Applications of the Laplace Transform

← Back to Fundamentals of Electric Circuits Overview

Applications of the Laplace Transform

Communication skills are the most important skills any engineer can have. A very critical element in this tool set is the ability to ask a ques tion and understand the answer, a very simple thing and yet it may make the difference between success and failure!

—James A. Watson

Enhancing Your Skills and Your Career

Asking Questions

In more than 30 years of teaching, I ha ve struggled with determining ho w best to help students learn. Regardless of how much time students spend in studying for a course, the most helpful activity for students is learning how to ask questions in class and then asking those questions. The student, by asking questions, becomes actively involved in the learning process and no longer is merely a passive receptor of information. I think this acti ve involvement contributes so much to the learning process that it is probably the single most important aspect to the de velopment of a modern engineer . In fact, asking questions is the basis of science. As Charles P. Steinmetz rightly said, “No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions.”

It seems very straightforward and quite easy to ask questions. Have we not been doing that all our li ves? The truth is to ask questions in an appropriate manner and to maximize the learning process tak es some thought and preparation.

I am sure that there are se veral models one could ef fectively use. Let me share what has w orked for me. The most important thing to k eep in mind is that you do not ha ve to form a perfect question. Because the question-and-answer format allows the question to be developed in an iterative manner, the original question can easily be refined as you go. I frequently tell students that they are most welcome to read their questions in class.

Here are three things you should keep in mind when asking questions. First, prepare your question. If you are lik e many students who are either shy or ha ve not learned to ask questions in class, you may wish to start with a question you ha ve written down outside of class. Second, w ait for an appropriate time to ask the question. Simply use your judgment on that. Third, be prepared to clarify your question by paraphrasing it or saying it in a different way in case you are asked to repeat the question.

Photo by Charles Alexander

Learning Objectives

By using the information and exercises in this chapter you will be able to:

• 1. Understand and use effectively circuit element models in the s-domain.
• 2. Understand how to perform circuit analysis in the s-domain and how to transform the results back into the time domain.
• 3. Understand what a transfer function is and how it is used.
• 4. Understand state variables and how to apply and use them in circuit analysis.

One last comment: Not all professors like students to ask questions in class even though they may say the y do. You need to find out which professors like classroom questions. Good luck in enhancing one of your most important skills as an engineer.