Digital Electronics
High school students involved in PLTW strive to complete a minimum of the three foundation courses, one specialization course, and the capstone course. The Pathway To Engineering system works in any standard four-year sequence and prepares students for two-or four-year college studies in engineering and E/T try exposing them to the true scope of the field. Most courses can earn course credit at accreditied colleges and universities.
Digital Electronics teaches applied logic through work with electronic circuitry, which students also construct and test for functionality.
Unit 1: Fundamentals
Section 1.1 Safety
Section 1.2 Basic Electron Theory
Section 1.3 Prefixs, Engineering Notation
Section 1.4 Resistors
Section 1.5 Laws
Section 1.6 Capacitance
Section 1.7 Analog and Digital Waveforms
Section 1.8 Obtaining Data Sheets
Unit 2: Number Systems
Section 2.1Conversions
Unit 3: Gates
Section 3.1 Logic Gates
Unit 4: Boolean Algebra
Section 4.1 Boolean Expression
Section 4.2 Logic Simplifications
Section 4.3 Duality of Logic Functions
Unit 5: Combinational Circuit Design
Section 5.1 Paradigm for Combinational Logic Problems
Section 5.2 Specific Application MSI Gates
Section 5.3 Programmable Logic Devices (PLD)
Unit 6: Addding
Section 6.1 Binary Addition
Unit 7: Flip-Flops
Section 7.1 Introduction to Sequential Logic
Section 7.2 The J-K Flip-Flop
Section 7.3 Triggers
Section 7.4 Flip-Flop Timing Considerations
Section 7.5 Elementary Applications of Flip-Flops
Unit 8: Shift Registers and Counters
Section 8.1 Shift Registers
Section 8.2 Asynchronous Counters
Section 8.3 Synchronous Counters
Unit 9: Families and Specifications
Section 9.1 Logic Families
Section 9.2 Spec Sheets
Unit 10: Microprocessors
Section 10.1 Microcontrollers
Section 10.2 Interfacing with Motors
Unit 11: Student Directed Study Topics
Section 11.1 Design Paradigm
Most of the laboratory activities in Digital Electronics are hands-on. Students follow circuit design processes that involve applied Algebra and Boolean Logic to determine proper equations for a given circuit. The circuit is then drawn by hand with electronic symbols before the use of a computer simulated testing. When the design is approved, students simulate and test the circuit to further investigate the effectiveness their particular design. The final step is to build the circuit with actual hardware inclusive of electronic components..