AS/A2 Electronics

AS/A2 Electronics
AS/A2 Electronics is the science underpinning much of the modern world. It uses simple components as building blocks for complicated systems with a huge range of functions. For instance a microprocessor is used in familiar devices such as i pods, mobile phones and even washing machines.Most of the course is taught through practical work, and the electronics laboratory is designed so that everyone has a space in which to work supplied with an oscilloscope, power supply and signal generator. You will have your own â€-bread board' on which to build and test circuits.

AS Course Content
The AS course comprises three units:
1. Simple systems
You will learn, amongst other things, how to build a sensor circuit which could operate a device such as a fan when the temperature gets too high. This would involve using logic gates, digital signals (such as those used in a computer) and a temperature sensor. You would make circuits which could produce a train of pulses continuously. You could hear this through a loudspeaker. Alternatively, you could build one which produces a single pulse for a fixed length of time at the touch of a switch. You will learn about analogue systems such as those which come from amplifiers.
Assessment: 1½ hour examination (37%)%
2. Signal Processors
You will learn how to design and build circuits using logic gates to store digital information as used in a computer. You will also use logic gates to build circuits which count. These could be used to make electronic dice or a device to produce lottery numbers. You will study a complete audio system starting with a microphone and ending with a loudspeaker which also has tone and volume control. You will design simple programs to control microcontrollers (pics) such as turning lights on and off.

Assessment: 1½ hour examination (37%)%
3. Design and investigate electronic circuits
You will design, build, test and analyse three different circuits. These will consist of a digital circuit, an analogue circuit and a microcontroller circuit, and analogue circuit and a microcontroller circuit. You will be asked to write a report of between 500 and 1000 words for each investigation.
Assessment: coursework (27%)

A2 Course Content
The A2 course comprises a further three units:
4. Control Systems
You will study MOSFETS (a type of transistor) and their uses. You will learn in detail how a microprocessor works and some of the digital circuits inside them. You will also learn more complex programing. You will, for instance, study servo systems that can control temperature as in a thermostat or the speed of a motor or the intensity of a light. You will also learn about power supplies and the need for isolating transformers.
Assessment: one hour 40 minute examination (37%)%
5. Communication Systems
You will learn about radio and TV and compiter communication systems including methods of sending several signals along the same wire. You will find out about the circuits behind these systems such as analogue to digital convertors and digital to analogue convertors.
Assessment: one hour 40 minute examination (37%)%
6. Design, Build and Investigate Electronic Circuits
This will be a whole project which you will design, build and investigate.
Assessment: coursework (27%)
Is Electronics for you?
You will enjoy and benefit from Electronics if you:

• are interested in how things work;
• can take a logical approach to problem-solving;
• enjoy practical work building circuits.

Electronics and your future
The study of Electronics is useful for anyone who wishes to work in any area of physics, engineering, computer science, design and technology and music technology. Many students go on to study Electrical/Electronic engineering at university and find that Electronics combines well at AS/A2 level with Physics and Mathematics, and also Computing, Media Studies, Music Technology and Design & Technology.

Minimum entry requirements :

Five Grade Cs at GCSE in appropriate subjects including Maths.
A previous qualification in Electronics is not required, although if you have studied the subject you will need to achieve at least a C grade.
You must have at least a C grade in both GCSE Mathematics and an appropriate GCSE science/science combination. Only science GCSEs which have a high proportion of external assessment will normally be considered.