1.

First Year - General Engineering and

Electrical Courses
1.1. Engineering 1h - E&EE Section
1.2. Electrical Engineering 1h
1.3. Electronics 1h

There are three first year courses that support degrees containing Electronic and Electrical Engineering, one of
which run in the first half of the year, and two which run in the second.
The two half courses that run in the second half of the year are:
1. Electrical Engineering 1h, and
2. Electronics 1h.

1.1. Engineering 1h - E&EE Section [HMR]

Last Revised: 10/01
Aims: Note that this module is one-quarter of a half course entitled "Engineering 1h". The other three modules are
the responsibility of the Division of Engineering.
The aim of this module is to revise (or teach, as necessary) basic electrical circuit theory, from an engineering rather
than a physics perspective. The course emphasises the physical understanding of circuit operation and the power
consumed and energy dissipated.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course students should be able to make appropriate use of simple circuit
techniques, such as Thevenin's theorem and mesh analysis to solve basic DC problems.
Assessment: Assessment for Engineering 1h is by a three hour written exam of which this module will comprise one
quarter.
Course Text: Background reading: CITATION NOT FOUND IN BOOKLIST

1.2. Electrical Engineering 1h [HMR/LIH/AFM]

Last Revised: 10/01
Pre-requisites: Prior attendance at Engineering 1h.
Aims: To teach the fundamental principles of electric and electronic circuit analysis. To exercise these skills in the
context of both passive and active circuits to build the link between basic concepts, mathematical formalisms and
practical applications. To build a primary understanding of the structure and function of some common
microelectronic devices. This course aims to homogenise students' state of knowledge and skills across the range of
basic electrical subjects, in preparation for detailed and more specific study in subsequent years.
Learning Outcomes: A student should be able to:
• Analyse simple DC circuits using Ohm's law, Kirchoff's laws and nodal analysis.
• Analyse DC and AC Op-amp circuits from first principles and from abstracted rules.
• Describe the principle of feedback.
• Use complex numbers to describe AC signals.
• Analyse circuits involving resistors, inductors and capacitors using phasors and complex numbers.
• Analyse simple Op-amp circuits from first principles (Ohm's and Kirchoff's Laws only) and from
simplified rules.
• Analyse and design more complex Op-amp circuits using a "recipe" - a set of simplified analytical
("Golden") rules.
• Describe negative and positive feedback in Op-amp circuits.
• Analyse simple RC and RL passive filter circuits using phasors and complex numbers.
• Analyse very simple active filter circuits using complex numbers.
• Describe the principles and some of the technological issues in A-D and D-A conversion.
• Describe conduction mechanisms in an intrinsic semiconductor and silicon as an extrinsic semiconductor.
• Describe the mechanism for doping silicon p-type or n-type.
 • Demonstrate awareness of the range of microelectronic devices.
• Explain in simple terms the operation of a diode and a bipolar transistor.
• Sketch characteristics of and analyse the dc operation of simple diode and bipolar transistor circuits (e.g.
rectifiers, common emitter and single transitor current source).
Assessment: The assessment will comprise:
1. One and a half hour examination at the end of the course - with questions covering a selection of the topics
above, probing both basic understanding and applications.
2. A set of weekly "assignments" taking the form of examination-style questions, to add to the students'
experience of circuit analysis and examination question formats. This will also allow students with poor
examination technique to benefit and to improve it.
3. A series of laboratory projects - that will expand the understanding of the analytical material in lectures by
providing practical examples in a realistic context. These will be assessed via conventional laboratory
reports.
Course Text: D.I. Crecraft, D.A. Gorham, and J.J. Sparkes, Electronics, Chapman & Hall, 1993.

1.3. Electronics 1h [AH/D Branford (Physics and

Astronomy)]
Last Revised: 10/01
Pre-requisites: None.
Co-requisites: None.
Aims: The aim of this course is to help students gain an understanding and practical experience of electronics in
order that they may undertake small electronics projects as part of their personal or professional lives. To this end,
laboratory sessions run concurrent with, and are directly related to, the lecture course.
The course has a broad theme - analogue electronics. In the study of analogue electronics, we shall introduce the
basics definitions of voltage and current before moving on to discuss topics such as operational amplifier circuits,
power supplies, simple transistor circuits and electronic applications.
Learning Outcomes: On completion of this module students should have:
• an ability to explain in general terms how transistors are structured in CMOS technology, how basic logic
gates are created using these transistors and the basic characteristics of these gates.
• an ability to design a 4 variable combinational logic circuit using truth tables, Karnaugh maps, boolean
algebra and circuit diagrams.
• an ability to explain the operation of sequential circuits comprising S-R flip-flops.
• an ability to explain the operation of synchronous sequential circuits comprising J-K flip-flops, D-type flip-
flops including shift registers and ripple counters.
• an ability to describe the basic operating principles and differences between ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM,
PROM, EPROM and EEPROM.
• an ability to design a simple ROM array using a diode or transistor matrix.
• an ability to produce the circuit diagram for and explain the operation of a DAC based upon a summing
operational amplifier.
• an ability to produce the circuit diagram for and explain the operation of a flash ADC, a successive
approximation ADC and an ADC based upon an R-2R ladder.
• an ability to produce the architecture of a basic microprocessor and explain the fetch-execute cycle
• an ability to describe how a microprocessor is interfaced in a simple control system.
• an ability to describe the use of a compiler, assembler and in-circuit emulator in developing software for a
microprocessor based system.
• an ability to prototype neat logic circuits in the laboratory, evaluate whether they operate and record results
in a laboratory book.
Assessment: By a two hour examination (80%) and continuous laboratory assessment (20%). The exam consists of
two sections with three questions in each section. Students attempt two questions in each section.
Course Text: There is no compulsory text for Electronics 1h, although a number of texts are recommended for
students interested in further reading.