Steven Engel: Engineering Portfolio
Linear Circuit Theory I Table of Contents
Course Description
Material Covered
Lessons Learned
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Undergraduate Table of Contents
Main Table of Contents
Linear Circuit Theory I
Fall 2021, Professor Marley
Course Description:
This course taught mathematical analysis techniques of linear circuits. Surprisingly (given my knowledge in other areas of computer engineering at the time), I had very little background on this subject before completing this course. However, a strong mathematical background helped me to succeed in this course.
Material Covered
Various general circuit analysis techniques were learned in this course. These include (but are not limited to) the following:
Ohm's Law
Kirchhoff's Current and Voltage Laws
Resistor Combinations
Superposition
Source Transformations
Thevenin/Norton Equivalents
Nodal Analysis
Capacitor, Inductor Combinations
In addition, the following circuit components and their properties were studied through practice problems on paper, laboratory simulations, and the use of multimeters and oscilloscopes to test physical circuits:
Independent voltage and current sources
Dependent voltage and current sources
Grounds
Resistors
Inductors
Capacitors
Ideal Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps)
Switches
Lessons Learned
Some important lessons were learned in the lectures and laboratories of this course. They are listed below:
It is extremely easy for even experienced engineers to make what are known to students as "silly" (yet not so "silly" in the real world) mistakes. Checking one's work (or, if possible, having another review it) helps tremendously in reducing these.
A strong basis in mathematics helps one to solve circuit theory problems in a much more time-efficient manner. Mathematical skill is helpful for other areas of engineering as well and (as such) should not be neglected.
Being able to find multiple ways to solve a problem was a given in this course; being able to figure out which was the most efficient way for any given problem was a skill that was learned over time. Naturally, this is also an important skill in engineering in general.
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