Electronics & Microcontrollers
A high-school year of real electronics, from Volta’s pile and Ohm’s wires to the transistor, the soldered circuit, digital logic, the microcontroller board and the Raspberry Pi Pico: every idea told through the people who discovered it, worked with real numbers, and built and tested on your own bench.
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What to cover
39 of 50 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: Electricity Fundamentals and Safety
- MUST COVER 1.1 Volta’s Pile: Charge and Current · exam
- MUST COVER 1.2 Voltage and Energy · exam
- MUST COVER 1.3 Ohm’s Law: Georg Ohm’s Wires · exam
- MUST COVER 1.4 Power: Watt, Joule and Heat · exam
- MUST COVER 1.5 The Multimeter and Lab Safety · exam
Unit 2: DC Circuits
- MUST COVER 2.1 Series and Parallel: Edison’s Parallel Lamps · exam
- MUST COVER 2.2 Kirchhoff’s Laws · exam
- MUST COVER 2.3 Voltage Dividers and the Wheatstone Bridge · exam
- OPTIONAL 2.4 Reading and Drawing Schematics
- MUST COVER 2.5 Troubleshooting: Grace Hopper’s Moth · exam
Unit 3: Components
- MUST COVER 3.1 Resistors and the Color Code · exam
- MUST COVER 3.2 Capacitors and RC Timing: From the Leyden Jar · exam
- MUST COVER 3.3 Inductors and Relays: Joseph Henry’s Coils · exam
- MUST COVER 3.4 Diodes and Rectifiers: Fleming’s Valve · exam
- MUST COVER 3.5 LEDs and Current Limiting · exam
Unit 4: Transistors and Semiconductors
- OPTIONAL 4.1 Bell Labs, 1947: The First Transistor
- MUST COVER 4.2 The Transistor as a Switch · exam
- MUST COVER 4.3 Amplifiers, Simply: The Transistor Radio · exam
- MUST COVER 4.4 MOSFETs and Driving Loads · exam
- MUST COVER 4.5 The Integrated Circuit: Kilby and Noyce · exam
Unit 5: Building Real Circuits
- OPTIONAL 5.1 From Breadboard to Perfboard
- MUST COVER 5.2 Soldering Safely · exam
- MUST COVER 5.3 The 555 Timer: Hans Camenzind’s Chip · exam
- MUST COVER 5.4 Power Supplies, Batteries and Lithium Safety · exam
- MUST COVER 5.5 A Finished Soldered Project · exam
Unit 6: Digital Logic
- MUST COVER 6.1 Boole and Shannon: Logic in Switches · exam
- MUST COVER 6.2 Binary and Hexadecimal: Leibniz’s Ones and Zeros · exam
- MUST COVER 6.3 Logic Gates and Truth Tables · exam
- MUST COVER 6.4 Flip-Flops and Counters: Memory from Gates · exam
- OPTIONAL 6.5 From Gates to a Computer: Babbage, Lovelace and the CPU
Unit 7: Microcontrollers I: Programming a Microcontroller
- OPTIONAL 7.1 The Microcontroller Board and the IDE
- MUST COVER 7.2 Digital Output and Loops: A Traffic Signal · exam
- MUST COVER 7.3 Digital Input and Buttons: A Reaction-Time Game · exam
- MUST COVER 7.4 Analog Input: From Kelvin’s Tide Machine to the ADC · exam
- MUST COVER 7.5 PWM and Fading: Fooling the Eye · exam
Unit 8: Microcontrollers II: Sensors and Actuators
- MUST COVER 8.1 Sensors: Temperature, Light and Distance · exam
- MUST COVER 8.2 Servos and a Mechanical Automaton · exam
- MUST COVER 8.3 DC Motors and the H-Bridge · exam
- OPTIONAL 8.4 Displays: From Segments to the LCD
- MUST COVER 8.5 A Data Logger: Maury’s Paths of the Seas · exam
Unit 9: Raspberry Pi and Python
- OPTIONAL 9.1 The Raspberry Pi Story: Eben Upton and Cambridge
- OPTIONAL 9.2 Linux and the Command Line
- MUST COVER 9.3 Python Basics · exam
- OPTIONAL 9.4 The Pico and MicroPython
- MUST COVER 9.5 GPIO with Python: Buttons, PWM and the ADC · exam
Unit 10: Communication and Capstone
- MUST COVER 10.1 Serial, I²C and SPI: How Chips Talk · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.2 Radio from Marconi to Bluetooth
- MUST COVER 10.3 Wi-Fi Devices and Internet Safety · exam
- OPTIONAL 10.4 Capstone Design: Requirements, Budget and Schedule
- MUST COVER 10.5 Build, Test and Present · exam
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 33-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Day 1: Lesson 1.1 Volta’s Pile: Charge and Current: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 1.1: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 1.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 1.2 Voltage and Energy: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 1.2: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Day 1: Lesson 1.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 1.3 Ohm’s Law: Georg Ohm’s Wires: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 1.3: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 1.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 1.4 Power: Watt, Joule and Heat: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 3 | Day 1: Lesson 1.4: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 1.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 1.5 The Multimeter and Lab Safety: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 1.5: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 1.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 4 | Day 1: Unit 1 test Day 2: Lesson 2.1 Series and Parallel: Edison’s Parallel Lamps: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 2.1: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 2.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 2.2 Kirchhoff’s Laws: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 5 | Day 1: Lesson 2.2: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 2.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 2.3 Voltage Dividers and the Wheatstone Bridge: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 2.3: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 2.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 6 | Day 1: Lesson 2.4 Reading and Drawing Schematics: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 2.4: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 2.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 2.5 Troubleshooting: Grace Hopper’s Moth: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 2.5: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Day 1: Lesson 2.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 2 test Day 3: Lesson 3.1 Resistors and the Color Code: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 3.1: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 3.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 8 | Day 1: Lesson 3.2 Capacitors and RC Timing: From the Leyden Jar: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 3.2: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 3.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 3.3 Inductors and Relays: Joseph Henry’s Coils: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 3.3: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 9 | Day 1: Lesson 3.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 3.4 Diodes and Rectifiers: Fleming’s Valve: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 3.4: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 3.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 3.5 LEDs and Current Limiting: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 10 | Day 1: Lesson 3.5: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 3.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 3 test Day 4: Lesson 4.1 Bell Labs, 1947: The First Transistor: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 4.1: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Day 1: Lesson 4.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 4.2 The Transistor as a Switch: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 4.2: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 4.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 4.3 Amplifiers, Simply: The Transistor Radio: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 12 | Day 1: Lesson 4.3: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 4.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 4.4 MOSFETs and Driving Loads: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 4.4: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 4.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 13 | Day 1: Lesson 4.5 The Integrated Circuit: Kilby and Noyce: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 4.5: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 4.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 4 test Day 5: Lesson 5.1 From Breadboard to Perfboard: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 14 | Day 1: Lesson 5.1: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 5.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 5.2 Soldering Safely: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 5.2: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 5.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 15 | Day 1: Lesson 5.3 The 555 Timer: Hans Camenzind’s Chip: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 5.3: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 5.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 5.4 Power Supplies, Batteries and Lithium Safety: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 5.4: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Day 1: Lesson 5.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 5.5 A Finished Soldered Project: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 5.5: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 5.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 5 test | ||
| Wk 17 | Catch-up and review week (no new lessons) | ||
| Wk 18 | Day 1: Review day for the midterm Day 2: Midterm exam Day 3: Lesson 6.1 Boole and Shannon: Logic in Switches: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 6.1: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 6.1: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 19 | Day 1: Lesson 6.2 Binary and Hexadecimal: Leibniz’s Ones and Zeros: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 6.2: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 6.2: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 6.3 Logic Gates and Truth Tables: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 6.3: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Day 1: Lesson 6.3: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 6.4 Flip-Flops and Counters: Memory from Gates: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 6.4: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 6.4: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 6.5 From Gates to a Computer: Babbage, Lovelace and the CPU: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 21 | Day 1: Lesson 6.5: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 6.5: practice set and corrections Day 3: Unit 6 test Day 4: Lesson 7.1 The Microcontroller Board and the IDE: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 7.1: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Day 1: Lesson 7.1: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 7.2 Digital Output and Loops: A Traffic Signal: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 7.2: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 7.2: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 7.3 Digital Input and Buttons: A Reaction-Time Game: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 23 | Day 1: Lesson 7.3: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 7.3: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 7.4 Analog Input: From Kelvin’s Tide Machine to the ADC: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 7.4: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 7.4: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 24 | Day 1: Lesson 7.5 PWM and Fading: Fooling the Eye: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 7.5: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 7.5: practice set and corrections Day 4: Unit 7 test Day 5: Lesson 8.1 Sensors: Temperature, Light and Distance: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 25 | Day 1: Lesson 8.1: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 8.1: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 8.2 Servos and a Mechanical Automaton: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 8.2: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 8.2: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 26 | Day 1: Lesson 8.3 DC Motors and the H-Bridge: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 8.3: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 8.3: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 8.4 Displays: From Segments to the LCD: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 8.4: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Day 1: Lesson 8.4: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 8.5 A Data Logger: Maury’s Paths of the Seas: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 8.5: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 8.5: practice set and corrections Day 5: Unit 8 test | ||
| Wk 28 | Day 1: Lesson 9.1 The Raspberry Pi Story: Eben Upton and Cambridge: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 9.1: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 9.1: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 9.2 Linux and the Command Line: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 9.2: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 29 | Day 1: Lesson 9.2: practice set and corrections Day 2: Lesson 9.3 Python Basics: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 9.3: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 9.3: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 9.4 The Pico and MicroPython: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 30 | Day 1: Lesson 9.4: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 9.4: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 9.5 GPIO with Python: Buttons, PWM and the ADC: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 9.5: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 9.5: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 31 | Day 1: Unit 9 test Day 2: Lesson 10.1 Serial, I²C and SPI: How Chips Talk: video, teaching and worked examples Day 3: Lesson 10.1: build and notebook Day 4: Lesson 10.1: practice set and corrections Day 5: Lesson 10.2 Radio from Marconi to Bluetooth: video, teaching and worked examples | ||
| Wk 32 | Day 1: Lesson 10.2: build and notebook Day 2: Lesson 10.2: practice set and corrections Day 3: Lesson 10.3 Wi-Fi Devices and Internet Safety: video, teaching and worked examples Day 4: Lesson 10.3: build and notebook Day 5: Lesson 10.3: practice set and corrections | ||
| Wk 33 | Day 1: Lesson 10.4 Capstone Design: Requirements, Budget and Schedule: video, teaching and worked examples Day 2: Lesson 10.4: build and notebook Day 3: Lesson 10.4: practice set and corrections Day 4: Lesson 10.5 Build, Test and Present: video, teaching and worked examples Day 5: Lesson 10.5: build and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Day 1: Lesson 10.5: practice set and corrections Day 2: Unit 10 test Day 3: Review day for the final Day 4: Final exam | ||
| Wk 35 | Catch-up week: finish any MUST COVER lesson not yet done | ||
| Wk 36 | Year-end review, portfolio and records |
Grading: Practice sets (completed and corrected) 15%, Builds and portfolio builds (working, tested and improved) 25%, Engineer’s notebook (schematics, data, graphs, debugging records) 10%, Unit tests 30%, Midterm exam 10%, Final exam 10%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69. Below 60: review the unit, redo the practice set and retake an alternate test.