VERSION 2 (V2)

75 minute test. Ten multiple choice questions. One 8.5x11” note sheet permitted (both sides). No
laptop computers. No credit for guessing - you must show sufficient reasoning, equations, and steps to
justify your answer. Circle the correct answer. I intended for the correct answer to be one of the
choices, but if not, then choose “other” (if provided) and write in your answer. Do not unstaple.
Synchronized starting. Seating assignments. No partial credit. If you finish more than 15 minutes
early, quietly turn in your test. Else, wait until the end of class to avoid disturbing others.

Problem 1. A MOSFET is operating with 5W of average power loss. The MOSFET is mounted on a
heat sink that has a thermal coefficient of 2.0°C rise/W. The ambient temperature of the room is 30°C.
The heat sink temperature is monitored by a thermistor (10kΩ @ 25°C) whose resistance variation is
shown in the table below. Compute the resistance of the thermistor at the operating condition described.
Temp T - ºC RT/R(T=25ºC)
0 3.28
5 2.55
10 1.993
15 1.573
20 1.250
25 1.000
30 0.806
35 0.653
40 0.532
45 0.437
50 0.360
55 0.298

a. 6530Ω b. 4370Ω c. 3600Ω d. 5320Ω e. Other _________________

Problem 2. A 2,500µF capacitor is charged to 32V and then connected across a load resistor R. The
response is shown on the oscilloscope snapshot below. Compute the resistance of load resistor R.
0.1sec/div

10V/div
0V

Values in Ω
a. R ≤ 25 b. 25 < R ≤ 50 c. 50 < R ≤ 75 d. 75 < R ≤ 100 e. R > 100
 VERSION 2 (V2)

Problem 3. A diode bridge rectifier has a 3,300µF capacitor and is powering a 10Ω load resistor. The
peak voltage across the load resistor is 40V. The AC input current waveshape to the DBR is shown
below. When the input current is not flowing, the capacitor is discharging into the load resistor, so that
the load voltage falls a bit before the AC current starts to flow again. Use the RC time constant of the
DBR and load to compute the minimum voltage VL that appears across the load resistor.
2msec/div

Values in volts
a. VL ≤ 30 c. 30 < VL ≤ 32 c. 32 < VL ≤ 34 d. 34 < VL ≤ 37 e. 37 < VL ≤ 40

Problem 4. The inductor in the circuit below is in periodic steady-state and has the current shown in the
graph. The circuit is delivering ripple-free current to a load. Determine the peak-to-peak value (i.e.,
max minus min) of the capacitor current.
3A
iin iL Iout

L + 2A
Vin id C Vout
iC
–
1A

0A

a. 1.0A b. 2.0A c. 5.0A d. 2.5A e. Other _________________

 VERSION 2 (V2)

Problem 5. In the circuit shown below, Vin = 40V, and L = 160μH. The inductor current is initially
zero. Then, at t = 0, the switch closes. Compute the time required for the inductor current to reach 10A.

–
iL L
Vin v
+

a. 40μs b. 16μs c. 10μs d. 25μs e. Other _________________

Problem 6. Consider the circuit shown above in Problem 5. Once the inductor current reaches 10A, the
switch opens, and the inductor current continues to flow for a while through the freewheeling diode.
The diode is not lossless. Its i-v characteristics are shown below. When forward biased, the diode has a
1V drop. Compute the time needed for the inductor current to drop to 5A.
i
0A

1V
0,0

a. 1.6ms b. 1.0ms c. 800μs d. 500μs e. Other _________________

 VERSION 2 (V2)

Problem 7. Two current sources combine in parallel to provide power to resistor R. Source i(t) is
periodic, and source Ix is constant. Compute the Ix that causes the average resistor power to be 80W.
i(t)
3A

2A
i(t) Ix R = 10Ω
1A

0A
2 = I 2 + 1 (ΔI )2
[Hint – for a sawtooth waveform, I rms ]
DC 12

a. 1.11A b. 3.11A c. 0.769A d. 2.77A e. Other _________________

Problem 8. Consider the circuit shown above in Problem 7. Assume Ix = 3A. Compute the peak
instantaneous power absorbed by resistor R.

a. 93.3W b. 160W c. 360W d. 253W e. Other _________________

 VERSION 2 (V2)

Problem 9. Assume that a solar panel is mounted horizontally atop ENS (i.e., is zero tilt angle). Your
kWh(longest day of year )
task is to estimate the panel’s ratio. Assume
kWh( shortest day of year )

• that both days are crystal-clear, with equally-intense direct normal W/m2, and practically no
diffuse-horizontal W/m2, so that
• the amount of solar power hitting the panel surface is proportional to the cosine of the solar
zenith angle (which is shown below for the longest and shortest days).

Neglect any temperature-related variation in panel efficiency. (Hint – the ratio of kWhs is the same as
the ratio of areas under the cosine curves)

Cosine of the Solar Zenith Angle for Jun. 22 and Dec. 22 in Austin

1
0.9

0.8

0.7
0.6

0.5
0.4

0.3
0.2

0.1
0
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Hour of Day (Solar Time)

a. ratio ≤ 0.6 b. 0.6 < ratio ≤ 1.0 c. 1.0 < ratio ≤ 1.5 d. 1.5 < ratio ≤ 1.9 e. ratio > 1.9
 VERSION 2 (V2)

Problem 10. An 80Vrms (i.e., 113V peak), sinusoidal, 60Hz voltage is applied to the triac light dimmer
circuit shown. Initially, the potentiometer resistance Rpot = 250kΩ, and there is no “firing.” With no
⎡ 1 ⎤
firing, the voltage across the diac is a phasor with expression Van ⎢ ⎥,
⎣1 + jωRC ⎦
where R = Rpot + 3.3kΩ. Gradually, Rpot is lowered until the peak magnitude of the diac voltage
reaches 35V, whereupon firing begins. Compute the R at which firing begins. (Hint – use the squared
magnitude of the phasor expression to find R)

100W light
a bulb b

3.3kΩ
MT2
+
80Vrms, 250kΩ c G Triac
60Hz linear MT1
– pot 35V bilateral
trigger diac
0.1µF
n

Values in kΩ
a. R ≤ 60 b. 60 < R ≤ 100 c. 100 < R ≤ 140 d. 140 < R ≤ 180 e. R > 180