ECEG 350
Electronics I

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• Homework Assignments
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Class Not Canceled on Friday, Oct. 10 (10/7/2025)

This is a reminder that ECEG 350 will meet as usual on Friday, Oct. 10. However, because Exam #2 has been scheduled for 8:00–9:50 am on Thursday, Oct. 23, the class meeting on Friday, Oct. 17 will be canceled.

Please come to class this Friday even though it is the afternoon before fall break. We will be covering important information about the design and analysis of linear voltage regulators. This is not simple stuff; you will want to be there.

Help Sessions for Oct. 6–10 (10/6/2025)

I will be available at least at the following times this week:

• Wednesday 5:00–6:00 pm (BRKI 368)
• Thursday 10:00–11:00 pm (Zoom)
• Friday 3:00–4:00 pm (BRKI 368)

I am usually also available right after class.

Guidelines and additional information:

• Please contact me if you have a conflict with these times and would like to arrange a meeting at a different time.
• The Zoom link is available at the course Moodle site.
• If I am helping another student when you drop by, you may usually join in the conversation.
• If I have been helping you for a relatively long time, I might pause our conversation to help other students who are waiting for assistance.
• For in-person sessions, if I have finished helping you, please move out to the hall or somewhere else so that the chairs in my office are clear for newly arriving students.
• As a courtesy during Zoom sessions, please use your camera.

First Page of Exam #1 (10/5/2025)

A copy of the first page of Exam #1 has been posted to the course Moodle site in the "Additional Resources" section. It is being provided to you now to make you aware of the policies that will be in effect and the equations that will be provided to you.

Please carefully read the exam policies on the first page.

Reading Assignments for Oct. 6–10 (10/4/2025)

• M: [Exam #1]
• W: Sections 4.6.0–4.6.4
• F: Read the supplemental readings "Average and Peak Diode Currents in Rectifier Circuits" and "Three-Terminal Linear Voltage Regulators," and skim Section 4.5.

Subsection 4.6.0 is the introduction to Section 4.6.

The supplemental readings are available at the course Moodle site. The first one presents a more thorough derivation of the average and peak diode current formulas than the one given in Section 4.6.4 of the textbook, and it addresses what appears to be an error in some of the formulas.

The second supplemental reading covers voltage regulator integrated circuits. That topic is not covered at all in the textbook, but we will be working with these devices in Lab #3.

Review Session for Exam #1 (10/4/2025)

To help you prepare for Exam #1, an optional review session will be offered at 8:00 pm on Sunday, October 5 in Breakiron 165 (our usual classroom). The room reservation has been confirmed.

I do not prepare material for review sessions. Instead, I answer students' questions and/or work through example problems by request. The format of the session is therefore up to you. I strongly suggest that you come prepared with questions to ask.

If you cannot attend the review session but would like to meet with me at another time before the exam, please contact me.

List of Exam Preparation Resources (10/3/2025)

In addition to the textbook, supplemental readings, and help sessions, the following resources are now or soon will be available to help you prepare for Exam #1:

• Review sheet
• Exams from past offerings of ECEG 350
• Homework solutions (HW #3 solutions at 5:00 pm today)
• Upcoming review session
• "Advice Regarding Exam Preparation and Anxiety Management" section of Exams page
• Self-prepared help sheet for use during exam
• Copy of first page of exam showing equations to be provided

HW #3 Solutions (10/3/2025)

The solutions to the graded and ungraded problems in HW #3 will be available at the course Moodle site after 5:00 pm today.

Old ECEG 350 Exams (10/1/2025)

To help you prepare for this semester's exams, copies of ECEG 350 exams with solutions from previous years are now available at the course Moodle site in the section labeled "Exams From Past Offerings of ECEG 350."

Note that the topic coverage on exams from previous years could differ from that of this year's exams. If you encounter a problem that seems to involve skills or knowledge that we have not covered yet this semester, that is the likely reason.

PowerPoint Presentation on Hole Current (10/1/2025)

The set of PowerPoint slides presented in class that illustrates the concept of hole current flow is now available at the course Moodle site in the "Additional Resources" section.

Review Sheet for Exam #1 (10/1/2025)

The review sheet for Exam #1 is now available on the Exams page. It lists the topics from which the exam problems are most likely to be drawn. Note, however, that the list is not guaranteed to be exhaustive. Some problems could focus on concepts that were covered in class and lab but are not included on the review sheet.

Also be sure to review the policies section at the beginning of the review sheet. Ingnorance of the policies is not an excuse for not following them!

Test Anxiety Resources (10/1/2025)

If you have a history of text anxiety, I strongly encourage you to review the resources listed under the heading "Advice Regarding Exam Preparation and Anxiety Management" on the Exams page. This material has been prepared by professionals and covers proven strategies for overcoming or coping with test anxiety.

Selected Answers to HW #3 (10/1/2025)

The answers to selected graded problems in HW #3 are now available on the Homework Assignments page.

Help Sessions for Sept. 29–Oct. 3 - UPDATE (9/30/2025)

I will be available at least at the following times this week:

• Monday 5:00–6:00 pm (BRKI 368)
• Tuesday 10:00–11:00 pm (Zoom)
• Wednesday 5:00–6:00 pm (BRKI 368)
• Wednesday 10:00–11:00 pm (Zoom)
• Thursday 6:00–7:00 pm (Zoom)
• Friday 3:00–4:00 pm (BRKI 368)

I am usually also available right after class.

Guidelines and additional information:

• Please contact me if you have a conflict with these times and would like to arrange a meeting at a different time.
• The Zoom link is available at the course Moodle site.
• If I am helping another student when you drop by, you may usually join in the conversation.
• If I have been helping you for a relatively long time, I might pause our conversation to help other students who are waiting for assistance.
• For in-person sessions, if I have finished helping you, please move out to the hall or somewhere else so that the chairs in my office are clear for newly arriving students.
• As a courtesy during Zoom sessions, please use your camera.

Formatting Guidelines for Equations and Technical Content (9/28/2025)

A set of guidelines to follow while you prepare your Lab #2 visual aids is now available on the Laboratory page under the "Post-Lab Meeting Preparation and Rubrics" heading. This set focuses specifically on style expectations for equations, physical quantities with units, and other mathematical presentation issues. The guidelines might help you prepare documentation and visual material for courses beyond ECEG 350.

Updated versions of the guidelines might be posted later in the semester as new issues arise. Additional guidelines will be posted if new documentation elements are required in future lab exercises.

IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors (9/28/2025)

A copy of the IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors is now available at the course Moodle site in the "Additional Resources" section. The manual is maintained by the IEEE and helps authors prepare papers, articles, and other written contributions for IEEE publications. It is the primary source of information for the documentation guidelines posted on the Laboratory page at the course web site.

Reading Assignments for Sept. 29–Oct. 3 (9/28/2025)

• M: Section 2.8.3 and the optional supplemental reading "Brief Explanation of Slew Rate Limiting in the LM741 Operational Amplifier"
• W: Skim Sections 3.0–3.5; read Sections 4.0–4.2
• F: Sections 4.3.0–4.3.5

Sections 3.0 and 4.0 are the introductions to Chapters 3 and 4, respectively. Subsection 4.3.0 is the introduction to Section 4.3.

Sections 3.0–3.5 discuss the basic chemistry of semiconductors and some of the fundamental concepts related to pn junctions. Although this material will not be covered in great detail, you should at least skim these sections since they provide very good background material that will help you understand more clearly the internal operation of diodes and transistors.

HW #3 (9/27/2025)

The assignment for HW #3 is now available. It is due via Moodle at 11:59 pm on Thursday, October 2.

Sunday (Sept. 28) Help Sessions (9/27/2025)

I will be available on campus for about an hour after the exam review session for ECEG 470/670 ends at approximately 9:00 pm. The review session is in Dana 307, but if no one is waiting to receive assistance there, then I will move to my office and remain there until around 10:00 pm.

I also plan to be available via Zoom Sunday 12:00–1:00 pm.