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
Homework15%
Recitation5%
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).