Mia Klopfenstein

Final Exam Study Topics

Types of variables in an experiment
- Independent
o The independent variable is the variable that you change in an experiment.
- Dependent
o The dependent variable is the variable that changes based on the independent
variable.
- Control
o The control variable is anything that stays constant in an experiment
Dimensional analysis
- Conversions in units
Solving linear equations
- You know how to do this
Solving Quadratic equations – know all three methods
- Quadratic formula
o You know how to do this
- Factoring
o You also know how to do this
- Completing the square
o Rearrange the equation
 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑏𝑥 + __ = −𝐶
o Goal
 (𝑥 − 𝛼)2 = 𝛽 2
o FOIL’ed out
 𝑥 2 + 2𝛼𝑥 + 𝛼 2 = 𝛽 2
Electricity and circuits
- Know these concepts and their definitions and units
o Power (watts)
 Power is the rate at which the electrical energy is transferred within an
electrical circuit
o Resistance (Ω)(ohms)
 Resistance to electrons flowing through the circuit
o Current (A)(amps)
 Measure of the flow of electrons
 Rate of change of charge
o Voltage (V)(Volts)
  Measure of energy transfer per unit charge
 Similar to concentration
- Ohm’s Law
o V=IR
 V is volts
 I is amps
 R is ohms
- Resistors in series and parallel
o How to calculate equivalent resistance in both cases
 Series
 𝑅𝑒𝑞 = 𝑅1 + 𝑅2 + 𝑅3 + 𝑅4
 Parallel
1 1 1 1 1
 𝑅 =𝑅 +𝑅 +𝑅 +𝑅
𝑒𝑞 1 2 3 4
o Same current or voltage in all resistors for each case?
- Read a resistor color code, given a color chart for reference
- Kirchoff’s Current & Voltage Laws
o Current Laws
 For a closed loop, the sum of voltages in a circuit is equal to zero
 −𝑖1 − 𝑖2 + 𝑖3 + 𝑖4 − 𝑖5 = 0
 ∑ 𝑖𝑖𝑛 = ∑ 𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑡
o Voltage Law
 The algebraic sum of all voltages in a closed loop must always equal zero
 ∑𝑣 = 0
- How to use a multimeter to measure current and voltage
o Set the function selector switch to either resistance or voltage
o Connect the red probe to the VΩ port and the black probe to the COM port
o Touch probes to the testing points
- Describe the basic function of the following circuit components and be able to recognize
their symbols in a circuit
o Diode
o Light-Emitting Diode (LED)
o Voltage Source
o Resistor
Arduino programming basics
- Function of the setup() and loop() parts of the code
Materials science
- Composites
- The MSE tetrahedron (structure, properties, processing, performance)
Solving systems of equations and matrix algebra, including MatLab
Be able to write briefly about your ethics project and scenario
Important information to look for in a syllabus
Elements of a good presentation