Basic Course Information and Schedule

Table of Contents

1) Description, Prerequisites, and Major Requirements

• Description

  From the subject listing and schedule:

  Fundamentals of linear systems, and abstraction modeling of multi-physics lumped and distributed systems using lumped electrical circuits. Linear networks involving independent and dependent sources, resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Extensions to include operational amplifiers and transducers. Dynamics of first- and second-order networks; analysis and design in the time and frequency domains; signal and energy processing applications. Design exercises. Weekly laboratory with microcontroller and transducers.

• Prerequisites

  The only prerequisite for this class is 8.02.

  But there are some additional topics that you should feel comfortable with before taking this course:

  • Working with linear functions and linear equations

    • Moving between representations of linear functions, e.g., slope-intercept form y = mx + b, standard form Ax + By = c, point-slope form (y-y_1) = m(x-x_1).

    • Sketching and interpreting graphs of linear functions, including estimating slopes and intercepts from graphs and interpreting graphs in terms of physical quantities.

    • Solving simultaneous linear algebraic equations graphically and analytically

  • Logarithms and mathematical operations on them, e.g., \log(xy) = \log(x) + \log(y).

  • SI units and prefixes ("nano" means 10^{-9}, etc). You will often need to convert between various units (e.g., you're given a value in milliAmps but you need to express it in Amps) and you should be able to do this without a calculator.

  • Integrals and derivatives, and their interpretations; and the fundamental theorem of calculus (the change of the value of a function across an interval is the integral of its derivative over that interval).

2) Required Materials

There is no required textbook, but we recommend that students take advantage of the the 6.200 textbook, Foundations of Analog and Digital Electronic Circuits by Agarwal and Lang, which is available for free online via the MIT library. After searching the library website, select “view full text”. It can be read online or downloaded in three different formats. There are also a small number of physical copies of the book on reserve at Barker Library.

3) Weekly Schedule

Each week in 6.200 consists of several components, described below:

• Lectures

  We will have two lectures each week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 11am-12noon in room 3-270. Lectures will introduce new material and provide examples of using that material, which we will then build on in the other parts of the course.

• Recitations

  We will have one recitation each week. Recitations are opportunities for you to see worked examples based on lecture material, and also for you to work through example problems yourself.

  We will have three regular sections available:

  • Wednesdays 11am-12pm with Sam in 26-210
  • Wednesdays 12pm-1pm with Farnaz in 26-210
  • Wednesdays 1pm-2pm with Farnaz in 26-210

  We will do our own section assignments in 6.200.

• Labs

  A big part of the 6.200 experience involves working on problems with real components, and moving from pure analysis of circuits toward design of electrical systems. Each week will culminate with a lab assignment that builds on that week's material. We will have two sections available:

  • Fridays 10am-1pm in 38-530
  • Fridays 2pm-5pm in 38-530

• Nanoquizzes

  Each lab section will start with a 15-minute "nanoquiz," a short online quiz about recent materials from lectures, recitations, and problem sets. The purpose of these nanoquizzes is to provide motivation to keep up with the course materials, and we expect that students should be able to complete most questions on each nanoquiz. If you are having trouble with the nanoquizzes, that may be an indication that you should talk with a staff member about how you're doing in the class.

  The nanoquizzes can only be accessed online during the first 15 minutes of your lab section in 38-530, and you will be prevented from submitting answers after the timer expires. Contact one of your lab instructors if you must miss a nanoquiz because of illness or other extraordinary situation (excused by an S^3 Dean). Participation in sports, music, interviews, projects, or extracurricular activities will not be grounds for any special excuses. You must be present in the lab to receive credit for nanoquizzes.

• Problem Sets

  Each week will also have a problem set to help you get additional practice with the course material. Each week's problem set will contain one or more of the following kinds of exercises:

  • Drills are targeted practice on skills that we eventually want to become second-nature but which are not conceptually deep. Drills are delivered thorugh this web site and you will receive immediate feedback about your progress.

  • Auto-graded Exercises are designed to serve as a bridge between the worked examples from lecture/recitation and the more open-ended problems later in the problem set. These exercises are often somewhat guided, and you will receive immediate feedback about your submissions.

  • Free-response Exercises are traditional pencil-and-paper theory questions that are more open-ended than tutorials. Many are similar to what you might see on a 6.200 exam. These are submitted to the web site as PDF files, and they will be graded within one week of the deadline.

  • Pre-lab Exercises are short exercises designed to help prepare you for the week's lab. These are due before your lab section on Friday.

• Open Lab Hours and Instructor Office Hours

  Our TAs will have the lab open for additional help with labs or psets during the following times:

  • Monday 7-9:30pm in 38-530
  • Tuesday 7-9:30pm in 38-530

  Instructors will also have office hours:

  • Sam: Mondays, 5-6pm, 10-140G
  • Adam: Tuesdays, 8-10am, 38-530
  • Jeff: TBD
  • Farnaz: Mondays, 9-10am, 13-3005b

4) Midterms and Final Exam

We will have two midterm exams, on Wednesday evenings (13 March and 24 April). The weekly schedule discussed above will hold during exam weeks, except that we will not have recitations during exam weeks.

We will also have a final exam during the final exam period. The Registrar will schedule the final, usually by the third week in the term. It is important that you plan to be on campus and available for an exam whenever it might be scheduled during the final exam period (Friday, 17 May, through Wednesday, 22 May), as our final exam or conflict final exams may be scheduled on any of those days. Conflict exams or other accommodations will not be given for leaving campus early, except in the case of personal or medical emergencies.