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Work-in-Progress: Statistics Components in a Circuits Laboratory for ECE Sophomores

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Conference

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Seattle, Washington

Publication Date

June 14, 2015

Start Date

June 14, 2015

End Date

June 17, 2015

ISBN

978-0-692-50180-1

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Computers in Education Engineering Division Poster Session

Tagged Division

Computers in Education

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

19

Page Numbers

26.1772.1 - 26.1772.19

DOI

10.18260/p.25108

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/25108

Download Count

487

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Paper Authors

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Steve E. Watkins Missouri University of Science & Technology

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Dr. Steve E. Watkins is Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla. His interests include educational innovation. He is active in IEEE, HKN, SPIE, and ASEE including service as the 2009 Midwest Section Chair. His Ph.D. is from the University of Texas at Austin (1989).

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Theresa Mae Swift Missouri University of Science & Technology

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Theresa M. Swift is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She teaches the sophomore circuits and introduction to electronic devices courses for ECE majors as well as a service course in circuits for other engineering disciplines. She is a member of both the ECE curriculum committee and the curriculum committee for all engineering disciplines on the Missouri S&T campus.

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Amardeep Kaur Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla MO

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Amardeep Kaur is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology. She teaches sophomore courses introducing digital design and electronic devices. She is a member of ASEE, IEEE and SWE. Her interests are engineering education and semiconductor physics.

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Abstract

Work-in-Progress: Statistics Components in a Circuits Laboratory for ECE Sophomores Statistics concepts are required for undergraduate curricula in electrical engineering andcomputer engineering (ECE). Accreditation guidelines specify that such instruction must“including applications appropriate to the program name” [ABET Criteria for AccreditingEngineering Programs, 2014-2015]. Comprehensive courses in probability and statistics arecommon curricula requirements and these courses may include ECE applications. Statisticsproblems within engineering-content courses can provide additional exposure and reinforcementwhile directly addressing the need for applications in the context of ECE. Many basic statisticsconcepts can be introduced before a comprehensive course in statistics and related problemsolving can support learning of computer resources such as data acquisition, circuit simulation,and computer design tools. A good ECE context is an electrical circuits laboratory in whichstudents need to understand electrical component tolerances and related design issues. Exposureto basic statistics concepts and computer resources in an introductory in-major course facilitatesmore advanced instruction in follow-on in-major courses. Statistics-related assignments in a required, sophomore-level laboratory course aredescribed. The prerequisite ECE concepts are analysis and measurement of simple resistornetworks. The theme of the laboratory assignments is resistor tolerances. (If a resistor data set isprovided, the assignments can be used in lecture courses and virtual laboratories to teach the useof circuit simulation tools or to illustrate statistical concepts.) In the first set of exercises, thestandard color code and tolerance designations and hands-on resistance measurements providethe data for analysis. Concepts of nominal values, average values, distribution curves, standarddeviation, and error bars are explored through calculations, plots, etc. The availability ofinexpensive resistors with different values and tolerances allow great flexibility in the actual dataused, e.g. each laboratory section can have a custom data sets. In the second set of exercises, theeffect of tolerances on and the statistical characterization of circuit behavior are demonstratedusing basic voltage divider and Wheatstone bridge networks. The use of Excel, PSpice, andLabVIEW is compared for the simulation component. The final exercise is a basic design Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education 2problem in which appropriate component tolerance values must be specified to meetperformance limits for a resistor network. This sophomore-level exposure to statistics in the context of ECE applications canprovide an early introduction to these important topics and can improve the linkage betweenmathematical analysis and circuit behavior. Follow-on courses in statistics and ECE subjectareas can then give more comprehensive coverage and expand the analysis to advancedengineering design, respectively. Example linkages and the role of the assignments foraccreditation measures are described in our electrical and computer engineering curricula. Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Conference of the American Society for Engineering Education

Watkins, S. E., & Swift, T. M., & Kaur, A. (2015, June), Work-in-Progress: Statistics Components in a Circuits Laboratory for ECE Sophomores Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.25108

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