ECE 2120: Electrical Circuits II
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Idaho
Semester: Fall 2025
Instructor: Prof. Zain Ul Abideen
(zabideen@uidaho.edu)
Lecture: Tue & Thu, 2:00–3:30 PM PT, McClure Hall 415
Recitation: Wed, 10:30–11:20 AM PT, McClure Hall 415
Electrical Circuits II builds mastery in sinusoidal steady-state analysis, AC power, mutual inductance and transformers, three-phase systems, Laplace-domain methods, and frequency response and passive filters (Bode plots). Emphasis is on clear, professional problem-solving and translating theory to analysis and design.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Apply electric and magnetic circuit principles to analyze practical circuits.
- Organize, present, and document solutions professionally.
- Analyze circuits with sinusoidal sources using phasors and complex impedance.
- Work in both time and frequency domains; use Laplace transforms for transient analysis.
- Derive and use transfer functions; interpret Bode plots; design basic (passive) filters.
- Compute instantaneous, average, reactive, and complex power; apply maximum power transfer.
- Understand mutual inductance, energy in coupled circuits, linear and ideal transformer models, and three-phase balanced systems.
Textbook
Electric Circuits, James W. Nilsson and Susan A. Riedel, Pearson.
Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, Charles K. Alexander and Matthew Sadiku, McGraw-Hill.
Prerequisites
ECE 210 – Electrical Circuits I (or equivalent)
MATH 310 – Differential Equations (or equivalent)
PHYS 212 – Engineering Physics II (or equivalent)
Or instructor permission
Assessment & Grading
| Component | Weight |
|---|---|
| Homework | 15% |
| Recitation | 5% |
| Exam 1 (after Session 10) | 25% |
| Exam 2 (after Session 22) | 15% |
| Class project (after Session 34) | 15% |
| Final Exam (Comprehensive) | 25% |
Letter Grade Guidelines
- A: > 89%
- B: 80–89%
- C: 70–79%
- D: 66–69%
- F: < 65%
Week‑by‑Week Schedule (Fall 2025)
Lectures meet Tuesday and Thursday 2:00–3:30 PM (PT); recitation meets Wednesday 10:30–11:20 AM (PT). Fall recess is observed during the week of Nov 24–28 (no class).
| Week | Week of | Tuesday (Lecture, 2:00–3:30 PM PT) | Wednesday (Recitation, 10:30–11:20 AM PT) | Thursday (Lecture, 2:00–3:30 PM PT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Aug 25–Aug 29 | Session 1: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Sinusoidal Sources (Tue Aug 26) | Session 2: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Steady-State Response I (Wed Aug 27) | Session 3: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Steady-State Response II (Thu Aug 28) | |
| Week 2 | Sep 01–Sep 05 | Session 4: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Phasors (Tue Sep 02) | Session 5: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Passive Elements I (Wed Sep 03) | Session 6: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Passive Elements II (Thu Sep 04) | |
| Week 3 | Sep 08–Sep 12 | Session 7: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Circuit Analysis I (Tue Sep 09) | Session 8: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Circuit Analysis II (Wed Sep 10) | Session 9: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Phasor Diagrams I (Thu Sep 11) | |
| Week 4 | Sep 15–Sep 19 | Session 10: Sinusoidal Steady-State Analysis – Phasor Diagrams II (Tue Sep 16) | Session 11: Exam 1 – Module I (covers Sessions 1–10) (Wed Sep 17) | Session 12: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – Instantaneous Power (Thu Sep 18) | |
| Week 5 | Sep 22–Sep 26 | Session 13: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – Average & Reactive Power (Tue Sep 23) | Session 14: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – RMS (Root Mean Square) (Wed Sep 24) | Session 15: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – Complex Power I (Thu Sep 25) | |
| Week 6 | Sep 29–Oct 03 | Session 16: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – Complex Power II (Tue Sep 30) | Session 17: Sinusoidal Steady-State Power – Maximum Power Transfer (Wed Oct 01) | Session 18: Mutual Inductance – Coupled Circuits & Energy Storage (Thu Oct 02) | |
| Week 7 | Oct 06–Oct 10 | Session 19: Mutual Inductance – Linear Transformer Model & Dot Convention (Tue Oct 07) | Session 20: Mutual Inductance – Ideal Transformer & Reflected Impedance (Wed Oct 08) | Session 21: Three-Phase Systems – Balanced Three-Phase Sources (Thu Oct 09) | |
| Week 8 | Oct 13–Oct 17 | Session 22: Three-Phase Systems – Wye-Connected Circuits (Tue Oct 14) | Session 23: Exam 2 – Modules II–IV (Sessions 12–22) (Wed Oct 15) | Session 24: Laplace Transform – Definition (Thu Oct 16) | |
| Week 9 | Oct 20–Oct 24 | Session 25: Laplace Transform – Transforms of Common Functions (Tue Oct 21) | Session 26: Laplace Transform – Inverse Transform I (Wed Oct 22) | Session 27: Laplace Transform – Inverse Transform II (Thu Oct 23) | |
| Week 10 | Oct 27–Oct 31 | Session 28: Use of Laplace – Circuit Elements in the s-Domain (Tue Oct 28) | Session 29: Use of Laplace – Circuit Analysis in the s-Domain I (Wed Oct 29) | Session 30: Use of Laplace – Circuit Analysis in the s-Domain II (Thu Oct 30) | |
| Week 11 | Nov 03–Nov 07 | Session 31: Transfer Functions & Frequency Response I – From s-Domain to jω (Tue Nov 04) | Session 32: Transfer Functions & Frequency Response II – Magnitude & Phase (Wed Nov 05) | Session 33: Impulse Response & Frequency Response – Examples (Thu Nov 06) | |
| Week 12 | Nov 10–Nov 14 | Session 34: Project Handout – Linking Laplace, Frequency Response & Filters (Tue Nov 11) | Session 35: Frequency Response & Filters – Filter Types & Specs (LPF/HPF/BPF/BR) (Wed Nov 12) | Session 36: Frequency Response & Filters – First-Order RL/RC LPF & HPF (Thu Nov 13) | |
| Week 13 | Nov 17–Nov 21 | Session 37: Frequency Response & Filters – Second-Order RLC: Series & Parallel Resonance (Tue Nov 18) | Session 38: Frequency Response & Filters – Bode Plots I (Magnitude) (Wed Nov 19) | Session 39: Frequency Response & Filters – Bode Plots II (Phase & Resonant Response) (Thu Nov 20) | |
| Week 14 | Nov 24–Nov 28 | Fall recess – no class (Mon–Fri Nov 24–28) | |||
| Week 15 | Dec 01–Dec 05 | Session 40: Frequency Response & Filters – Passive Band-Pass & Band-Stop Filters (Tue Dec 02) | Session 41: Frequency Response & Filters – Passive Filter Realization & Practical Issues (Wed Dec 03) | Session 42: Frequency Response & Filters – Design Examples & Problem Session (Thu Dec 04) | |
| Week 16 | Dec 08–Dec 12 | Session 43: Frequency Response & Filters – Project Presentations / Review I (Tue Dec 09) | Session 44: Frequency Response & Filters – Project Presentations / Review II (Wed Dec 10) | Session 45: Course Summary & Comprehensive Review (Thu Dec 11) | No exams this week (University no‑exam week). |
Final Exam: During Finals Week (Dec 15–19, 2025), exact date/time per university schedule.
Professional Expectations
- Present solutions clearly with units, circuit sketches as needed, and stepwise reasoning.
- Follow recitation guidance for format and collaboration policy.
- Maintain academic integrity and professional conduct in class and lab.
Course Policy on AI & Tools
Any use of AI tools or unauthorized assistance on graded work is strictly prohibited. This includes large language models and code assistants (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, Claude), paraphrasers/re-writers (e.g., QuillBot, Grammarly compose modes), and step-solvers or answer sites (e.g., Photomath, Symbolab, Chegg, CourseHero).