10605112AC/DC Electronics 1
Course Information
Description
Covers basic concepts of electric circuits including:  Ohm’s Law; Kirchhoff’s Voltage, and Current Laws; power calculations; and components such as resistors, switches, fuses, conductors, insulators, capacitors, inductors, relays, and other basic electronic components. Also covers use of test equipment.
Total Credits
3
Course Competencies
  1. Adhere to national, state, and local industry established safety procedures
    Assessment Strategies
    Skill demonstration, written product and/or oral
    Criteria
    Locate a first-aid kit in your working environment
    Locate fire extinguishers
    Describe the process to access emergency help
    Adhere to warning labels and signs
    Use OSHA certified PPE

  2. Apply established symbols, standards, conventions, and terminology
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Match the name for electrical and magnetic quantities and units, to the correct SI symbol
    Match engineering notation powers of ten, to the standard metric prefix and symbol
    Convert among metric prefixed units
    Convert a quantity written in scientific notation to a standard metric prefix notation
    Select the correct electrical components from a schematic diagram for circuit assembly
    Draw pathways on circuit diagrams displaying both conventional current and electron flow
    Label polarities across components

  3. Explain basic atomic theory as it applies to electronics
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product, drawing
    Criteria
    Explain the differences between conductors, insulators, and semi-conductors
    Draw a two dimensional atomic model, labeling all of its component parts
    List the most common materials used as insulators and conductors

  4. Assemble a basic electrical circuit
    Assessment Strategies
    Skill demonstration
    Criteria
    Select components for circuit assembly by interpreting schematic diagrams
    Verify circuit switching components are open prior to circuit assembly
    Measure voltage, current, and resistance of an open electrical circuit
    Follow safety guidelines
    Define ground types when observing schematic diagrams
    Measure voltage and current of a closed electrical circuit
    Choose correct circuit protection safety devices for installation from supplied information
    Assemble basic circuit, and confirm operation according to supplied criteria
    Explain the purpose of source, load, complete path and control device

  5. Examine electrical resistance, resistor types, and resistor characteristics
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Identify fixed resistor component values, tolerances, and reliability that use the EIA color code standard
    Select both fixed and variable resistors based on their rated power dissipation value
    Determine resistance values by the use of an ohmmeter
    Describe variable and auto-variable resistors, include the types available for each
    Recognize the linear relationships of resistors
    Discuss typical failures that occur with all types of resistors
    Recognize resistance as it applies to wire and other conductive surfaces

  6. Measure electrical quantities
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Measure voltage, current, and resistance with analog and digital multimeters
    Use an oscilloscope to obtain DC/AC voltage readings in various circuits
    Use frequency counting instrumentation on various unknown frequency generating sources
    Determine the appropriate probe for instrumentation-to-circuit/component interfacing

  7. Analyze voltage, current, resistance and power relationships using Ohm's and Watt's Laws
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Calculate for a value of voltage, current, or resistance when two of the three are known
    Calculate for power when at least two of the following are known: voltage, current, and resistance
    Solve circuit models for any other unit, given a value for voltage, current, or resistance and the power
    Specify power output in horsepower
    Compare horsepower to power input

  8. Explain Kirchhoff’s Voltage, and Current Laws
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Apply Kirchhoff's Voltage Law to series circuits containing multiple resistive values and voltage sources
    Apply Kirchhoff's Current Law to PRCs containing multiple resistive values and current sources

  9. Analyze series and parallel resistive circuits
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Identify a series resistive circuit containing a multiple number of resistors
    Identify a parallel resistive circuit (PRC) containing a multiple number of resistors
    Discuss the need for resistive models and circuit design equivalents
    Use Ohm's Law and Watt's Law to obtain all quantities in both series and parallel circuit
    Calculate multiple resistor circuits for their single ohmic equivalent
    Apply Kirchhoff's Voltage Law
    Use series circuits as voltage dividers and relate to actual working examples
    Apply Kirchhoff's Current Law
    Use parallel circuits as current dividers and relate to actual working examples
    Analyze parallel resistive circuits using conductance
    Confirm calculated values with actual circuits

  10. Analyze combination series and parallel resistive circuits
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Identify series - parallel circuit relationships from schematics of resistive networks
    Use circuit simplification techniques to simplify component models
    Determine the change in a series - parallel circuit when loaded with one additional resistive component
    Diagnose the effect that is placed on a circuit when loaded with circuit measuring instruments
    Confirm calculated values with computer simulation software for series - parallel circuits
    Differentiate the nodes, branches, and loops in complex series - parallel resistive networks
    Calculate all circuit parameters for all nodes and branches of series - parallel resistive circuit models
    Assemble combinatorial series - parallel circuits to quantify theoretical results

  11. Examine AC voltage and the characteristics of AC voltage sources
    Assessment Strategies
    Written product and/or exam
    Criteria
    Recognize the most common AC voltage sources used in electronic design
    Calculate the relationship between frequency and period for a complete AC source time cycle
    Compare a sinusoidal waveform to a circle in terms of area, radians, degrees, and angular velocity
    Compute standard instantaneous values and average values for sinusoids
    Discriminate multiple coherent sinusoids for phase, leading, and lagging
    Calculate for all variables of AC sourced resistive circuits using Ohm's and Watt's Laws
    Relate an effective value of an AC voltage source to an equivalent DC voltage source
    Use appropriate instrumentation to measure magnitude, phase, and frequency of AC voltages sources