A First Lab in Circuits and Electronics

Book excerpt: * Experiments are linked to real applications. Students are likely to be interested and excited to learn more and explore. Example of experiments linked to real applications can be seen in Experiment 2, steps 6, 7, 15, and 16; Experiment 5, steps 6 to 10 and Experiment 7, steps 12 to 20. * Self-contained background to all electronics experiments. Students will be able to follow without having taken an electronics course. Includes a self-contained introduction based on circuits only. For the instructor this provides flexibility as to when to run the lab. It can run concurrently with the first circuits analysis course. * Review background sections are provided. This convenient text feature provides an alternative point of view; helps provide a uniform background for students of different theoretical backgrounds. * A "touch-and-feel" approach helps to provide intuition and to make things "click". Rather than thinking of the lab as a set of boring procedures, students get the idea that what they are learning is real. * Encourages students to explore and to ask "what if" questions. Helps students become active learners. * Introduces students to simple design at a very early stage. Helps students see the relevance of what they are learning, and to become active learners. * Helps students become tinkerers and to experiment on their own. Students are encouraged to become creative, and their mind is opened to new possibilities. This also benefits their subsequent professional work and/or graduate study.