Circuit Analysis Question (Electrical Engineering majors holla)

[BruceZ]

Actually, even if you don't recognize immediately that all 5 resistors are in parallel, this should become clear once you try to solve the circuit. Since there are fewer nodes than loops, you would pick node analysis (kirchoff's current law - sum of currents leaving a node is zero). This involves writing an equation for each node at which you don't already know the voltage. At that point you would notice that there are actually ZERO nodes for which you don't already know the voltage since there are only 2 nodes all together, and both connect directly to the battery, so one has a voltage of 32 volts, and the other is at ground potential (0 volts). Zero nodes implies that all of the components have the same voltage across them, i.e. they are in parallel. So there is nothing to do as you already have all the voltages, and this means that you can solve for the current through each resistor. Since the only 2 voltages are 32 and ground, it becomes clear that each resistor is connected across the battery.

[AquaSwing]

I hate this crap. I had a couple professors who pulled this [censored] on exams to humor us. Now that I'm in the real world no one would ever present a circuit in that form so what's the point?

My last question on my last final my last semester was about being Gilligan Islanded with your pet pigeon. You were given a specific list of parts and had to come up with a simple transmitter to save yourself. Of course, I was drunk 45 minutes after the thing ended and came back to help proctor a junior level exam by the same professor. I ended up giving a whole bunch of people the answers to questions. Sweet revenge.

By the way, this really scares me:
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but I'm damn near positive the whole "path of least resitance" thing means that the current wouldn't even pass through R1, R2, R4 and R5 and would instead take this path:


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[BruceZ]

[ QUOTE ]
I hate this crap. I had a couple professors who pulled this [censored] on exams to humor us. Now that I'm in the real world no one would ever present a circuit in that form so what's the point?

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If you ever have to fix a circuit without a schematic, or even check a printed circuit board against a schematic, you would run into exactly this kind of problem.

If you know your stuff, you should prefer this problem to one where you actually have to do a lot of work.


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My last question on my last final my last semester was about being Gilligan Islanded with your pet pigeon. You were given a specific list of parts and had to come up with a simple transmitter to save yourself. Of course, I was drunk 45 minutes after the thing ended and came back to help proctor a junior level exam by the same professor. I ended up giving a whole bunch of people the answers to questions. Sweet revenge.


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How dare he try to separate the students who could think for themselves from the ones that just regurgitate information. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

A simple transmitter is just an oscillator and an antenna, maybe an amplifier. You can make a simple oscillator from an inverter with feeback through a crystal. Two or three components to match the antenna would be nice. What were the parts?

[bigalt]

[ QUOTE ]

By the way, this really scares me:
[ QUOTE ]
but I'm damn near positive the whole "path of least resitance" thing means that the current wouldn't even pass through R1, R2, R4 and R5 and would instead take this path:


[/ QUOTE ]

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haha, just don't hire him to hook up your bathroom wiring and you should be fine.

[AquaSwing]

[ QUOTE ]
If you ever have to fix a circuit without a schematic, or even check a printed circuit board against a schematic, you would run into exactly this kind of problem.

If you know your stuff, you should prefer this problem to one where you actually have to do a lot of work.

[/ QUOTE ]
True. Fortunately all I've ever had to debug were my own designs.

[ QUOTE ]
My last question on my last final my last semester was about being Gilligan Islanded with your pet pigeon. You were given a specific list of parts and had to come up with a simple transmitter to save yourself. Of course, I was drunk 45 minutes after the thing ended and came back to help proctor a junior level exam by the same professor. I ended up giving a whole bunch of people the answers to questions. Sweet revenge.


[/ QUOTE ]

How dare he try to separate the students who could think for themselves from the ones that just regurgitate information. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

A simple transmitter is just an oscillator and an antenna, maybe an amplifier. You can make a simple oscillator from an inverter with feeback through a crystal. Two or three components to match the antenna would be nice. What were the parts?

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Or you just write a note and send it home with your pigeon. The circuit and the pigeon answer were both right.