Circuit Simulators And Computer Algebra An Integrated Curriculum For Electronics Students

There has been increasing acceptance of the use of electronics circuit simulators as part of the first year college curriculum in electronics. These simulators assist in providing a richer class of circuits which can profitably be studied by beginning students. However, they may burden the student with a need to apply the algebra of circuit analysis to more complex circuits than the traditional curriculum. The need is to apply mathematical models (for example, simultaneous equations) to various example circuits in DC and AC circuit analysis. The authors describe a teaching strategy and a curriculum model which uses a circuit simulator to work with circuits as if they had laboratory test instruments available, giving the flavor of a real laboratory, and mathematics software which permits students to interact with mathematical solutions to obtain graphical, numerical and symbolic results. Such a curriculum brings the mathematics of circuit analysis into the same framework of interactive discovery as the rest of the electronics subjects.