Electrical Engineering--A Helping Profession
The Arizona State University
Electrical Engineering Department provides a hands-on laboratory
session for teachers and counselors who are participating in the
W.I.S.E.
(Women In Science and Engineering) Investments program. The main focus is to interest
more students, especially women, in engineering, by demonstrating how engineers
help us to live better lives. In this web page you will find
the simple experiments which demonstrate principles used by electrical engineers
in achieving this. There are also explanations included that show how the principles behind these experiments help us to protect the enviroment and live longer lives.
Some general resources promoting women in the field of electrical engineering
can be found at:
Electrical Engineering Profession
- Electrical
Engineering Profession PowerPoint 97 presentation (638k)
- Briefly describes the emphasis areas within electrical engineering at ASU
including electromagnetics, electric power, solid-state electronics,
communications, controls, and signal processing.
- What is Electrical Engineering? - a four page (pdf) document (476k)
- Briefly describes the electrical engineering profession.
Careers within solid-state electronics, electromagnetics, controls, communications and signal processing, and power engineering are addressed.
General Resources for Teachers
Ideas and links for integrating electrical engineering topics in coursework
Digital Logic Resources
Digital Logic Laboratory Information
Detailed descriptions of the software simulation and hardware construction of both a digital lock, and a flashing railroad crossing signal.
- Digital Logic PowerPoint 97 presentations (a free copy of the PowerPoint Viewer may be obtained from Microsoft)
-
Digital Logic Tutorial and Design (130k)
- Describes the basic logic gates and the boolean logic associated with each.
From there a simple digital lock is designed using AND gates and inverters (NOT gates).
In addition, a simple flashing railroad crossing signal is designed using the AND and XOR logic gates.
-
Digital Logic Hardware Laboratory (574k)
- The hardware used to construct the digital lock and the railroad signal are described, including the breadboard and trainer board. The insides of the AND, NOT and XOR chips are examined. The procedures and electrical connections of the circuits being built are given in detail.
-
Digital Logic Workbook in Excel 97 (117k)
- Includes truth tables for AND, OR, and NOT gates;
a 4-input, digital combination lock demonstration and user "lock picking";
a railroad crossing light simulation; and homework questions. Students
using these spreadsheets can learn about digital (boolean) logic via
the simulations in this workbook.
- Digital Combination Lock Hardware Experiment
Instructions and Parts List (html)
- Describes an laboratory experiment suitable for middle school and high school
students. The students will gain knowledge of mathematics (boolean logic) and
physics (electricity and devices). A materials list and step-by-step procedure are given.
Links to Other Web Resources on Digital Logic & Circuits:
The following are external resources and are listed in order of increasing level and/or complexity
Static Electricity and Electromagnetism Resources
Learn more about static electricity
and electromagnetism.
Simple laboratory experiments were developed on the following topics:
- Static Electricity fundamentals and experiments
- Salt and pepper - demonstrate the attractive force between opposite charges
- Repelling balloons - demonstrate the repelling force between two objects of the same charge
- Electromagnetism basics and experiments [included in the NSTA's SciLINKS]
- Galvanometer - demonstrates the relationship between electricity and magnetism by creating and detecting magnetic fields
- Electromagnet - demonstrates the relationship between electricity and magnetism by using electricity to magnetize metal
- Electric motor - demonstrates a practical application of electromagnetism though the construction of an electric motor, which also shows how electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy
The static electricity experiments are useful
in understanding how electrostatic
precipitators work, and likewise the electromagnetism
section helps us to comprehend the medical diagnostic procedure of
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Other Web Resources on Electricity & Magnetism:
Crystal Radio Resources
Workshop History
- Summer 2002: On June 24, 2002 a laboratory session was held for secondary school teachers and counselors.
- Summer 2001: On June 18, 2001 a laboratory session was held for secondary school teachers and counselors.
- Summer 2000: On May 25, 2000 a laboratory session was held for faculty from the
Maricopa Community College District.
Laboratory sessions from junior high and high school teachers were conducted on June 19-20, 2000.
- Summer 1999: The July 14-15, 1999 laboratory session concentrated on providing junior high and high school teachers with materials on digital logic, which they can adapt for
their classroom.
- Summer 1998: The July 9-10, 1998 laboratory session was broken into two main components: (1) Software and hardware simulation of a digital lock using inverters
and a four-input AND gate, and (2) the static electricity and electromagnetism labs.
Last Updated: March 30, 2004
Original Page Development by: Matt Dayley and Keith Holbert
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