Sophomore Class The sophomore class starts the year off continuing the previous lab manual assigned. As stated earlier, the sophomores will shortly move on to the next book, Semiconductor Devices. This book is most likely more confusing than anything this class will see until after high school and is therefore used for the next two years. It will consist of twenty laboratory assignments and ten unit examinations. The lab assignments are as follows: 1. Lab Equipment Survey 2. Semiconductor Diode Characteristics 3. Testing Semiconductor Devices 4. Diode Rectifiers 5. Zener Diodes 6. Testing Bipolar Transistors 7. Common Emitter Amplifier Characteristics I 8. Common Base Amplifier Characteristics 9. Common Emitter Amplifier Characteristics II 10. Common Collector Amplifier Characteristics 11. PNP Transistor Amplifier 12. Junction FET Characteristics 13. Insulated Gate FET Characteristics* 14. SCR Characteristics 15. UJT Characteristics 16. Introduction to Digital ICs 17. Operational Amplifiers 18. Phototransistor Characteristics 19. LED Characteristics 20. Combining Solid State Components (Heathkit Company, Inc. 2001 Semiconductor Devices, Workbook 3) The first laboratory assignment will give the students a chance to go over the tools and equipment that they will use on this next level of electronics. The second laboratory experiment will introduce yet another area of electronics, diodes. Exp three will show the students how to troubleshoot diodes and semiconductor devices. Exp four will teach the students how to create full and half wave rectifiers, using diodes. Exp five introduces another section of diodes, the Zener. This experiment verifies the Zener’s use as a voltage regulator (57). Exp six teaches the student how to check the type of transistor they are using. Exp seven through eleven show how to create amplifier circuits using different sections of a transistor. Exp twelve moves on to, once again, another section of transistors, the Junction FET (JFET). This experiment shows how to calculate the JFET’s transconductance. Exp thirteen steps up to the Insulated Gate FET (IGFET). The purpose of this lab is to demonstrate the basic operation of the IGFET. Exp fourteen demonstrates a practical application of the SCR (129). Exp fifteen demonstrates the operation of a unijunction transistor (UJT) (139). Exp sixteen begins to prepare students for their senior year. It demonstrates the action of a typical NAND state and the complementary outputs of a digital device (147). Exp seventeen digs deeper into the digital section of electronics by introducing operational amplifiers (op amps). An op amp is an IC that takes a signal and magnifies it. Exp eighteen demonstrates the operation of a phototransistor and introduces light sensitive devices (163). Exp nineteen introduces Light Emitting Diodes (LED). These are diodes that, obviously, produce light. This experiment also helps students to identify the LED’s anode and emitter (cathode) (171). Exp twenty demonstrates how to use the three basic types of solid-state components in a circuit (177).