The course assumes the students know nothing about electronics or robotics so we start from scratch. The textbooks for the course are Electricity and Electronics by Gerrish, Dugger, Roberts and Robot Building for Beginners by David Cook since they cover the fundamentals of electronics and robotics and provide a hands-on robot project called Sandwich. The material on electronics is supplemented with additional information from numerous sources. Throughout this course, students will have the ability to:

Describe the structure of matter related to electronics.

Construct, conduct, and analyze experiments with basic dc and ac circuits and with circuits using magnetism.

Identify, measure, and describe the function of transformers and inductors in electronic circuits.

Use Ohm’s law and Watt’s law to analyze and experiment with resistive circuits.

Construct, analyze, and experiment with capacitive circuits.

Demonstrate the proper use of electronic equipment.

Demonstrate proper electronic assembly methods, including soldering and printed circuit boards.

Demonstrate an understanding of basic electrical and electronic circuits.

Demonstrate the ability to use and maintain basic electronic circuits.

Demonstrate safe and appropriate use of tools, machinery, and materials in electronics technology.

Fabricate a line following robot using a comparator, printed circuit board, and gear-head motors.