equipment.
o Demonstrate the ability to use software packages for design and verification of electric
circuits.
o Demonstrate their ability to function effectively in a team environment.
o Demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively in written form
Course Topics
How to measure voltage, current, and resistance
How to create and analyze time varying waveforms
Investigate the discharge properties of first-order resistor-capacitor circuits
Experiment with inductance measurements
Investigate the behavior of the N-channel MOSFET transistor
Investigate the behavior of operational amplifier circuits
Experiment with infrared LEDs and photo-transistors
Design and build a practical electronic circuit board
Prerequisites/Co-requisites
Same as for the lecture section in which the student must be enrolled.
Meeting Times
Thursday 11:00AM – 1:50 PM, KEN 228
Section 902 (Laboratory / Discussion):
1
2
Instructor
Andrew Sterian, Ph.D., Professor
Office: 227 Kennedy Hall Phone: 331-6756
Email: steriana@gmail.com
Office Hours
Monday
Tuesday
2:00-4:30
Wednesday
Also by
Thursday
2:00 PM –
3:00 PM
Friday
appointment.
Course On-line Information
You should be accustomed to checking Blackboard regularly for announcements, homework, laboratory
assignments, and links to useful items. Students that are registered for this class can use their GVSU account to
access their grade on Blackboard by visiting mybb.gvsu.edu. The secondary web site
http://andrewsterian.com/214 will also be used to disseminate course documents and relevant links.
Student Computer Accounts
The lab assignments are accessed via the GVSU server. Therefore, in order to engage in the laboratory exercises
(and be able to access the course Blackboard), all students must have a working GVSU account. It is the
responsibility of each student to ensure his or her account is functional prior to the first laboratory session –
contact the IT helpdesk at 331.2101 for assistance in resolving issues.
Student Purchases
You may (at your option) choose to purchase a laboratory notebook for recording important information in
the laboratory. Please see the “Laboratory Notebook Q&A” document in the class Blackboard Documents
folder for rationale and guidelines for documenting your lab exercises in a notebook.
You will be required to purchase (together with a lab partner) up to $25 in components to complete the
course project. Please ensure you set aside $12.50 for this purpose.
Grading
To pass the course students must fulfill the laboratory requirements which include 1) maintaining laboratory
documentation including the timely submission of lab exercise observations and reports, 2) successful
demonstration of working circuit designs, and 3) active participation in all laboratory sessions. A laboratory
practical exam with a Pass/Fail grade will be administered midway during the term to assess your
competency with constructing circuits and using test and measurement equipment.
3
The laboratory grade will combine the following measures of your laboratory performance:
Assessment
Weighting
Lab Assignment Submissions
Design Project
Participation in Lab
75%
15%
10%
All laboratory absences must be approved by your lab instructor.
The following grading scale will be used throughout the course to determine the final laboratory grade.
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
D+
D
F
95-100%
90-94%
87-89%
84-86%
80-83%
75-79%
70-74%
65-69%
60-64%
0-59%
Note that letter grades are only assigned for your final grade. At all other times, a percentage score will be used.
You can use the above mapping between letter grades and percentage scores to give you a rough estimate for how
you are faring in the lab.
Laboratory exercises are designed to be completed in the laboratory period, however, occasionally outside class
time may be necessary. Laboratory assignments will be posted on the course Blackboard site and are due on the
date and at the time specified on the posting. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Establishing SWS Credit
This course satisfies the university's requirement for an SWS course in the major and is required for
every engineering student.
The evaluation for SWS credit in this class is associated with technical writing assignments submitted
during the semester. Each student will be required to complete writing assignments based on the
laboratory work during the course of the semester. The writing associated with the laboratory comprises
25% of the overall course grade and is reported back to the lecture professor. This grade is separate
from and in addition to your laboratory grade.
Disability Support Services
If you need academic accommodations because of a learning, physical or other disability, please contact
Disability Support Services (DSS) at 616.331.2490. Furthermore, if you have a physical disability and think you
will need assistance evacuating this classroom and/or building in an emergency situation, please make me aware
so I can develop a plan to assist you.