| Physics 261 Fall, 2025 Syllabus | |||||
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| Date | Item | # | Topic | Reading | |
| 20-Aug | Lab | No Lab This Week! | |||
| 21-Aug | Lecture | 1 | Intro, course requirements. Charge, voltage, current | Review your PHSX 242 text on these topics. | |
| 22-Aug | Homework | 1 | Solutions | HW 1 | |
| 26-Aug | Lecture | 2 | Resistance, Ohm's Law, Power | Ch. 2 | |
| 27-Aug | Lab | 1 | The Art of Electrical Measurements | resistor codes + Ch.15 | |
| 28-Aug | Lecture | 3 | Circuit diagrams, Kirchoff's laws | ||
| 29-Aug | Homework | 2 | Solutions | HW 2 | |
| 2-Sep | Lecture | 4 | Series & parallel | Ch. 3 | |
| 3-Sep | Lab | 2 | Ohm's and Kirchoff's Laws | Ch. 3 | |
| 4-Sep | Lecture | 5 | Voltage & Current Division, Node Voltage Analysis | Ch. 4 | |
| 5-Sep | Homework | 3 | Solutions | HW 3 | |
| 9-Sep | Lecture | 6 | Thevenin & Norton Equivalents | ||
| 10-Sep | Lab | 3 | Voltage and Current Division | Ch. 18 | |
| 11-Sep | Lecture | 7 | Examples—NVA, etc. | Ch. 6 | |
| 12-Sep | Homework | 4 | Solutions | HW 4 | |
| 16-Sep | Lecture | 8 | The Wheatstone Bridge | ||
| 17-Sep | Lab | 4 | Thevenin & Norton equivalents | ||
| 18-Sep | Lecture | 9 | Review | ||
| 19-Sep | Homework | 5 | Solutions | HW 5 | |
| 23-Sep | Lecture | 10 | Exam 1 solutions | Exam 1 | |
| 24-Sep | Lab | 5-I | Lab make-up session | ||
| 25-Sep | Lecture | 11 | Semiconductors and Diodes | Ch. 41 (skim ch. 40) | |
| 26-Sep | Homework | 6 | Solutions | HW 6 | |
| 30-Sep | Lecture | 12 | Transistors (BJT) | Chs. 42, 44 (skim 43) | |
| 1-Oct | Lab | 6 | Introduction to the Transistor | ||
| 2-Oct | Lecture | 13 | Transistors (FET) | Ch. 45 | |
| 3-Oct | Homework | 7 | Solutions | HW 7 | |
| 7-Oct | Lecture | 14 | The Operational Amplifier | Ch. 28 | |
| 8-Oct | Lab | 7 | Introduction to the Op Amp | ||
| 9-Oct | Lecture | 15 | Elementary Op Amp Applications | Ch. 29 | |
| 10-Oct | Homework | 8 | Solutions | HW 8 | |
| 14-Oct | Lecture | 16 | Revisiting transistors and op amps | ||
| 15-Oct | Lab | 8 | Circuit Loading and the Op Amp | ||
| 16-Oct | Lecture | 17 | Comparators | Ch. 34 | |
| 17-Oct | Homework | 9 | Solutions | HW 9 | |
| 21-Oct | Lecture | 18 | The Schmitt Trigger | ||
| 22-Oct | Lab | S | Soldering | Soldering Tutorial | |
| 23-Oct | Lecture | 19 | Exam 2 Review | ||
| 24-Oct | Homework | 10 | Solutions | HW 10 | |
| 28-Oct | Lecture | 20 | Exam 2 solutions | Exam 2 | |
| 29-Oct | Lab | 9-I | Headphone Amplifier I: Build & Test | ||
| 30-Oct | Lecture | 21 | Complex Numbers | Ch. 51 | |
| 31-Oct | Homework | 11 | Solutions | HW 11 | |
| 4-Nov | Lecture | 22 | Alternating Current (AC) | Ch. 7 | |
| 5-Nov | Lab | 5-II | Lab make-up session | ||
| 6-Nov | Lecture | 23 | Capacitors, Inductors, & Impedance | Ch. 8 | |
| 7-Nov | Homework | 12 | Solutions | HW 12 | |
| 11-Nov | Veterans Day | No classes | |||
| 12-Nov | Lab | 9-II | Headphone Amplifier II: Performance | ||
| 13-Nov | Lecture | 24 | Impedance, continued | ||
| 14-Nov | Homework | 13 | Solutions | HW 13 | |
| 18-Nov | Lecture | 25 | AC Circuit Analysis | Ch. 9 | |
| 19-Nov | Lab | 10 | Sinusoidal Forcing & Impedance | ||
| 20-Nov | Lecture | 26 | Resonance | Ch. 10 | |
| 21-Nov | Homework | 14 | Solutions | HW 14 | |
| Nov 24-28 MSU Fall Break | |||||
| 2-Dec | Lecture | 27 | Step Functions & Transient Analysis | Ch. 12-13 | |
| 3-Dec | Lab | 14 | Exponential Waveforms & Capacitance | ||
| 4-Dec | Lecture | 28 | Exam Review | ||
| 5-Dec | Homework | 15 | Solutions | HW 15 | |
| 13-Dec | 10:00-12:00 Roberts 121 | Final Exam (cumulative) | |||
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