CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

Case School of Engineering

COURSE INFORMATION
ENGR 210: Introduction to Circuits and Instruments
Spring 2021

Lecture Schedule: MWF 9:30 - 10:20 A. Location: Synchronous/Asynchronous (Zoom)

Labs See SIS Location: The Larry and Sally Sears Lab
Instructor: Prof. Marc Buchner Glennan 313
Contact Information: mxb11@case.edu, 368-4096
Office: Nord 500
Office Hours: by appointment

Senior Teaching Assistant Hunter Stecko

e-mail: hjs68@case.edu

Summary Description (as listed in the Bulletin):

Circuit analysis of analog and digital circuits. Fundamental concepts in circuit analysis: voltage
and current sources, Kirchhoff's Laws, Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits, inductors
capacitors, and transformers. Modeling sensors and amplifiers and measuring DC device
characteristics. Characterization and measurement of time dependent waveforms. Transient
behavior of circuits. Frequency dependent behavior of devices and amplifiers, frequency
measurements. AC power and power measurements.

Prerequisite: MATH 122.

Pre- or Co-requisite: PHYS 122

Required Textbook:
“Circuits” Fawwaz Ulaby and Michel Maharbiz, National Technology and Science Press, 2016
3nr Edition, ISBN # 978-1-934891-22-3

Note: A free pdf of the text may be downloaded at the author’s site: http://cad.eecs.umich.edu.
A low-cost version is also available to purchase from the site as well.

If you choose to use a previous edition of the required textbook, you assume responsibility for
any mismatch from the 3rd edition including material not found in the previous editions.
 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Case School of Engineering

Course Outcomes

Students completing ENGR 210 should be able to analyze:

1. DC behavior of circuits: independent and dependent sources, Ohm's Law, Kirchoff’s
Voltage Law, Kirchoff’s Current Law, node voltage and mesh current methods,
operational amplifiers
2. Linear properties of circuits: constant of proportionality (gain), Thevenin and Norton
equivalent circuits, superposition, maximum power transfer
3. Time dependent behavior of first and second order circuits: capacitors and inductors,
energy and power, ability to write and solve first and second order circuit differential
equations, initial and final values, time constants
4. Frequency dependent behavior of RLC circuits: forced sinusoidal steady state response,
phasors, frequency response, Bode plots
And should know
5. Laboratory techniques: how to use oscilloscopes and DMMs for circuit measurements,
how to use laboratory power supplies and function generators, how to build a circuit from
a schematic
 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Case School of Engineering

COURSE GRADING
Basis of Grades

Homework (10%): Homework exercises from the pdf version of the text will be posted on
Mondays by 5 p.m. and due the following Monday by 5 p.m. when solutions will be posted.
Working through these exercises is very strongly recommended to increase your
understanding of the course material and to prepare you for the quizzes, mid-term, and final
exam. A detailed assessment of homework submissions will not be done but homework will be
evaluated based on approach and effort.

Laboratory (30%): The in-person laboratory sessions (sections 100 through 106) for ENGR 210
are held in the Sally & Larry Sears Design Laboratory (Glennan 313). Labs will be done
individually for social distancing requirements. For in-person lab sections students must attend
regular lab sessions in order to receive any credit for the lab, but labs may be completed during
open lab hours. Lab reports must be completed in a two-week period and submitted on Canvas
by the beginning of the second following regularly schedule lab period. The laboratory requires
key card access and workstation accounts which will be provided based on the class roster.
Pre-lab reading and work may be required (and brief quizzes may be administered at the
beginning of the lab session) to determine if you are prepared to do the lab. These quizzes will
affect your lab report score. If you are in an in-person lab section and you cannot attend the lab
in your normally scheduled time, you may alternatively complete and submit the remote lab in
place of the in-person lab if your navigator requests this accommodation.

The Asynchronous labs (section 800) will all be done remotely and individually. These labs will
be simulation-based and use Multisim software. For asynchronous lab sections, lab reports are
due on second Monday following the lab assignment. Pre-lab reading and work may be required
to determine if you are prepared to do the lab.

The weighted average of all of the laboratory report scores will be used to
calculate 30% of the course grade.

Quizzes (20%): Short electronic quizzes will generally be assigned on Wednesdays (see the
specific schedule at the end of the syllabus) and due at the end of the next day. The quizzes are
based on lecture material and the suggested homework exercises given during the preceding
week. Quizzes will be administered electronically through Canvas. You should plan on using a
calculator and a smartphone, tablet, or laptop in order to take the quiz. The top 11 quiz scores
will be used to calculate 20% of the course grade.

There is no need to let us know which quizzes should be dropped or why these quizzes should
be dropped. This will be handled automatically when computing course scores and grades.
Midterm Exam (20%): The exam is an open book/open notes assessment.

Final Exam (20%): The exam is an open book/open notes assessment.

IMPORTANT: Anyone requiring special accommodations should contact Prof. Buchner in

advance of the first assignment
 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Case School of Engineering

COURSE POLICIES
Late Policy

HOMEWORK — Homework must be submitted on time. Late homework will not be

accepted.

LABS — Prelabs must be submitted at the beginning of the lab period in which they are due.
For in-person lab sections, Lab reports are due the second following week at the beginning of
the lab period. For asynchronous lab sections, Lab reports are due on second Monday following
the lab assignment. Late reports will not be accepted.

QUIZZES — There will be no make-ups for missing individual quizzes. However, your overall
quiz grade will be computed by dropping two of your lowest quiz grades.

EXAMS — The Mid-term and Final Exams are required. Excused absences must be approved
by the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

CWRU Academic Integrity Policy

Violations of the Academic Integrity Policy will be dealt with by failure in the assignment in
question, failure in the course, or referral to the academic integrity board as per university
policy. Details regarding the university’s policy on such matters can be found at the following
website:

https://students.case.edu/community/conduct/aiboard/policy.html

All forms of academic dishonesty including cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, and

obstruction are violations of academic integrity standards. Cheating includes copying from
another's work, falsifying problem solutions or laboratory reports, or using unauthorized sources,
notes or computer programs. Plagiarism includes the presentation, without proper attribution, of
another's words or ideas from printed or electronic sources. It is also plagiarism to submit,
without the instructor's consent, an assignment in one class previously submitted in another.
Misrepresentation includes forgery of official academic documents, the presentation of altered
or falsified documents or testimony to a university office or official, taking an exam for another
student, or lying about personal circumstances to postpone tests or assignments. Obstruction
occurs when a student engages in unreasonable conduct that interferes with another's ability to
conduct scholarly activity. Destroying a student's computer file, stealing a student's notebook,
and stealing a book on reserve in the library are examples of obstruction.

Unauthorized sources include Instructor’s Solutions Manuals. All violations will be forwarded to
the academic integrity board.
 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
Case School of Engineering

Topic-based Lecture Schedule:

Date Due Planned Topics Reading Lab
2/1 Course Intro; Circuit Terminology Chapter 1
2/3 Resistive Circuits Chapter 2 No Lab
2/5 Q1 Resistive Circuits Chapter 2
2/8 HW1 Resistive Circuits
2/10 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3 L1
2/12 Q2 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3
2/15 HW2 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3
2/17 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3 L2
2/19 Q3 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3
2/22 HW3 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3
2/24 Analysis Techniques Resistive DC Circuits Chapter 3 L3
2/26 Q4 Operational Amplifier Circuits Chapter 4
3/1 HW4 Operational Amplifier Circuits Chapter 4
3/3 Operational Amplifier Circuits Chapter 4 L4
3/5 Q5 Operational Amplifier Circuits Chapter 4
3/8 HW5 Transistors Chapter 4
3/10 Transistors Chapter 4 L5
3/12 Q6 RC and RL Circuits Chapter 5
3/15 HW6 RC and RL Circuits Chapter 5
3/17 RC and RL Circuits Chapter 5 Remote: L6
3/19 Q7 RC and RL Circuits Chapter 5
3/22 HW7 RLC Circuits Chapter 6
3/24 No Class Remote: L7
3/26 Q8 RLC Circuits Chapter 6
3/29 HW8 RLC Circuits
3/31 RLC Circuits Chapter 6
4/2 Mid-Term Exam
4/5 HW8 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7
4/7 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7 L8
4/9 Q9 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7
4/12 HW9 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7
4/14 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7 L9
4/16 Q10 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7
4/19 HW10 Analysis Techniques for AC Circuits Chapter 7
4/21 AC Power Chapter 8 L10
4/23 Q11 AC Power Chapter 8
4/26 HW11 AC Power Chapter 8
4/28 AC Power Chapter 8 L11
4/30 Q12 Frequency Response Chapter 9
5/3 HW12 Frequency Response Chapter 9
5/5 Frequency Response Chapter 9 L12
5/7 Q13 Frequency Response Chapter 9
Final Exam Due: May 12 3:00 PM (NO LATE EXAMS ACCEPTED!)

NOTES:
1. The dates and order of these topics are approximate and subject to change in order and emphasis.
2. Class lectures will be available synchronously (and asynchronously) through Zoom.