Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Electronics

Understanding Signal Polarization

Signal polarization refers to the orientation of the electric and magnetic fields in space as an electromagnetic wave propagates.

Types of Electromagnetic Wave Polarization

Electromagnetic waves can exhibit different types of polarization, primarily categorized as linear or circular.

• Linear Polarizations: In linear polarization, the emitted signal maintains a constant orientation as it propagates. This type can be further differentiated into:
  • Vertical Polarization: The electric field oscillates along a vertical plane.
  • Horizontal Polarization: The electric field oscillates along a horizontal plane.
• Circular Polarizations: In circular polarization, the wave's electric field rotates as it moves through space. This means

Language Acquisition Theories

Imitation Theory

Children hear speech around them and copy it. When a child is raised in an English-speaking environment, they acquire English. Although, mistakes such as over-generalization ("goed" and "bes") are predictable and consistent.

Reinforcement Theory

Adults coach children when using language by praise and by correcting them. Parents may sometimes correct the truth of the statement rather than the form. The children's mistakes are often rule-governed (perhaps by always adding the suffix -ed to form past tense).

Active Construction of a Grammar Theory

Rules are hypothesized by the linguistic inputs recognized by children acquiring language. As children continuously receive language input, their language is... Continue reading "Language Acquisition: Theories and Stages of Development" »

**Listening: "Listen and Do"**

Listen and do activities require an action as a response. This allows you to immediately check if children understand or if they do not.

**1. Giving Instructions**

Some instructions that teachers can give to children in class are: "Okay, sit down, please," "Okay, everybody, stop talking now and listen carefully."

**2. Listening and Identifying**

When children do "listening and identifying" activities, they are practicing a basic language skill: listening, making sense of English words and phrases, and acquiring meaning and sound together.

For these activities, you can use the classroom and all the things the children can see, such as wall charts, pictures, or objects that children create.

**3. Listening and Doing: Total

Present Simple

Describes habitual actions, facts, and general truths.

Formulas:

• (+) Affirmative: Subject + Base Verb (+s/es for he/she/it) + Complement
  • Example: I play tennis. She cooks dinner.
• (-) Negative: Subject + do/does + not + Base Verb + Complement
  • Example: I don't play tennis. She doesn't cook dinner.
  • Note: The 's' is not added to the verb when 'does' is used.
• (?) Interrogative: Do/Does + Subject + Base Verb + Complement?
  • Example: Do I play tennis? Does she cook dinner?

Present Continuous

Describes actions happening now or around the present moment.

Formulas:

• (+) Affirmative: Subject + Verb to be (is/are/am) + Gerund (-ing) + Complement
  • Example: We are writing in English class.
• (-) Negative: Subject + Verb to be (is/are/am) + not + Gerund (-ing)

Problem 1: Calculating Clock Rate

When a program is run on Computer X, 50% of the execution time is CPU time. A better Computer Y reduces the execution time by 20%. It is known that Computer Y has a clock rate of 2 GHz, and it takes Computer Y 10% more clock cycles to execute the program. In addition, Computer Y can only reduce CPU time. What is the clock rate in GHz of Computer X? The answer must have exactly one digit after the decimal point, even if it is zero, e.g. 2.0 or 0.9.

[Clock Rate Y - (Clock Rate Y)(Clock Cycle % Y)] - [Clock Rate Y - (Clock Rate Y)(Clock Cycle % Y)][Computer Y Reduction Time]

2 GHz - (2 GHz)(10%) = 1.8 GHz

1.8 GHz - 1.8 GHz(20%) = 1.44 GHz

Answer: 1.4 GHz

Problem 2: Base-2 Fractional Number Conversion

When converting... Continue reading "Computer Architecture and Number Conversion Problems" »

Linguistic Definitions: Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics

Phonology: The study of the sound system of a particular language.

Morphology: The study of the form and formation of words in a particular language, including the arrangement of sounds into minimal meaningful units (morphemes) and the classification of words into parts of speech.

Syntax: The study of how words are arranged into higher units, such as phrases, clauses, and sentences, focusing on word order.

Semantics: The study of meaning.

Pragmatics: The study of language in use, including the function of language in its social context, covering a wide range of topics.

Implicature and Grammaticalization

Implicature: What the speaker means or implies rather than what he... Continue reading "Understanding Linguistics: Phonology, Morphology, Syntax & Semantics" »

Learner Needs

Learner Needs: When a learner learns a foreign language, he or she has various kinds of needs which influence his/her learning.

• Personal needs: need for praise, need to become more fluent.

• Professional needs: learning English to give presentations.

Approaches to Language Teaching

Approach: Our view of a language or view of how learning a language takes place.

• They involve our beliefs about teaching, language learning, and how we translate all of these into classroom practices.

Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP)

A common teaching sequence:

1. Presentation: of an aspect of language in a context that students are familiar with.

2. Practice: students do an activity to become familiar with it.

3. Production: students will use the language in

An electronic circuit is a combination of components that function as a whole to perform a certain treatment of electrical signals. Examples include generating radio waves, significantly increasing the power of the signal, and recovering images.
The active components are those that can generate, modify, or expand the electrical signal, such as batteries, generators, diodes, and transistors.
The passive components are those that provide no gain but consume electricity, such as capacitors, resistors, and inductors.

Integrated circuits are electronic circuits in which components are microscopic in size and are contained within a silicon crystal, called a chip. Each chip is enclosed in a plastic sleeve, and the sides have a set of pads that connect... Continue reading "Understanding Electronic Circuits and Their Components" »

Understanding Key Writing Approaches in Language Learning

The Controlled-to-Free Approach

This approach promotes precision, focusing primarily on grammar, syntax, and overall text structure. Students initially work at the sentence level and then progress to the paragraph level, which they manipulate with a specific goal. In this type of exercise, students are often asked to change singulars to plurals, alter temporal sequences, or combine sentences in various ways. This method enables students to write texts of reasonable length while minimizing errors.

The Free-Writing Approach

In this approach, more emphasis is placed on quantity than quality. Students are encouraged to write about any topic they are interested in without worrying excessively... Continue reading "Pedagogical Writing Strategies for Language Acquisition" »