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Course profile

Fundamentals of Electromagnetic Fields & Waves (ELEC3100)

Study period
Sem 2 2024
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2024 (22/07/2024 - 18/11/2024)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Elec Engineering & Comp Science School

Fundamentals of engineering electromagnetics including transmission lines, time varying fields, plane waves, waveguides, radiation and basic antennas. Applications in area of communications and sensors.

Maxwell's equations represent a fundamental unification of electric and magnetic fields predicting electromagnetic wave phenomena by which all wireless (and guided) telecommunications systems operate. ELEC3100 provides the background to many continuing specialist courses that implement the results of this course, e.g. microwave engineering, photonics, fibre optics, radar, and antennas. The purpose of this course is to introduce electromagnetics from a wave viewpoint and give a unifying description both qualitatively and quantitatively of the subject, demonstrating how it impacts on all specialities within electrical engineering.

Changes based on student feedback

Feedback on solved problems has been addressed.

Course requirements

Assumed background

This course assumes you have a working knowledge ofᅠintroductory electromagneticsᅠas in PHYS1002. Students should also have completed or be familiar with the content of MATH2000ᅠ(Calculus and Linear Algebra II) or MATH2001ᅠ(Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra II) and MATH2010 (Analysis of ODEs).

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

(ELEC2003 or ELEC2300) and (MATH2000 or MATH2001)

Companion or co-requisite courses

You'll need to complete the following courses at the same time:

MATH2010

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ELEC7101

Course contact

Course staff

Lecturer

Professor Aleksandar Rakic
Dr Karl Bertling
Dr Xiao Guo

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Aims and outcomes

The goal of ELEC3100ᅠis to establish the fundamentals of distributed transmission media and to introduce basic electromagnetics as required by students in telecommunications, computing and other engineering based technologies.This course deals with the basic theory and practice relevant to all forms of electronic communications.ᅠ Illustrative examples taken from conventional (RF, mobile, microwave, and optical communications) and novel aspects of communications (radar, computer interconnections, mobile wireless systems, radio-telescopes, satellite communications etc.) will be given.

It is expected that upon successful completion of the course, students will:

  • Have a basic knowledge of engineering electromagnetics.
  • Know how to formulate and solve simple problems in electromagnetics.
  • Gain an understandingᅠof how other disciplines relate to the study of electromagnetics.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Analyse wave propagation on low-loss transmission lines by using analytical methods.

LO2.

Evaluate reflection coefficient for the line, power flow in the structure, transmission line impedance and characteristics of the load terminations of transmission lines.

LO3.

Design simple transmission structures.

LO4.

Analyse electromagnetic wave propagation in free space and guiding structures and analyse the interaction of electromagnetic waves with various media.

LO5.

Design simple electromagnetic guiding structures, and antennas.

LO6.

Explain how other disciplines relate to the study of electromagnetics and describe practical applications of electromagnetics.

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Tutorial/ Problem Set Assessed Tutorials
  • Hurdle
  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
40%

29/07/2024 - 21/10/2024

During tutorial sessions

Examination Final Exam
  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
60%

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Assessed Tutorials

  • Hurdle
  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
Mode
Oral
Category
Tutorial/ Problem Set
Weight
40%
Due date

29/07/2024 - 21/10/2024

During tutorial sessions

Other conditions
Student specific.

See the conditions definitions

Task description

These tutorial sessions are designed to provide a way for you to fill in any knowledge gaps you have from lectures and to adequately prepare you for the exam.

There will be 12 tutorials across the semester. Each tutorial will consist of several problems provided prior to the tutorial sessions. During the tutorial session, students will demonstrate a solution to one of the problems from the assessed tutorial problem set (excluding the Matlab problem), as selected by their demonstrator, as well as discuss the results of their Matlab simulation. A brief one-on-one discussion with the tutoring staff on the selected problem will occur, with the student being awarded between 0 and full marks. Each tutorial has a weighting of 4.0%. Students can accumulate a maximum of 40% from the problem demonstration. We will use your top 10 tutorials. 

One problem will be a simple MATLAB task. Either demonstrate this code running on your personal laptop (preferred) or print the output/results.

It is not expected that all students will have complete and correct solutions prior to attending a tutorial session. The expectation of students is that you will have made an attempt to answer all questions prior to your tutorial session and that you will work to correct any errors or misunderstandings of the course content during your session.

If you have fully completed the assigned problems and wish to get marked off at the start of the session, the onus is on you to demonstrate your understanding of the content to the demonstrator.

If you are having trouble with the concepts or any of the tutorial problems, feel free to remain for the full duration of the session. As the tutorial progresses and more people are marked off and leave, you will likely be able to receive direct attention from any of the demonstrators.

The assessed problem set will be provided weekly after the lectures, in the week prior to tutorial sessions. 

This activity will only occur during the tutorial sessions.

Hurdle requirements

In order to achieve a grade of 4 (Pass) or greater in the course, students must achieve at least 40% on Assessed Tutorials assessment item (16 out of maximum 40)

Submission guidelines

During the tutorial session, students will demonstrate a solution to one of the problems from the assessed tutorial problem set (excluding the Matlab problem), as selected by their demonstrator, as well as discuss the results of their Matlab simulation. A brief one-on-one discussion with the demonstrator on the selected problem will occur.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

No extensions available and 100% late penalty applied as assessment is completed in scheduled tutorial. To accommodate unforeseen circumstances such as illness, your assessment will be based on the best 10 out of 12 submissions.

Final Exam

  • Identity Verified
  • In-person
Mode
Written
Category
Examination
Weight
60%
Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

2/11/2024 - 16/11/2024

Task description

The 3 hour final exam will contain a mixture of short answer questions (question 1 - ten parts), and analytical questions (questions 2-5). 10 mins will be allocated for perusal. The final exam will assess material over the whole course.

Exam details

Planning time 10 minutes
Duration 180 minutes
Calculator options

Any calculator permitted

Open/closed book Closed Book examination - specified written materials permitted
Materials

Two A4 sheets of handwritten notes, double sided, are permitted

Exam platform Paper based
Invigilation

Invigilated in person

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Grade Cut off Percent Description
1 (Low Fail) 0 - 19

Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

2 (Fail) 20 - 44

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

3 (Marginal Fail) 45 - 49

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

4 (Pass) 50 - 64

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

5 (Credit) 65 - 74

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

6 (Distinction) 75 - 84

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

7 (High Distinction) 85 - 100

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

The overall percentage mark obtained in the course will be rounded up to the nearest integer number before the grade cutoffs are applied.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Having Troubles?

If you are having difficulties with any aspect of the course material you should seek help. Speak to the course teaching staff.

If external circumstances are affecting your ability to work on the course, you should seek help as soon as possible. The University and UQ Union have organisations and staff who are able to help, for example, UQ Student Services are able to help with study and exam skills, tertiary learning skills, writing skills, financial assistance, personal issues, and disability services (among other things).

Complaints and criticisms should be directed in the first instance to the course coordinator. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you may bring the matter to the attention of the School of EECS Director of Teaching and Learning.

Use of AI

This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

There is a large number of undergraduate textbooks in the library that cover most of the topics in this course. Browsing these occasionally may provide insights that help explain concepts better. Key words: electromagnetics, transmission lines, maxwell's equations, etc.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Filter activity type by

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Multiple weeks

From Week 1 To Week 3
(22 Jul - 11 Aug)

Lecture

Transmission Lines

Lectures (L)

General contact hours

Transmission Lines

Demonstrations (C)

Multiple weeks

From Week 2 To Week 4
(29 Jul - 18 Aug)

Tutorial

Transmission Lines

Assessed tutorials (T)

Multiple weeks

From Week 4 To Week 13
(12 Aug - 27 Oct)

Lecture

Electromagnetic Waves

Lectures (L)

General contact hours

Electromagnetic Waves

Demonstrations (C)

Multiple weeks

From Week 5 To Week 13
(19 Aug - 27 Oct)

Tutorial

Electromagnetic Waves

Assessed Tutorials (T)

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: