50-620-704AC Electricity for Mechatronics
Course Information
Description
This course is designed to introduce the mechatronic technician apprentice to the basic concepts of alternating current. Emphasis is placed on circuit analysis and the problem-solving skills necessary for the maintenance of mechatronic systems and manufacturing equipment.
Total Credits
1
Course Competencies
  1. Apply right angle trigonometry to circuit analysis
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Written Objective Test
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice draws a right angle and names the three sides
    apprentice writes three forms of the Pythagorean theorem
    apprentice draws vectors used to represent the resistive, inductive, and capacitive value
    apprentice determine the sine, cosine, and tangent for a variety of angles
    apprentice solves for unknown values in a triangle

  2. Examine characteristics of alternating current
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Written Objective Test
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice defines terms related to AC
    apprentice notes the significance and effect of the frequency
    apprentice describes why AC is the preferred method of power distribution
    apprentice identifies the characteristics of alternating current
    apprentice calculates effective, peak, and average values
    apprentice identifies the losses associated with alternating current
    apprentice relates the term "phase" to AC current
    apprentice calculates total resistance, total current, total power, the power factor, and the phase angle

  3. Use AC measuring instruments
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Lab/Shop activity
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice uses a clamp-on ammeter
    apprentice uses a multimeter
    apprentice adjustments an Oscilloscope
    apprentice uses an Oscilloscope to make accurate measurements on a circuit
    apprentice determines and records the level of a given voltage
    apprentice determines a given frequency
    apprentice connects the scope in the "dual trace mode" and measures the phase angle of two given voltages

  4. Analyze resistive-inductive series circuits
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Lab/Shop activity
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice defines an R-L series circuit
    apprentice lists the characteristics of an R-L series circuit
    apprentice describes the relationship of resistance and inductive reactance
    apprentice defines impedance
    apprentice calculates the values of voltage, current, voltage drops, impedance, true power, apparent power, and power factor for an R-L circuit
    apprentice draws examples of impedance and power triangles for circuits using vectors
    apprentice builds examples of R-L series circuits given specifications
    apprentice records information on the circuit in a lab report
    lab report includes calculations of the expected circuit values for the circuit
    lab report includes measures of the actual values of the circuit
    lab report includes the identification of any differences
    lab report includes justifications for the differences

  5. Analyze resistance-capacitive series circuits
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Lab/Shop activity
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice defines an R-C series circuit
    apprentice lists the characteristics of an R-C series circuit
    apprentice describes the relationship of resistance and capacitive reactance
    apprentice defines impedance
    apprentice calculates the values of impedance of a series R-C circuit from given values of resistance and reactance
    apprentice calculates the values of voltage, current, voltage drops, impedance, true power, apparent power, and power factor for R-C circuits
    apprentice draws examples of impedance and power triangles for circuits using vectors
    apprentice builds examples of R-C series circuits given specifications
    apprentice records information on the circuit in a lab report
    lab report includes calculations of the expected circuit values for the circuit
    lab report includes measures of the actual values of the circuit
    lab report includes the identification of any differences
    lab report includes justifications for the differences

  6. Analyze parallel reactive circuits
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Lab/Shop activity
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice describes the phase relationship of voltage and current within parallel R-L and R-C circuits
    apprentice calculates the values of voltage, current, impedance, power, and power factor for R-L and R-C circuits
    apprentice computes the phase angles of given circuits and relates their values to the efficiencies of the circuits
    apprentice draws examples of right triangles that represent the electrical relationships of given circuits using vectors
    apprentice describes the effect that changing the frequency of a parallel reactive circuit will have on the values of a given reactive circuit
    apprentice builds examples of R-L and R-C parallel circuits given specifications
    apprentice records information on the circuit in a lab report
    lab report includes calculations of the expected circuit values for the circuit
    lab report includes measures of the actual values of the circuit
    lab report includes the identification of any differences
    lab report includes justifications for the differences

  7. Compare three-phase systems
    Assessment Strategies
    Oral, Written or Graphic Assessment
    Lab/Shop activity
    Apprentice Course Worksheet
    Criteria
    apprentice describes the advantages of a three phase power systems
    apprentice describes the phase relationship of three phase power systems
    apprentice draws an example of a three-phase wye connected generator or transformer
    apprentice describes the significance of the value 1.73 to three-phase calculations
    apprentice calculates the phase-to-phase and phase-to-line voltage values of a given wye system
    apprentice calculates the phase-to-phase and phase-to-line current values of a given wye system
    apprentice draws an example of a three phase delta connected generator or transformer
    apprentice calculates the phase-to-phase and phase-to-line voltage values of a delta system
    apprentice calculates the phase-to-phase and phase-to-line current values of a delta system
    apprentice performs load calculation, voltage and current values, for a given three phase system where the source is connected in wye and the load is connected in wye
    apprentice performs load calculation, voltage and current values, for a given three phase system where the source is connected in wye and the load is connected in delta
    apprentice performs load calculation, voltage and current values, for a given three phase system where the source is connected in delta and the load is connected in wye
    apprentice performs load calculation, voltage and current values, for a given three phase system where the source is connected in delta and the load is connected in delta
    apprentice calculates the size (in CKVAR), necessary to correct the power factor of a three phase circuit