DC Electrical Circuit Analysis: A Practical Approach

Reviewed by Mary Steigerwald, Associate Professor, North Shore Community College on 5/25/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book is very well written and an excellent resource. It provides clear and concise physics approach to understanding circuit components and the analysis of DC circuits. The physics approach is complemented with excellent explanations and examples of practical devices that go beyond just resistors, capacitors, inductors and dependent sources. The introduction section gives a clear and important review of numerical reporting including significant digits, resolution, scientific and engineering notation. The introduction also gives an excellent look at problem solving exemplifying the scientific method, critical thinking and logical fallacies. However, it does not discuss an engineering approach to problem solving methods. The initial chapters gently guide the reader though series resistive circuits, to parallel resistive circuit to series and parallel resistive circuits to advanced circuit analysis techniques. These chapters give a good practical understanding of many types of resistive devices as well as a great introduction to instrumentation and laboratory. Multisim is used to demonstrate circuit simulations of the examples solved. The textbook is great for an algebra based course. The current-voltage relationships of inductors and capacitors. only include the derivative relationship (not the integral relationship) and the relationships are given and related to the physics as as opposed to derived from KVL or KCL differential equations. RLC transient circuits are not covered in this textbook. For a course aligned with a calculus based curriculum some material would need to be added to the content delivery.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This book is an excellent and accurate reference. I only had a few problems with presentation of the content. In the chapter on series resistance, voltages and currents referenced in the problem solution were not labeled on the diagram. This problem was resolved in later chapters when nodes were labeled and nodal voltages or double script notation was employed. Another presentation weakness is that the unit of ohms (omega) is not presented on the circuit diagrams. I was also troubled by the use of epsilon as opposed to e for the exponential function.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This book relevant and remain so for long time. It is an excellent resource and could be used in an algebra based Engineering curriculum stand alone. I also believe it to be an excellent resource for students who what to learn electrical circuit analysis later in life. For a calculus based curriculum, it is a great resource, but missing key math integration and RLC transient analysis.

Clarity rating: 5

This book is very clear and well written.

Consistency rating: 5

The book maintains consistent terminology and style throughout making it easier for the reader to advance through the well organized topics.

Modularity rating: 5

The flow of content from chapter to chapter was in reasonable step sizes for learning. Each chapter was organized in a similar fashion.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The books organization, structure and flow was logical and clear.

Interface rating: 5

Navigating the PDF is straight forward. Some links to external sources are included and worked seamlessly as did advancing to links in the appendix.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book was very well written in terms of both grammar and composition.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I commend this book for referring to the RoHS directive (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and making reference to the environment in some of the reference links included. The voice in the text is clear and not offensive in any way.

Comments

Excellent free textbook. It has ample examples and many problems at the end of each chapter. There is also a Laboratory manual written by the same author to supplement the textbook.

Reviewed by Bill Nolan, Instructor, Aiken Technical College on 5/24/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Could use the addition of power factor correction and motors. Overall, a good selection of topics, so rating should be more like a 4.4 or 4.5.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

All problems worked out correctly.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Basic theory book, will not go obsolete.

Clarity rating: 4

Clarity is sufficient for good engineering program. Subject is presented a bit advanced for engineering technology and mechanical engineering (non-electrical) students. Magnetism, in particular, is a bit more detailed than it needs to be. An electromagnetism class usually covers magnetism in the detail covered herein.

Consistency rating: 5

Math level is appropriate for pre-calculus level. Explanations work at the pre-calc/calc 1 level EE student.

Modularity rating: 5

Well paced, typical of a good DC analysis book. Inclusion of some reactive components is a plus, but the presentation is a bit advanced for using for a EET class.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Typical of a good DC analysis book.

Interface rating: 5

Well edited, particularly for a "free" text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Well edited, particularly for a "free" text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Ohm's Law is outside of cultural considerations.

Comments

For a lecture & test source for instructors, it's pretty good. The reading level is more appropriate for EE than EET students. The book needs lecture supplementation and is not suitable for self learning.

Reviewed by Benjamen Taber, Adjunct Instructor, Central Oregon Community College on 1/5/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Friore has an excellent introduction, discussing not just the fundamentals of sig. figs., engineering notation, etc., but also critical thinking and the scientific method. The text covers the content of a first-term introductory electrical engineering course on DC electronics, hitting on all of the major learning outcomes with the exception of operational amplifiers (and logic circuits, if that's something you're interested in teaching).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This book is accurate, with only a couple errors associated with end-of-chapter exercises. The author and editors have done a thorough job with this text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Fiore's book is up-to-date, and its content and construction are such that the text will remain relevant for a long while. The author also maintains (frequently updates) several other textbooks in addition to this one--including laboratory manuals for both DC and AC electronics, and one on programming with C and Arduinos--that you can use to complement this textbook.

Clarity rating: 5

Fiore's prose is a pleasure to read. It is both fun and informative, and is clear with high information density. The text does a good job of using both words and mathematical expressions to describe important concepts and relationships.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent in terms of its organization, terminology, and voice.

Modularity rating: 5

Chapters could be reorganized or omitted as needed, and each chapter is split in to sections that can be easily broken-up without much disruption to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Fiore presents topics in a self-consistent, logical manner, and it is reasonable to organize the flow of a course based off of the text.

Interface rating: 5

The text has a clear interface, with not glaring issues or inconsistencies. The PDF version could use more navigational links beyond the ones from the table of contents to the start of each chapter, but it does include links to sources (ex. to Wikipedia for resistivity values).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Fiore's grammar is clear.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive but, largely as a product of its subject, it does not make use examples that include a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds (or, rather, examples that include these at all!). The instructor will need to ensure that they build an inclusive community of learning without relying upon this text to do the heavy lifting.