Engineering 210
Electric Circuit Theory
Spring 2015
Prerequisites: MATH& 153, MATH 274 (may be taken concurrently), PHYS 202.
Textbook:
Introduction to Electric Circuits, Dorf, R.C. and Svoboda, J.A., Eighth edition, 2010
Instructor:
Mark Gorski
Bldg 18 Room 114
Phone 533-3250
Office Hours: 9:30 – 10:20 M – F or by appointment
e-mail: mark.gorski@sfcc.spokane.edu
Purpose:
This course is an introduction to the basic electric circuit theory that forms the foundation for
the field of electrical engineering. Mathematical models of components including resistors,
sources, capacitors, inductors, operational amplifiers, and transistors are developed.
Solutions of first and second order linear differential equations associated with basic circuit
forms are presented. Steady state sinusoidal excitation and phasors are also analyzed.
Coverage:
Will include the following but not be limited to:
 Ohm’s law
 Kirchoff’s current and voltage laws
 Simplified circuits using series and parallel equivalents
 Thevenin and Norton theorems
 Operational Amplifier Circuits
 Circuits involving capacitors and inductors
 Transient behavior of first and second order circuits
 Steady-state sinusoidal circuits
 Concepts of phasors and impedence
Materials:
Pencil and pen
Three-ring notebook – required - containing this syllabus, all your homework and notes.
Engineering computation paper
Assignments: To be announced – see attached calendar
Homework: Homework will be assigned weekly (on Tuesday) and collected the following Tuesday.
 Homework is viewed as practice of the methods and principles that are explained during
class. You are encouraged/required to compare your work with your classmates.
 Homework is graded on neatness, format, effort, completeness, and accuracy. Work must
be done in the correct format, (using the Given:, Find:, Solution: layout as used in other
engineering classes) stand alone, be neat, and have step-by-step calculations.
 Problems are to be done on engineering computation paper, one side only and, generally, one
problem to a page. You can be sure of a full 10 points if the problem is correct and laid out
completely with the step by step procedure.
 No late homework is accepted unless you have previously called (emailed) telling me that
you are sick or some other valid reason.
 If you do not do the homework you will not pass this class.
Diagram
Sample homework problem
Problem and page number
10.8 – 24 (482)
Given: 𝑣𝑠 (𝑡) = 8 cos(40𝑡) 𝑉
𝑣𝑜 (𝑡) = 2.5 cos(40𝑡 + 14°) 𝑉
Find: R1 and R2
Solution:
Given: and Find:
Labs:
This course has five (or six) laboratories (see the attached calendar) that will be held during
the lab period on Thursday. Labs will usually be done as two person teams. However, in
order to ensure that each student obtains hands-on experience with building circuits and
making measurements, everyone must construct their own circuits.
Students within a team are expected to work together. However, each student must turn in
their own report for each lab.
Exams:
There will be three one-hour exams over the course of the quarter – again, see the attached
calendar. The exams will be held during the scheduled lab period on Thursday. Students
will be allowed one 8½x11, handwritten note sheet (both sides) for each exam (turned in
along with exam). Students may bring sheets from previous exams.
Final Exam: The final exam will be comprehensive (over the entire quarter) and be individual. This is an
instrument to assess your knowledge of the subject matter – it is not a learning tool. You will
not get it back and we will not go over it. Your work must be neat, complete, and make
sense. All answers must be supported by your work. It is scheduled for Wednesday, 17
June.
Grading:
(Tentative)
Homework 30%
Three exams 30%
Five (or six) labs 20%
Comprehensive Final Exam 20%
You should keep track of your total points and percentage and I will try to give you your
current percentage after each exam.
As a general rule, there are no make-ups for exams, labs, or homework. Students are
expected to attend each class. If you are sick, call my office (or email) and leave a message
before class.
Grades will be assigned based on the percent of the total points that you earn, as follows:
100%
92%... 3.6
84%... 3.0
76%... 2.3
68% ... 1.6
99%
91%
83%
75%... 2.2
67%
98%
90%... 3.5
82%... 2.9
74%... 2.1
66% ... 1.5
97%... 4.0
89%
81%... 2.8
73%
65%
96%... 3.9
88%... 3.4
80%... 2.7
72%... 2.0
64% ... 1.4
95%... 3.8
87%... 3.3
79%... 2.6
71%... 1.9
63% ... 1.3
94%... 3.7
86%... 3.2
78%... 2.5
70% ... 1.8
62% ... 1.2
93%
85%... 3.1
77%... 2.4
69% ... 1.7
61% ... 1.1
60%... 1.0
My Advice:




This class can be a challenging and time consuming class. As with any science or
engineering class, students should expect to spend 2-3 hours of time outside of class for
every hour of class time. That means you should expect to devote an average of 10-15 hours
per week to this class in addition to the 5 hours per week that we formally meet. In order to
make the most efficient use of your time, please consider the following suggestions for how
you might focus your 10-15 hours of study time:
READ the textbook BEFORE the material is covered in class. Classroom lectures and
demos will focus on concepts that have historically been most challenging for students. You
are expected to come to class prepared with some idea about the basic concepts from the
reading and some questions about what you found confusing or difficult.
Take notes while you read the book. Identify key questions or points of confusion. Write in
your book.
Start homework assignments early. They are designed to take more than one evening to
complete. If you are stuck on a particular problem for more than 30 minutes, take a break
from it and plan on getting help in office hours or from your class mates.
Form a study group – work with each other.
Cheating:
The definition of cheating is any unfair advantage over your classmates. Having copies of
homework or quizzes from past years is an unfair advantage. Comparing homework
answers and methods is encouraged. Copying another’s homework is cheating.
Additional:
The fine print:
Turn off all cell phones before entering class.
All material turned in for grading (exams, labs, homework) must be done in pencil - not pen.
Homework is to be labeled neatly, with answers circled or underlined Any work that is not
done neatly will be returned without being graded.
If you have a handicap that requires some special consideration, please let me know so that
you can be accommodated.
Please, no eating during class. Drinking coffee or pop is okay as long as you clean up your
mess.
If you terminate your participation without officially withdrawing your final grade will be
0.0.
Sun
WEEK
5
1 – Chapters 1 & 2
Introduction, Systems of Units,
Electric Circuit and Currents
Voltage, Power and Energy,
Resistors, Ohm’s Law
12
2 – Chapters 2 & 3
Mon
April
6
3 – Chapter 4
13
4 – Chapter 5
5 – Chapter 6
6 – Chapter 7
7 – Chapter 8
8 – Chapter 9
RLC Circuits
Natural Response
Forced Response
31
9 – Chapter 10
10 – Chapter 10
14
11 – Chapter 12
Introduction to 3 Phase Circuits
Y-to-Y and Y-to-Δ
13
20
26
27
HW Set #7 due
Assign HW Set #8
May
1
2
7
8
9
14
15
16
21
22
23
28
29
30
4
5
6
11
12
13
19
20
3
Exam III
9
10
HW Set #9 due
LAB #6
Take home Final
16
Dead Day
30
LAB # 5
2
15
25
Exam II
HW Set #8 due
Assign HW Set #9
Phasors
Frequency Domain
Review
24
LAB # 4
19
8
23
LAB # 3
12
1
18
6
HW Set #6 due
Assign HW Set #7
25
Mem
Day
17
Exam I
5
18
Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis
Source and Response
7
29
HW Set #5 due
Assign HW Set #6
RL and RC Circuits
Response of a First-Order Circuit
Unit step and non-constant
sources
24
28
11
16
11
LAB # 2
HW Set #4 due
Assign HW Set #5
Capacitors
Series and Parallel Capacitors
Inductors
Series and Parallel Inductors
17
22
HW Set #3 due
Assign HW Set #4
4
Sat
9
Fri
10
LAB # 1
21
27
Operational Amplifier(Op-Amp)
The Ideal Operational Amplifier
Nodal Analysis with Ideal OpAmp
10
15
HW Set #2 due
Assign HW Set #3
Superposition
Thevenin's Theorem
Norton's Equivalent Circuit
3
14
20
Thursday
Lab # 0
HW Set #1 due
Assign HW Set #2
Node Voltage Analysis
Mesh Current Analysis
26
7
Wed
8
Assign HW Set #1
Independent and Dependent
Sources
Kirchhoff's Laws
Voltage/Current dividers
19
Tuesday
17
Final
due
8:00am
18