ELECTRONICS
WAEC SYLLABUS ON BASIC ELECTRONICS
PREAMBLE
The syllabus is intended to equip candidates with broad understanding of the technology of manufacturing, maintenance and repair of domestic and industrial equipment. It will also offer candidates sufficient knowledge and skills to form valuable foundation for electronic-related vocation or pursue further educational qualifications.Candidates will be expected to cover all the topics.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the syllabus is to test candidates:(1) knowledge and understanding of the basic concepts and principles of electronics;
(2) ability to use simple electronic devices to build and test simple electronic systems;
(3) problem-solving skills through the use of the design process;
(4) preparedness for further work in electronics;
(5) knowledge in entrepreneurial skills and work ethics.
SCHEME OF EXAMINATION
There will be three papers, Papers 1, 2 and 3, all of which must be taken. Papers 1 and 2 shall be composite paper to be taken at one sitting.
PAPER 1:
will consist of fifty multiple-choice objective questions all of which are to be answered in 1 hour for 50 marks.
PAPER 2:
will consist of seven short-structured questions. Candidates will be required to answer any five in 1 hour for 50 marks.PAPER 3:
will be a practical paper of two experiments both of which are to be carried out by candidates in 3 hours for 100 marks.Alternative to Practical Test
lternatively, in the event that materials for the actual practical test cannot be acquired, the Council may consider testing theoretically, candidates’ level of acquisition of the practical skills prescribed in the syllabus. For this alternative test, there will be two compulsory questions to be answered within 2 hours for 100 marks.DETAILED SYLLABUS
TOPICS |
CONTENTS |
NOTES |
|---|---|---|
1. ELECTRON EMISSION |
Types of electron emission Application of electron emission |
Qualitative treatment should include : Thermionic emission; photoemission; secondary emission and field emission. Relate it to diode, triode, tetrode, pentode, and cathode ray tube. |
2. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS |
Concepts of measuring instrument Principles of operation and protection of measuring instruments |
Qualitative treatment only which should
include: Classification – analogue and digital Types and uses of multimeter, voltmeter, ammeter, ohmmeter, oscilloscope etc. |
3. SEMICONDUCTOR |
Concepts of semiconductor Semiconductor materials (silicon, germanium etc.) Doping Formation of p-type and n-type semiconductors. |
Qualitative treatment only. |
| SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES Concept of diodes Biasing of diodes |
Treatment should include operational
principles of diodes Type of diodes Diode ratings – voltage, current and power Application of diodes Construction of a simple circuit using a P-N junction diode Practical demonstration of I-V characteristics of P-N junction diode in the forward and reverse bias modes. |
|
| TRANSISTORS Concepts of transistor |
Meaning of transistor, biasing of transistor,
Uses and advantages. BJT characteristics Advantages of transistor over valves Formation, function and principles of Operation. Transistor as a switch, inverter, an amplifier Verification of BJT characteristics. Input, output and transfer characteristics Transfer configuration Qualitative treatment only – formation, functions and principles of operation Advantages over discrete components Advantages of MOSFET over BJT |
|
| OTHER SEMICONDUCTOR
DEVICES Thermistor, diac, triac and thyristor, etc |
Circuit symbols Principles of operation Applications. |
|
| INTEGRATED CIRCUITS | Application of integrated circuits Explanation of RAM, ROM and EPROM | |
4. CIRCUIT ANALYSIS |
ELECTRIC CURRENT Structure of atom Conductors and insulators Direct and alternating current Sources of direct current Sources of alternating current |
Qualitative treatment only Uses of conductors and insulators Differences between direct and alternating current |
| RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLTAGE,
CURRENT AND RESISTANCE Current, voltage and resistance. Ohm’s law Simple calculation of current, voltage and resistance. |
Construction of simple circuit to demonstrate Ohm’s law | |
| ELECTRIC POWER Concept of electric power Relationship between power, current and voltage. Other formulae for finding electrical power Calculation of electric power in a given circuit |
Qualitative and quantitative treatments | |
| CIRCUIT COMPONENTS Types of resistors, capacitors and inductors Symbols, signs and unit of measurement Colour coding and rating of resistors and capacitors |
Practical determination of the value of a fixed colour code resistor | |
| ELECTRIC CIRCUIT Electric circuit Circuit boards Circuit arrangement: series, parallel, series-parallel Calculation on circuit arrangement |
Carry out practical wiring of different circuit arrangement | |
| ALTERNATING CURRENT
CIRCUITS R-L-C circuits Generator principles |
Qualitative and quantitative treatments should
include - Concepts of capacitive reactance, inductive reactance and impedance - RL and RC circuits - Calculations of capacitive reactance (XC) and inductive reactance (XL) - Resonance frequency Principles of operation of an a.c. generator |
|
| POWER IN A.C. CIRCUITS | Qualitative and quantitative treatments of: - Power and power triangle - Power factor and its correction - Advantages and disadvantages of power factor correction - Calculation of power factor - Q-factor and bandwidth |
|
5. AMPLIFIERS |
VOLTAGE AMPLIFIERS | Biasing methods. Treatment of the transistor as
single stage. Common-emitter amplifier. Frequency response of an amplifier Advantages and disadvantages of negative feedback |
| POWER AMPLIFIERS | Classification: Class A, Class B, Class AB,
Class C, application, power gain, methods of
biasing and efficiency. Classification of power gain. |
|
| PUSH-PULL AMPLIFIERS | Qualitative treatment including matched and complementary pairs. | |
| OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIERS | Properties of an ideal operational amplifier Inverting and non-inverting operational amplifiers(op-amps) Types of operational amplifiers Applications of op-amps Simple calculations involving inverting, noninverting, summing amplifiers and voltage follower |
|
6. POWER SUPPLY |
D.C. POWER SUPPLY UNIT | Dry cells, solar cells, cadium cells,
accumulators Batteries: Rechargeable and non-rechargeable |
| RECTIFICATION | Qualitative treatment should include: - Rectification, regulation - Types of voltage regulator e.g. diac, triac, thyristor, series voltage regulator, transistorized electronic voltage regulator Functions of each block |
|
7. OSCILLATORS, MULTIVIBRATORS AND DIGITAL BASICS |
OSCILLATORS | Difference between positive
feedback(oscillator) and negative feedback
(amplifier) Principles of an oscillator Types of oscillators: Hartley, Colpitts, phase shift, tuned (load and crystal) oscillators Advantages of negative feedback Calculations involving negative feedbacks Block diagram of an oscillator Application of oscillator |
| MULTIVIBRATORS
(Non-sinusoidal) Principles of operation and applications |
Types of multivibrators (monostable, bistable and astable) | |
| DIGITAL BASICS Number system |
Different number system e.g. binary, octal and
hexadecimal Simple calculation in binary number Conversion from one base to another and viceversa Addition and subtraction of binary numbers |
|
| Logic gates(Combinational) | Qualitative treatments of AND, OR, NOT,
NOR and NAND Logic gates using switching arrangements, truth table and Boolean expression |
|
8. COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, TRANSDUCERS AND SENSORS |
Electromagnetic waves. characteristics of radio waves Principles of radio waves |
Relationship between velocity frequency and
wave length Meaning of radio communication Modulation and demodulation Advantages of F.M. over A.M. Phase modulation (mention only) |
| Stages of radio receiver | Types of radio receivers | |
| Fault detection in radio receiver | Advantages of superheterodyne over direct
input receiver Use faulty radio and detect and repair fault Project work on construction and designing of a simple radio receiver |
|
| Transmitters and receivers | Block diagrams of A.M. and F.M. transmitters Block diagrams of A.M. and F.M. superheterodyne radio receivers Block diagrams of mono and colour T.V.chrome receivers Functions of each block and direction of signal flow Qualitative treatment of T.V. standard (NTSC,PAL,SECAM,BIG) |
|
| Methods of Communication | Fibre optics, microwave, satellite, cellular phone, digital communication network, etc. | |
| Transducers and Sensors | Meaning of transducers and sensors Principles of operation Types and uses to include: Acoustic, dynamic electrostatic, electromagnetic, capacitive, pressure sensor, photoelectric, proximity sensor etc. Thermistor as a temperature sensing device |
|
| Acoustic transducer | Qualitative treatments only Types of acoustic transducers e.g. loudspeaker, microphone, earphone Principles of operation and function Application of acoustic transducers |
|
9. CONTROL SYSTEM |
Control Unit | Qualitative treatment only - Types of control circuits(open and close loop) - Principle of operation of open loop and close loop |
| SERVO MECHANISM | Qualitative treatment only - Meaning - Principle of operation, types, uses and application e.g. in car, doors, booths etc. |
|
10. MAGNETIC AND ELECTRIC FIELDS, ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION/TRANSFORMERS |
Electromagnetic field | Trace magnetic lines of force current-carrying
conductor Lenz’s and Faraday’s laws. |
| Electromagnetic induction | Definitions only | |
| Self and mutual induction | Calculations involving energy stored in a coil Applications of electromagnetism Electric bell, solenoid, loudspeaker, buzzer, moving-coil instrument, moving-iron instrument, earphone and microphone |
|