ET-140: Sinusoidal and Transient Circuit Analysis

Course Information

Course, prefix, number, & title: ET-140 Sinusoidal and Transient Circuit Analysis

Hours (Class, recitation, Laboratory, studio): 3 Class hours, 3 laboratory hours

Credits: 3

Pre-requisites (if any): ET-110

Co-requisites (if any): MA-128

Course Description in college catalog:

To investigate the transient behavior of RC and RL series circuits. To investigate the sinusoidal analysis of series, parallel, and series-parallel circuits using the phasor domain. Impedance and admittance concepts, equivalent circuits, resonance circuits, and network theorems will be covered. Power in AC circuits using the concept of Average Power, Reactive Power, and Apparent Power will also be covered.

Academic programs for which this course serves as a requirement or an elective:

A.A.S. Electronic Engineering Technology

A.A.S. Computer Engineering Technology


In order to pass ET-140, a passing grade must be obtained in both Lecture and Laboratory.

General Education Outcomes: Below is a listing of General Education Outcome(s) that this course supports.

  1. Communicate effectively in various forms

  2. Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed decisions

Course-specific student learning outcomes:

At the end of the course, students shall:

  • Demonstrate competency in determine Power factor (PF) for serial-parallel circuits and mitigation techniques for circuits with low PFs
  • Assembly and test RC, RLC, RL circuits in parallel, serial, and parallel-serial configurations under constant and varying frequency sources: verify voltages, currents, and impedances through various circuit components
  • Demonstrate ability to calculate circuit impedances of compound RLC circuits using phasor analysis under constant and varying source frequencies.

Program-specific outcomes

ABET Criterion 3 Student Outcomes addressed by ET-140:

Student Outcome (1) - an ability to apply knowledge, techniques, skills and modern tools of mathematics, science, engineering, and technology to solve well-defined engineering problems appropriate to the discipline:

  • Performance Indicator ETCT1-5 Analyze systems in a mathematical environment at or above the level of algebra and trigonometry.

Student Outcome (3) -an ability to apply written, oral, and graphical communication in well-defined technical and non-technical environments; and an ability to identify and use appropriate technical literature;

  • Performance Indicator ETCT3-1- Produce effective written documents including lab reports and term papers.

Student Outcome (5) -an ability to apply written, oral, and graphical communication in both technical and non-technical environments; and an ability to identify and use appropriate technical literature;

  • Performance Indicator ETCT5-1- Produce effective written documents including lab reports and term papers.
  • Performance Indicator ETCT5-2 Demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively with team members.

Other program outcomes (if applicable).

  1. Integrate knowledge and skills in the program of study

Methods by which student learning will be assessed and evaluated; describe the types of methods to be employed; note whether certain methods are required for all sections:

ET 140 Lecture Course Topics- Table of Week Numbers and Lecture Course Topics:

Course objectives/expected student learning outcomes
Week Lecture Topics
1 Sinusoids, Alternating Waveforms, Period, Frequency. Radians, Angular Velocity
2 Phase Relation (Lagging & Leading), Average Value, Effective Value, AC Meters
3 Basic AC Elements, Frequency Response, Average Power, Power Factor
4 Phasor Relationship of Sinusoids, PSpice, Reactance, Impedance, Phasor Diagrams, Conductance, Susceptance, Admittance
5 Series AC Circuits, Voltage Divider Rule, Frequency Response of RC Circuit
6 Parallel AC Circuits, Current Divider Rule
7 MID-TERM EXAM
8 Series-Parallel Equivalent Circuits, Series Parallel Networks
9 Power in AC Circuits, Power Triangle, Power Factor Correction
10 Superposition, Mesh Analysis, Nodal Analysis, Thevenin’s and Norton’s Theorem
11 Series Resonance, Parallel Resonance, Transformers
12 Three Phase Systems
13 Transients in RC and RL Circuits, Instantaneous Values in Transients
14 Hand in Term Project, Review
15 FINAL EXAM

ET 140 Lab Course Topics- Tables of Week Numbers and Lab Course Topics:

Course objectives/expected student learning outcomes
Week Lecture Topics
1 Introduction, lab safety and lab behavior.
Lab #1 The oscilloscope and the function generator
2 Lab #2 Semiconductor PN junction diode characteristics
3 Lab #3 Series-parallel diode resistor circuits and Kirchhoff’s law
4 Lab #4 Zener diodes, voltage regulators, LEDs and voltage indicator circuits
5 Lab #5 Diode wave shaping circuits
6 Lab #6 Unregulated and Regulated DC Power Supplies
7 Lab #7 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) characteristics
8 Lab #8 Bipolar junction transistor fixed-bias and digital logic circuits
9 Lab #9 Bipolar Junction Transistor emitter stabilized bias, voltage-divider bias, and (collector) voltage feedback bias circuit
10 Lab #10 Bipolar Junction Transistor common-emitter amplifier
11 Lab #11 BJT common-emitter amplifier: part two, and emitter-follower
12, 13 Final Project Preparation
14 Final Project presentation

Academic Integrity policy (department or College):
Academic honesty is expected of all students. Any violation of academic integrity is taken extremely seriously. All assignments and projects must be the original work of the student or teammates. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Any questions regarding academic integrity should be brought to the attention of the instructor. The following is the Queensborough Community College Policy on Academic Integrity: "It is the official policy of the College that all acts or attempted acts that are violations of Academic Integrity be reported to the Office of Student Affairs. At the faculty member's discretion and with the concurrence of the student or students involved, some cases though reported to the Office of Student Affairs may be resolved within the confines of the course and department. The instructor has the authority to adjust the offender's grade as deemed appropriate, including assigning an F to the assignment or exercise or, in more serious cases, an F to the student for the entire course." Read the University's policy on Academic Integrity opens in a new window(PDF).

Disabilities
Any student who feels that he or she may need an accommodation based upon the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Accessibility Services in Science Building, Room S-132, 718-631-6257, to coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. You can visit the Office of Accessibility Services website.

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