Extra Unit Book

1. Introduction

This extra Unit focuses on describing electrical circuits in English, which seems to be vital for you as a student of electrical engineering. The aim of this unit is to provide you with basic vocabulary related to this area. After you finish this Unit, you should be able to describe a simple series and parallel circuit, and talk about its elements and properties, including the properties of the individual electrical components. In addition, you will be provided with sufficient vocabulary to be able to compare and contrast series and parallel circuits and explain some related formulas.

Contents:

• Basic terms for labelling electrical symbols:

amp (ampere), current, resistance, voltage, volt

• Describing electrical components:

This part is made of two conductor plates with a non-conducting material between them, commonly called the dielectric

• Describing circuit diagrams:

In a parallel circuit, if one of the bulbs blows and the current can no longer pass through it, the current can continue to flow through the rest of the circuit.

2. Warm-up: Forum and Vocabulary

As you are currently studying electrical engineering, there is no doubt that you are familiar enough with basic electrical components and their connection in simple circuits. But have you had a chance to describe these simple circuits in English? Discuss four related questions in this forum. Answer at least two of the questions and respond to at least one contribution of a fellow student. After you finish, see if you know some basic terms to label some electrical symbols in English.

3. Reading: Current, Voltage and Resistance

Current, voltage and resistance seem to be three fundamental terms in electrical engineering. In this section, you will read about them in order to see how these basic electrical terms are described in English. First, read about the current here and then about the voltage and resistance here. As you read, complete the related reading-comprehension tasks.

4. Listening: Electrical Components

In this section, you are going to hear descriptions of some basic components of an electric circuit. Before you listen, label the components in this picture by completing this task. After completing the pre-listening task, listen to these recordings: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and match the components to the sentences in this task. Don´t forget to fill in the extra gaps. Finally, do this follow-up reading exercise.

5. Writing: Describing Circuit Diagrams

Now, you are going to see some of the components listed in the previous tasks connected in two different circuits. Look at this picture (from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zk37hyc/revision/2) and think about the answers to these questions:

1)      Which of the diagrams are conventional circuit diagrams and which are pictorial?

2)      What do the circuits consist of?

3)      How do you make the circuits work?

4)      How do A and B work?

5)      What is the difference between A and B?

6)      What happens if one of the bulbs blows out?

To answer the questions, fill in the description in this task.

Now, let´s have a look at three more circuits that are a little bit more complex than the previous ones: diagram 1, diagram 2 and diagram 3. Here is a set of questions concerning these three diagrams:

1)      What components do the circuits consist of?

2)      In what ways are the circuits similar and in what ways are they different?

3)      500 mA is the current measured using the ammeter. Is it possible to calculate this value instead of measuring it? If so, how?

4)      Suppose diagrams 2 and 3 are simplified versions of diagram 1. Why is the value across R₁₂₃ = 20 Ω? Why do electrical engineers sometimes need to do such calculations?

Answer the questions by completing this task.

Finally, it´s time to describe a circuit without any clues given. Just choose whatever electrical components you wish and draw a simple electrical circuit showing the wiring. Describe the diagram by answering the following questions:

1)      What components does the circuit consist of?

2)      How is it wired/connected? (in a series/in parallel)

3)      How do you make the circuits work?

4)      What is the circuit used for/in? What is the function of the individual components?

5)      What happens if you…(complete the question)?

6)      Are there any calculations needed? If so, please, specify + explain the reasons why.

Write a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 15 sentences. Submit the finished text via a Moodle portlet here

6. Vocabulary: Test Yourself

The final task in this unit is a short test. But do not worry: however it may seem to test your electrical knowledge, it is just here for you to revise the most important electrical vocabulary. Completing the task is quite simple: choose the correct option for each of the questions.

7. Word list

The key terms related to the topic of this special electrical unit can be found:

• in the Excel format here.
• in the interactive flash card format here. This format is particularly good for drilling the new vocabulary.
• in a zip file here. This file is downloadable, so that after unpacking it, you can drill the new vocabulary on your desktop, laptop or any other portable device where you have a browser installed. The recommended one is Mozilla Firefox. Important: after unzipping the zip file, make sure to keep all the related files in the same directory at all times. Do not change any file names and do not transfer or delete anything.

Recommendation: Remember that the best way to learn new vocabulary is to see each new word in a context; that is, seeing it in the contexts provided in the tasks you complete in the unit.

8. A printer-friendly version of this Unit

A printer-friendly version of this Unit exercises and the keys to these exercises can be found here.

The following links were used to prepare this material:

www.electronics-tutorials.ws/inductor/inductor.html

www.electronics-tutorials.ws/electromagnetism/electromagnetic-induction.html

www.electronics-tutorials.ws/capacitor/cap_1.html

sciencing.com/list-uses-capacitors-8059446.html

www.technologystudent.com

http://www.doctronics.co.uk/design.htm