Fundamentals of electric circuits by Sadiku
Features
In spite of the numerous textbooks on circuit analysis
available in the market, students often find the course
difficult to learn. The main objective of this book is
to present circuit analysis in a manner that is clearer,
more interesting, and easier to understand than earlier
texts. This objective is achieved in the following
ways:
A course in circuit analysis is perhaps the first
exposure students have to electrical engineering.
We have included several features to help students
feel at home with the subject. Each chapter
opens with either a historical profile of some
electrical engineering pioneers to be mentioned in
the chapter or a career discussion on a subdiscipline
of electrical engineering. An introduction
links the chapter with the previous chapters and
states the chapter’s objectives. The chapter ends
with a summary of the key points and formulas.
All principles are presented in a lucid, logical,
step-by-step manner. We try to avoid wordiness
and superfluous detail that could hide concepts
and impede understanding the material.
Important formulas are boxed as a means of
helping students sort what is essential from what
is not; and to ensure that students clearly get the
gist of the matter, key terms are defined and
highlighted.
Marginal notes are used as a pedagogical aid. They
serve multiple uses—hints, cross-references, more
exposition, warnings, reminders, common mistakes,
and problem-solving insights.
Thoroughly worked examples are liberally given at
the end of every section. The examples are regarded
as part of the text and are explained clearly, without
asking the reader to fill in missing steps.
Thoroughly worked examples give students a good
understanding of the solution and the confidence to
solve problems themselves. Some of the problems
are solved in two or three ways to facilitate an
understanding and comparison of different
approaches.
To give students practice opportunity, each illustrative
example is immediately followed by a
practice problem with the answer. The students can
follow the example step-by-step to solve the practice
problem without flipping pages or searching
the end of the book for answers. The practice problem
is also intended to test students’ understanding
of the preceding example. It will reinforce their
grasp of the material before moving to the next
section.
In recognition of ABET’s requirement on integrating
computer tools, the use of PSpice is encouraged
in a student-friendly manner. Since the Windows
version of PSpice is becoming popular, it is used
instead of the MS-DOS version. PSpice is covered
early so that students can use it throughout the text.
Appendix D serves as a tutorial on PSpice for
Windows.
The operational amplifier (op amp) as a basic element
is introduced early in the text.
To ease the transition between the circuit course
and signals/systems courses, Fourier and Laplace
transforms are covered lucidly and thoroughly.
The last section in each chapter is devoted to applications
of the concepts covered in the chapter. Each
chapter has at least one or two practical problems or
devices. This helps students apply the concepts to
real-life situations.
Ten multiple-choice review questions are provided
at the end of each chapter, with answers. These are
intended to cover the little “tricks” that the examples
and end-of-chapter problems may not cover.
They serve as a self-test device and help students
determine how well they have mastered the chapter.