PH2013 Introductory Applied Physics Laboratory

This course is an introduction to basic electronic test instrumentation and basic passive and active circuit components, with emphasis on extensive, practical hands-on exposure to laboratory hardware and devices. Included are the measurement and signal processing of analog signals and analog sensors/transducers. Operational amplifiers are introduced as building blocks of analog systems. Passive LRC filters and active filters are studied with an emphasis on applications. Some background in laboratory instrumentation and simple DC and AC circuit elements is assumed.

Prerequisite

College-level basic physics and mathematics, plus simple electrical circuits (e.g., PH1322)

Lecture Hours

3

Lab Hours

4

Course Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

• Explain, compare, and contrast basic electrical engineering abstractions such as lumped circuit abstraction, the digital abstraction and operational amplifier abstraction;
• Use the engineering abstractions to analyze and design simple electronic circuits;
• Explain electronic components and how they work and behave in basic circuits such as AC, DC, rectification, transistors, operational amplifiers, sensors, and communication;
• Describe transient and frequency response in circuits containing capacitors and inductors;
• Understand the concepts of employing AC and DC analysis to circuits containing transistors;
• Apply concepts and techniques to design circuits for specific applications;
• Assemble circuits and take measurements using basic electronic instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, and signal generators;
• Incorporate feedback to evaluate a circuit;
• Observe/explain the relationship between the mathematical representation of circuit behavior and corresponding real-life effects;
• Articulate/justify the importance and basic techniques of reporting experimentation and conclusions in a lab notebook.