← Engineering Science syllabus

ScotlandEngineering Science

Area: Electronics and control

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How do RC circuits charge, discharge and filter signals, and how do we predict their behaviour over time and frequency?

The capacitor charge and discharge through a resistor, the time constant, and passive RC filters selecting signals by frequency.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on analogue signal processing, covering capacitor charge and discharge through a resistor, the RC time constant, and passive low-pass and high-pass RC filters that select signals by frequency.
15 min answer →

How do we describe, simplify and design logic circuits whose output depends only on the present inputs?

Combinational logic built from logic gates, described by truth tables and Boolean expressions, simplified using Boolean algebra and Karnaugh maps.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on combinational logic, covering logic gates, truth tables and Boolean expressions, simplification with Boolean algebra and Karnaugh maps, and designing a logic circuit from a specification.
16 min answer →

How do control systems use feedback to hold an output at a desired value, and what is the difference between open and closed loop?

Control systems described by the system model, the difference between open-loop and closed-loop control, and the role of feedback, the error signal and the components of a closed-loop system.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on control systems, covering the system model, open-loop versus closed-loop control, negative feedback and the error signal, and the comparator, controller, actuator and sensor of a closed-loop system.
14 min answer →

How is a microcontroller programmed to read inputs and drive outputs, and how do we plan that program?

Programmable control with a microcontroller: inputs and outputs, programs described by flowcharts and pseudocode, and the use of loops, decisions and sub-routines.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on programmable control, covering the microcontroller and its inputs and outputs, programs described by flowcharts and pseudocode, and the program structures of sequence, selection, iteration and sub-routines.
14 min answer →

How do op-amp circuits amplify and combine analogue signals, and how do we predict their output?

The operational amplifier as a high-gain difference amplifier, and the inverting, non-inverting, summing and difference configurations with their closed-loop gain relationships and saturation.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on operational amplifier circuits, covering the ideal op-amp, open-loop gain and saturation, negative feedback, and the inverting, non-inverting, summing and difference amplifier configurations with their closed-loop gain relationships.
16 min answer →

How do logic circuits store a state and generate timing, and how do counters and timers work?

Sequential logic with memory: flip-flops storing a bit, counters dividing and counting pulses, and astable and monostable timing circuits.
An SQA Advanced Higher Engineering Science answer on sequential logic, covering the flip-flop as a one-bit memory, counters that count and divide clock pulses, and astable and monostable timing circuits that generate pulses and delays.
14 min answer →