ECE 171: Introduction to Digital Circuits

Fall 1999

Rev: 10.18.99

Exam 1 Topics

This page lists the topics that may be included in exam 1.

Logistics

• Please turn off your cell phones and pagers during the exam.
• You are allowed a single double-sided page of notes or two single-sided page of notes.
• Count the number of pages to make sure you have all of them.
• Write your 6-digit code at the top of each sheet.

Topics

• Resistor Circuits
  This includes analysis of circuits with a single power supply and multiple resistors. You should be able to calculate the power dissipated, current, and voltage for each resistor.
• Resistor Color Codes
  You should be able to determine the value of a resistor from the colors marked on it.
• Logic Gates
  You should know all the different symbols for each of the 8 logic gates discussed in lecture. You should also know the truth table and boolean expression for each gate.
• Word Problems
  Given a design problem like the four discussed in class, you should be able to determine the inputs & outputs, create a truth table, write a boolean expression, and draw a logic diagram.
• Number Conversions
  You should be able to convert any number to and from binary, hexadecimal, and decimal. You will only be asked to do this for real numbers. You must be able to do this by hand using only basic arithmetic.
• Device Labels
  Device labels can be confusing, but you should know the five elements of device labels. You should also be familiar with the basic 54 series devices and 74 series devices discussed in class and in the book.
• Data Sheets
  You should know how to calculate the fanout, noise margins, power consumption, and propagation delays of a device given the data sheet. You should also know how to calculate these values for a specific circuit. You should also be able to determine if two devices are compatable given their data sheets.
• Tristate Devices
  You should know what tristate devices are, the traditional and standard symbols for these devices, under what conditions the outputs of tristate devices can be connected, and why they are used.
• Open Collector/Drain Devices & Wired Logic
  You should know what open collector/drain devices are and what happens when their outputs are tied together. You should also know the purpose of the pull-up transistors in these circuits.
• Buffers
  You should know how buffers can be used to increase fanout.
• Capacitors
  You should know why capacitors are used in logic circuits, that capacitors act like an open circuit at DC, and that "resist" rapid changes in voltage.
• Timing Diagrams
  You should be able to read timing diagrams to determine what a simple circuit is doing and be able to generate a timing diagram for a given circuit.