Syllabus for PHY 202:
Digital Electronics

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Contact Info:

Thomas E. Blum
Office: H-133
Office Hours: Mon 2:00-3:00, Tues. 9:00-10:00, Tues. 2:00-3:00, Thurs. 9:00-10:00, or by appointment
Phone: 215-951-1139
e-mail: blum@lasalle.edu
Web: http://www.lasalle.edu/~blum

Description:

Basic Electronics, including resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors and transformers.  Building basic logic gates from basic electronic components. Constructing logic circuits from logic gates including Karnaugh maps.

Meetings:

Wednesdays 2:00 - 5:00

Location:

Holroyd 120

Text:

The Chip, (T. R. Reid)

Websites:

Assessment:

      Tests:60% 3 on-line tests (the last during final's week).
Homework: 10% One page chapter summaries of the book The Chip.  (This is done individually.)
      Class:   5% a mixture of attendance and participation
      Lab: 25%
  • Ordinarily, these labs will be done in teams of two. You must explicitly request permission ahead of time to have a larger group and that permission will be granted on a lab by lab basis.
  • I reserve the right to select the teams, limit the number of labs that can be done with a particular partner, and so on.
  • Unless stated otherwise, lab reports (one report per team) are due the week after the lab. A late penalty of 5 pts (out of 100) per day will be applied. The late penalty stops accumulating at 50 points, so labs, no matter how late will always be worth something.
  • Although labs are a team effort, each student is responsible for learning all of the skills and concepts.
  • Plagiarism, be it from a book, a web site or a fellow student, will be considered cheating. Copying simulation circuits is also considered cheating.
  • You must cite the sources you use. Sentences directly quoted require quotation marks,and so on. Changing one or two words per sentence is still plagiarism.
  • You are often allowed to bring in files from labs to use on the tests. It is recommended that both partners keep a copy of all relevant files. It might be useful to back them up. Also you should develop a systematic naming scheme so that you can find the file you need on the test.
  • The plus/minus grading system will be used.
  • Attendance will be taken.
  • Absences, lateness, etc. will be reflected in the class portion of the grade. More than three unexcused absences may result in the lowering of a grade.
  • If you are leaving lab early you must see me to show me your progress.  Not working on the labs during the lab period can count against you.
  • It is your responsibility to keep copies of all of your assignments, tests and so forth at least until you receive your final grade for the course.
  • The homework assignments (11 of them) will consist of a summary of a chapter in the book  The Chip. This will consist of a one-page Word document with normal margins (Top and Bottom: 1", Left and Right 1.25") using 12-pt Times New Roman font and double spacing (Format/Paragraph/Line Spacing: double). It must be obvious that you have read the chapter.

Printing:

Note that a student is allotted 400 sheets of paper per semester to be printed in the classroom labs, open labs and library. A student can pay more if he or she wishes to exceed this limit. Think about what you are printing and how you are printing it.

Classroom Behavior:

While in the classroom, students should behave in a manner that is neither distracting to nor disrespectful to the professor or other students. Cell phones should be turned off.

Cheating:

Claiming another's work as your own is cheating. A student caught cheating will receive a score of zero. Cheating may result in a reduction of the final grade. In some labs, we will be simulating circuits, copying them from another group is cheating. (Making minimal changes does not make it acceptable.) Finally, openly allowing your work to be copied is also cheating.