ELEC141 Digital Fundamentals – Unit Guide

ELEC141 Digital Fundamentals

2011 GUIDE
Unit Guide Section Page
Full unit title 2
Unit code 2
Owning Faculty 2
Teaching Department 2
Credit point value 2
Study period and year of offering 2
Name and contact details of Unit Convenor and all other staff involved in 2
teaching the unit
Whether the unit is co-badged and if so, the unit code and title of the co- 2
badged unit
Unit description 2
Technology used and required 2
Assumed knowledge 2
Expected learning outcomes 2-3
Graduation capabilities developed 3
Grades and final mark 3
Assignments 3
Tutorial/practical sessions 4
Laboratory note book 4
Summary of the assessment tasks students must undertake to demonstrate 4
their learning
What is required to complete the unit satisfactorily 4
Extension requests 4
Examination conditions 4
Supplementary examination 4
Text book 5
Reference book(s) 5
Notes 5
Required unit materials and/or recommended readings 5
Link to the University’s honesty policy 5
Link to the University’s special consideration policy 5
Short statement about any changes made to previous offerings of the unit 5
Timetable of lectures/tutorials/practicals 6-7

Certification
I certify that the attached Unit Guide complies with the Unit Guide Policy.

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 ELEC141 Digital Fundamentals – Unit Guide
2

Full unit title Digital Fundamentals

Unit code ELEC141
Owning Faculty Science
Teaching Department Physics and Engineering
(Electronic Engineering)
Credit point value 3
Study period and year of Semester 2
offering Every year from inaugural offering in 2007
Name and contact details of Convenor:
Unit Convenor and all other Dr Yinan Kong
staff involved in teaching ykong@science.mq.edu.au
the unit E6A 241 (office)
9850 1094 (phone)

Dr R Vesilo
rein@science.mq.edu.au
E6A233 (office)
9850 9133 (phone)

Tutors: TBA
Whether the unit is co- NA
badged and if so, the unit
code and title of the co-
badged unit
Unit description ELEC141 aims to provide students entering
university an understanding of digital fundamentals
forming the foundations for study programs in science,
technology, computing and engineering. ELEC141
would also be suitable for programs in commerce,
finance, economics, law, arts, etc providing an
introduction to the technology of computer systems.
ELEC141 provides a sequence of lectures and
associated tutorial and laboratory work on digital
fundamentals covering basic theory, digital devices and
procedures for the analysis and synthesis of digital
circuits and systems.
ELEC141 aims to give an appreciation of
hardware aspects of design, and provides the foundations
for more advanced units on Programmable Logic Design,
Computer Architecture, Computer Hardware and Digital
Systems Design.
ELEC141 includes six lectures giving overviews
of key areas of digital technology presented by either the
unit coordinator or guest lecturers.
Technology used and Logic trainers for digital fundamentals and
required small/medium-scale integrated circuits
Assumed knowledge None
Expected learning outcomes
1. Ability to evaluate alternative digital systems
 ELEC141 Digital Fundamentals – Unit Guide
3
based on criteria such as "propagation delay",
"clock frequency", "number of components",
"integration level"
2. Ability to synthesise "combinational circuits"
given "truth tables", and synthesise "sequential
circuits" given "state transition diagrams"
3. Ability to analyse Boolean equations and to
derive equivalent circuit diagrams
4. Ability to apply Boolean identities and Karnaugh
maps to the minimisation of digital circuits
5. Basic understanding of the functionality of
medium-scale integrated circuits, arithmetic-
logic-units of computers, memory systems,
analogue-digital converters
6. Knowledge of circuit characteristics (such as
voltage levels and noise margins) of some
families of integrated circuits

Graduation capabilities Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

developed Know how to design combinational circuit
Know how to minimise Boolean expressions
Understand functionality of MSI integral circuits
Know how to design sequential circuit
Understand circuit characteristics of IC's
Know how to synthesize digital circuit
Know how to use laboratory equipment

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

Understand capabilities of PLDs
Understand capabilities of SSI amd MSI ICs

Problem Solving and research Capability

Able to use logic and IC trainer
Able to design and implement digital systems containing
SSI and MSI integrated circuits

Creative and Innovative

Able to select IC type
Able to construct circuits using logic trainer

Grades and final mark The grades of Credit, Distinction and High Distinction
will be determined by setting “break-points” between
Pass/Credit, Credit/Distinction and Distinction/High-
Distinction. Linear interpolation will be used between
break-points. Performance in all of the assessment
components (practicals, assignments and examination)
will be used to set the break-points.
Assignments There will be three assignments. The assignments will
be available on Blackboard CE6.
 ELEC141 Digital Fundamentals – Unit Guide
Tutorial/practical sessions
Laboratory note book
Summary of the assessment
tasks students must
undertake to demonstrate
their learning
What is required to
complete the unit
satisfactorily
4
The due dates for the assignments are:
Assignment 1: 2 p.m. Wednesday, 16 March 2010
Assignment 2: 2 p.m. Wednesday, 6 April 2010
Assignment 3: 2 p.m. Wednesday, 25 May 2010
The dates will be confirmed during lectures. Lodge
assignments in the ELEC141 Assignment Box which is
opposite room E6A245.
You must sign each assignment as being substantially
your own work. This does not mean that you may not
consult staff or other students, but it does preclude work
that is blindly copied from others.
There are eleven practical sessions (each of three hours
duration) starting in Week 2. Students will work in
groups of two, and will attend one practical session in
each week. Most practical sessions will contain both
tutorial work and laboratory work. Students are advised
to attempt the tutorial work before attending each
practical session. On the completion of each session,
each group must complete and submit a “check-list” that
itemizes each section of tutorial and laboratory work.
Each item is to be initialed by the group members on
completion of the work. The check-list will also have (on
its reverse side) one problem for which the group must
solve. Your ability to solve this problem is considered an
important “outcome” of the practical. Your performance
as recorded in your copies of the practical notes and
summarized by your check-list will be used in the
assessment of your practical work.
Food and drink are not permitted in the laboratory.
Students will not be permitted to enter the laboratory
without appropriate footwear. Thongs and sandals are not
acceptable.
Each student must have a bound exercise book to be used
as a tutorial/laboratory note book. This book is to be
used for any preliminary work for the laboratory sessions
and for any designs or results recorded during these
sessions. On the completion of each session note book
entries must be signed and dated by a tutor.
Assessment components are:
Practicals (11 practicals @ 2.5%) 27.5%
Assignments 12.5%
Examination (3-hour, closed book) 60%
Pass mark in each of the assessment components
(practicals, assignments and examination)
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Extension requests Must be supported by evidence of medical conditions or
misadventure.
Examination conditions 3-hour, closed book
Supplementary examination Applications for a supplementary examination (based on
medical reasons or misadventure) will only be considered
if students have gained passes in both the practicals and
assignments.

Text book Floyd, T. L., “Digital Fundamentals”, 10th ed., (Pearson

Prentice-Hall 2009)
Reference book(s) Another book that follows the treatment of ELEC141
closely is:
Tocci, Widmer and Moss, “Digital Systems: Principles
and Applications”, 10th ed., (Pearson Prentice-Hall
2007)
Notes Tutorial and laboratory notes for the “practical” sessions
are available for purchase from the co-op bookstore.
Each student is required to have a copy of these notes.

Required unit materials Required unit materials:

and/or recommended Text book
readings Notes
Laboratory note book
Recommended readings
Floyd, Chapters 1-9 (covered in detail)
Floyd, Chapters 10, 11, 13 (overview lectures)

Link to the University’s www.student.mq.edu.au/plagiarism

honesty policy
Link to the University’s www.reg.mq.edu.au/Forms/APScons.pdf
special consideration policy
Short statement about any No major changes to previous offerings
changes made to previous
offerings of the unit
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Timetable

Week Lecture A Lecture B Practical

1 Introductory
Number Systems
Digital Concepts No practical
(Chapter 2)
YK (Chapter 1)

2 Logic Functions
Digital Codes Practical 1
IC Logic Gates
(Chapter 2) Number Systems & Logic Gates
YK (Chapter 3)

3 Boolean Algebra Logic

Practical 2
Boolean Identities Simplification
Boolean Algebra & Logic Gates
YK (Chapter 4) (Chapter 4)
Practical 3
4 Karnaugh Maps, Logic
K-maps K-maps
Minimisation and Circuit
(Chapter 4) (Chapter 4)
YK Implementation
(Assignment 1)
Practical 4
5 Combinational
Adders Combinational Circuit
Logic
(Chapter 6) Implementation Using Integrated
YK (Chapter 5)
Circuits

6 Adders/subtracters
Hamming Code Practical 5
Comparators
(Chapter 6) XOR Gate Applications
YK (Chapter 6)

7 Decoders-Encoders Multiplexers, Practical 6

Code Converters Demultiplexers Encoder/Decoder Circuit
YK (Chapter 6) (Chapter 6) (Assignment 2)
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8
Public Holiday Public Holiday
No Practical
No Lecture No Lecture
RV
Converting
between flip-flop
9 Latches types, flip-flop
Practical 7
Flip-flops applications and
Flip-flops
RV (Chapter 7) operating
characteristics
(Chapter 7)
Synchronous
Asynchronous counters (binary up
counters (binary up and down counters,
10 Practical 8
and down counters, non-binary
Adder/Subtracter and
non-binary counters), counter
RV Accumulator & Data Bus
counters) cascading and
(Chapter 8) applications
(Chapter 8)
Synchronous
11 Finite state Practical 9
counter analysis,
machine (FSM) Binary Counters & Multiplexer/
synchronous
RV design Demultiplexer Circuit
counter design
Shift register
12 counters & shift Practical 10
Shift registers
register Synchronous Counter Design
(Chapter 9)
RV applications (Assignment 3)
(Chapter 9)
13 Practical 11
Revision Revision Finite State Machines &
RV Shift Registers