EE 2115-01 - Lec 14 - 2026_09_25

Overview

Hiren Trada reviews the EE 2115 midterm format and the examinable material from lectures 1–8, emphasizing that the exam will contain two or three problems designed for about 40 minutes within a 50-minute period. The review prioritizes core circuit analysis, especially constant-voltage-drop diode circuits, source transformations, Thevenin/Norton equivalents, voltage division, and superposition, while identifying topics such as iterative diode analysis and ideal-diode analysis as out of scope.

Key takeaways

The midterm covers lectures 1–8 and is designed around two or three problems that should take roughly 40 minutes, although students receive 50 minutes.
CVD diode analysis is a guaranteed topic: an ON diode has the specified forward voltage, commonly 0.7 V, and must carry positive current; an OFF diode is modeled as an open circuit.
A diode’s conduction threshold depends on both its orientation and any bias source: with a +5 V cathode reference and a 0.7 V CVD drop, the anode must reach 5.7 V.
For source transformations, preserve the source-resistor pairing: current source with a parallel resistor, voltage source with a series resistor.
Superposition problems will involve two independent sources or possibly three; deactivate other sources correctly when evaluating each contribution.
The course’s Canvas summaries and course-specific ChatGPT assistant provide targeted review, while LTspice can verify circuit-analysis results.

Chapters

0:00 Midterm Format, Equation Sheet, and Circuit Fundamentals

The exam will have two or three problems and is designed to take about 35–40 minutes, with a full 50 minutes available.
Students may bring one side of a standard letter-size page containing concepts and equations, but not solved problems; calculators are required and electronic devices are not permitted.
Review SI prefixes, units, Ohm’s law (V = IR), power (P = VI), and open- and short-circuit behavior.
Early problems on voltage, current, resistance, and power may appear as steps within a larger circuit problem rather than as isolated questions.

5:00 Series and Parallel Resistors, Power, and Exam Scope

Equivalent resistance in series is the sum of resistances; parallel resistance is found by adding reciprocals.
In parallel circuits, voltage is shared equally across branches while current divides; in series circuits, current is shared while voltage divides.
Review energy, power ratings, and series/parallel circuit practice; three-phase supply connections are awareness material, not an expected exam calculation.
The midterm covers lectures 1–8; lectures 1–3 mostly recap prerequisite physics, while lectures 4–8 contain most of the newer material.

9:00 CVD Diode Model and Voltage Transfer Characteristics

Constant-voltage-drop (CVD) diode analysis is guaranteed exam material; the question will specify a forward drop such as 0.7 V.
For an ON diode, use the specified constant drop and require positive current; for an OFF diode, model it as an open circuit.
A diode turns on when its anode voltage exceeds its cathode voltage by the required forward drop.
Voltage-transfer-characteristic problems may ask students to calculate Vout for given Vin values and sketch Vout versus Vin.

14:00 Diode Clippers, Biased Turn-On Thresholds, and Multiple Diodes

For a sinusoidal input, diode circuits can act as voltage limiters or clippers by conducting on one portion of the waveform and remaining off on another.
A diode with its cathode held at +5 V in the CVD model turns on when the anode input reaches 5.7 V; an ideal-diode threshold would instead be 5 V, but ideal-diode analysis is not tested.
Analyze each diode orientation by identifying anode and cathode voltages; flipping the diode or source changes the conduction threshold.
With oppositely oriented diodes, one diode can conduct on positive input swings and the other on negative swings; a grounded anode requires the cathode to fall below ground by the specified diode drop.

22:00 Rectifiers, Source Transformations, Thevenin, Norton, and Superposition

Limiters, clippers, clampers, and rectifiers share the same diode test: compare anode and cathode voltages, then apply the diode’s forward-drop model.
For source transformations, a current source is paired with a parallel resistor, while a voltage source is paired with a series resistor.
Review Thevenin and Norton equivalents, including finding VTH and RTH, and use voltage division to find component voltages efficiently.
Superposition requires deactivating the other independent sources correctly; exam problems will use two sources or possibly three, not more.

28:00 Course Review Resources and Study Support

Canvas lecture summaries organize material by topic and include Q&A, offering a faster review route than replaying every lecture recording.
The course’s custom ChatGPT teaching assistant is grounded in course slides and can explain topics, generate practice problems, and create quiz questions.
Hiren Trada recommends using LTspice to check diode-circuit analysis and offers email support over the weekend, with possible Zoom availability late Saturday or Sunday.
Students may attend a different course section, but should email Hiren Trada in advance; the classroom has about 48 seats.

Summary, takeaways, and chapters were generated by AI from the video's transcript and may contain errors. The video belongs to its creator, Hiren Trada.