1. Teaching team
Instructor: Dr. Rodney Vaughan
File versions
V5 (fromV4): changed the FINAL EXAM DATE, fixed attendance/missed lectures section
Page 1 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
2. Contact and questions
If you have a question regarding the course or the course work,
please send it to the lead Teaching Assistant, Mr. Sean Romanuik,
and put all such emails with a subject header [ensc320-2015-1]. For
example:
To: Sean Romanuik <sromanui@sfu.ca>
Subj: [ensc320-2015-1] What on earth did the professor mean
about reactance being the inverse of susceptance?
Page 2 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
3. Classes, reading material, and schedule
Make sure that you put the highest priority on reserving these
times! If you cannot consistently attend then I suggest you take
the course at a different semester when you can attend.
Page 3 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
A few samples of the many, many other texts
for this long-established subject
Page 4 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
Timetable
Schedule Date Comment Nominal due dates Room
1 Wed 7 Jan 9002
2 Mon 12 Jan Assignment 0 due 7618
3 Wed 14 Jan 9002
4 Mon 19 Jan Assignment 1 due 7618
5 Wed 21 Jan 9002
6 Mon 26 Jan 7618
7 Wed 28 Jan Midterm exam I 9002
8 Mon 2 Feb Assignment 2 due 7618
9 Wed 4 Feb Lab starts 9002
10 Mon 9 Feb No classes
11 Wed 11 Feb No classes
12 Mon 16 Feb Assignment 3 due 7618
13 Wed 18 Feb 9002
14 Mon 23 Feb 7618
15 Wed 25 Feb 9002
16 Mon 2 Mar Midterm exam II 7618
17 Wed 4 Mar 9002
18 Mon 9 Mar Assignment 4 due 7618
19 Wed 11 Mar 9002
20 Mon 16 Mar 7618
21 Wed 18 Mar 9002
22 Mon 23 Mar Assignment 5 due 7618
23 Wed 25 Mar Lab report due 9002
24 Mon 30 Mar 7618
25 Wed 1 Apr Assignment 6 due 9002
26 Mon 6 Apr No classes
27 Wed 8 Apr 9002
28 Mon 13 Apr 7618
29 Wed 15 Apr Final exam 9002
30 Mon 20 Apr 7618
31 Tuesday 21 Apr FINAL EXAM TBD
Page 5 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
4. Expectations of your work ethic
Remember that you are training to be Professional Engineers. The
need for engineers, medical doctors, lawyers, etc., to have a
professional standing is because governments have learned the
importance and responsibilities of the work of these professions.
The general population have to trust that an engineer who is
designing bridges, cellphones, power supply systems, etc. , has
been as safe as possible, based on state-of-the-art scientific and
technical knowledge and techniques from around the world.
A profession has a governing body that is instrumental in the
training and gate-keeping of its members. For engineers in B.C.,
this governing body is APEG [www.apeg.bc.ca]. A Professional
Engineer has an important role and obligation to make sure, by
speaking out when necessary, that short-cuts are not taken during
a project that can compromise a quality outcome for society.
Because of this, Professional Engineers can clash with their
financially-oriented managers, and diplomatically maintaining a
strong position on safe designs (which usually cost more than a
design with short-cuts) is a critical responsibility.
Attendance/missed lectures: while attendance at most university
courses is optional, you are likely to fail this course if you do not
attend regularly. No-shows at lectures or tutorials may mean
multiple missed quizzes, which augurs badly for getting a good
grade. If you have to miss a lecture, then please arrange for a
colleague to brief you on the material. Our large class size means
Page 6 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
that the Instructor and TAs cannot go over material with
individuals who have not attended. Also this would penalize those
with questions who have attended the lecture.
Assignments: these must be handed in on time in the form of
hardcopy, and a drop box is provided for this. Assignments will not
be accepted after their due dates. Do not try to argue about this
policy with the TAs. If the hand-in day happens to be a snow day
and SFU is closed for lectures, then the following day is acceptable.
You cannot appeal to the TAs about your assignment grading more
than one week after getting them back. The TAs will be using a
cross-checking system to ensure a fair grading process.
Sick absence: if you are sick and miss an exam, then please also
supply a medical note according to SFU Policy. If you miss the
midterm, its nominal allocation towards your grading will be
included in your final exam. This does not work for the final exam -
if you miss the final exam, then you will probably fail the course
because it is worth a lot for the final grade. However, for
extenuating circumstances, the Faculty of Applied Sciences Policy is
as following, paraphrased from [FAS Policy for Missed Final Exams]
When a student misses a final examination, the N grade (incomplete) is
awarded. However, in the event of illness or another compassionate
reason, the student may be given consideration in the course if supporting
documentation is filed with the School Director (or Registrar) within 96
hours of the time at which the examination was to have been written. If
the Director accepts the request for consideration, then it is possible that
the student can undertake an equivalent exam at a later date.
Page 7 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
Lecture notes: the notes for the lectures will be posted on Canvas
before each lecture. These are skeleton notes only and will not be
sufficiently self-contained to pass the course. You are expected to
use a couple of different sources (texts, Wikipedia, etc.) on the
various topics. The notes will be drawn from Dr. Bird s ENSC 320
lectures over the last decade on this course. However, here will be
plenty of variations and additions to them as we move through the
course, and there will be times when I introduce different material
that I view as important for you.
Questions in class: please feel strongly encouraged to ask
questions during the lectures. If you do not understand something,
then it is very likely that many others have the same issue. I cant
guarantee to be able to answer all questions on the spot, but I will
certainly take the time to try. Questions also offer a better chance
for me to assess if I am getting on your wavelength or not.
Plagiarism: this is the act of copying and presenting material from
existing sources in an insufficiently credited or referenced way.
Canadian Universities are taking this more seriously as information
becomes more easily available. Access to more information is
empowering but it also brings the apparently unavoidable
temptation (statistically speaking) to simply copy material rather
than take the time and effort to write it in your own words.
Unfortunately, plagiarism in undergrad courses is relatively easy to
get away with, but if you are interested in getting an education
rather than cheating your way through courses, you will not
Page 8 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
plagiarize. If you are caught plagiarizing in your assignments and
laboratory report, you will fail the course.
How to avoid plagiarism: if you want to use material from a source
then make sure you fully cite the source. For example, you can
state The following paragraph is copied from reference [1], [2]. ..
Then at some point in report include the references, such as:
[1] Wikipedia, date: 10 February 2015,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admittance
If you can re-phrase existing information/text that you have taken
from a source, then that is excellent, but you should still cite the
source. For example, at the end of a written report in which you
have drawn material from a reference, then provide a literature list
at the end of the report, with all the sources. These must include
anything you have taken from your class colleagues or previous
class reports. For example, you could state I had assistance for
this assignment, as indicated in [2], [3].
[2] A. N. Oldboy, ENSC Report Number 500, 1 April 1885.
[3] B. Mygoodchum, discussions and private
communication, April-May 2015.
Quizzes: exams and quizzes may seem annoying because they take
up learning time. But we need them to keep the academic gate-
keepers happy. I may (or may not - depending on how are
progressing through the course material) be taking quizzes during
the lectures, and these may be impromptu. As with the exams,
these are not to try to catch you out on some knowledge shortfall -
they serve the useful purpose of providing feedback to the
instructor as to your understanding of the material. They are also a
chance for you to demonstrate your excellence!
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Quality of your written material #: as a communications skill, this is
much, much more important than you probably realize. If you
know the material but cant communicate it neatly and in good
English, then there is very little point in your knowing the material.
If you cant get your assignments, quizzes, reports, exams, etc., in a
form that is neat and easy to follow, which includes being in good
English, then you will be penalized for this.
Page 12 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
5. Grading regime
5a. Grading for ENSC 320 Spring 2015
The nominal grading is as follows, but the right is reserved to
change this in unforeseen circumstances, such as multiple missed
lectures from snow days meaning that all the work, including an
assignment or two, are not completed. (This has happened before.)
Assignments: 25%
Laboratory: 15%
Midterms: 20%
Quizzes: 10%
Final exam: 30%
The large emphasis on non-exam type work (40%) reflects my
preference for weighting your performance in a work-like setting,
i.e., with access to information resources and able to work at your
own pace.
The message is pretty clear here, work honestly on your written
work during the course, so that you get good assignment grades
and know the material for the exams, and you are essentially
guaranteed a good grade!
Page 13 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
5b Mapping of marks to grades at SFU
SFUs calendar gives the following weird, but typical, mapping from
marks to grades at universities. This should be familiar to you!
[http://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2015/spring/fees-and-
regulations/admission/grading-systems-and-policies.html]
A+ 4.33
Excellent Performance
A 4.00
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
Good Performance
B 3.00
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33 Satisfactory Performance
C 2.00
C- 1.67 Marginal Performance
D 1.00
Page 14 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
Unfortunately, the translation of percentage marks in a course to
grades is less well-defined process, with scaling often being used at
universities to fit some form of a desired outcome. This is why
there are unfortunate actions and phrases such as grade inflation
(e.g., [A]) that are now common in the education system. You have
to trust the instructor and TAs in using a fair and reasonable
process in assigning your marks and grades.
[A] http://www.macleans.ca/tag/grade-inflation/
A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D F
95- 85- 80- 77- 73- 70- 67- 63- 60- 50- 0-
100 94 84 79 76 72 71 66 62 59 50
Finally, if you disagree with your final grading once you receive it
in late April 2015, you can appeal for a reassessment of your exam
to the School Director (Professor K.Gupta, kamal@sfu.ca). But its
best to never let things get to this stage because if you have a less-
than-expected grading, then that should have become apparent
well before the final exam. Also, your appeal can, and usually does,
from what I have observed, end up with you getting a lower grade
rather than the hoped-for improvement!
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6. Contents of course
Taken from [J.Bird, SFU ENSC-320 Course Outline, 2014]
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Edminister and Mahmood Nahvi, McGraw-Hill, 2011, ISBN
9780071830454.
The specific chapters to be covered are Chapter 16 on the Laplace
Transform, followed by Chapters 12, 14, and 13, in that order. It is
expected that students will have already purchased a copy of
Schaums Outline as it was specified as a useful study aid in ENSC
220 (Electric Circuits 1).
Lab work will be closely tied to the lecture material and will serve
as one component of the skills acquisition process. The other
component is the many problems in the text. The course content is
covered in, but far from restricted to the following.
(S stands for Schaums, NR stands for Nilsson and Reidel)
Page 17 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
1. Laplace Transforms (Laplace transforms will be used throughout
the course), (S, Chapter 16) (NR, Chapters 12 and 13)
Introduction
Example transforms
Initial-value and final-value theorems
Partial-fraction expansions
Circuits in the s-domain
Page 20 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
7. Identifying what you learn
It has become fashionable to offer an increased explanation of the
type of skills that you learn in a course. The following table [J.Bird,
ENSC 320 Rubriks, 2014] lays out the learning outcomes as required
by university courses and in our case, by an accredited (by CEAB
[http://www.engineerscanada.ca/accreditation]) engineering
school.
Page 21 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5
Table of technical learning
s-Domain Circuit Analysis -Sketches circuit in s-domain correctly -Accounts for initial Assignments Midterm Exam
conditions -Applies circuit analysis techniques correctly Final Exam
Frequency Response -Obtains frequency and phase response from s-plane Assignments Midterm Exam
diagram using vectors -Can use decibel scale -Can construct Final Exam
amplitude and phase Bode plots from s-domain transfer
function -Can obtain s-domain transfer function from Bode
plots.
System Analysis -Employees correctly the concept of convolution - Assignments Midterm Exam
Demonstrates correct use of multiplication in s-domain Final Exam
being convolution in time domain -Can determine transfer
function -Can identify different parts of solution, transient,
steady-state, zero state, zero input, forced response, free
response -Obtains the steady state response from general
solution, phasor solution -Can identify different generic filter
types
Locus Diagrams -Sketches locus diagrams of circuit devices correctly (varying Assignments Final Exam
frequency and value) -Sketches z-domain locus diagrams for
simple series circuits correctly -Sketches y-domain locus
diagrams for simple parallel circuits correctly -Switches z-
domain diagrams to y-domain and visa versa correctly -Can
solve simple design problems using locus diagrams
Active Filters -Can obtain transfer function from an active filter circuit -Can Assignments Final Exam Lab
design an active filter to implement a specified transfer
function -Can design an Nth order filter given design
requirements and filter configuration information -Can
construct an active filter -Can obtain the frequency response
using instruments
Mutual Inductance and -Able to set up mesh equations for simple circuits involving Assignments Final Exam
Transformers mutual inductance -Can correctly employ the dot rule -Can
use definition of coupling coefficient -Correctly uses
equivalent circuits -Demonstrates correct use of constraint
equations for ideal transformers. -Can match circuit
impedances using ideal transformers. -Can correctly
calculate the energy in a set of coupled coils -Can correctly
reflect impedances, voltages and currents for idea
transformers
Two Port Networks -Demonstrates correct use of the definitions of two port Assignments Final Exam
networks -Can determine parameters if given parameter
definition -Demonstrates knowledge of definition of z and y
parameters and their
Page 22 Class information: ENSC 320 2015-1, Rodney Vaughan File: ENSC 320 Electric Circuits II_Spring2015_v5