How Can I Improve My Circuit Connection Skills in the Lab?

[jaska22]

Hi everyone,
I just wandered if you know of any materials or internet links that would help me with circuit connections in the lab. I seem to always mess up when I try to connect the circuit based on the drawn scheme.

I took Into to Electromagnetism last semester and would always mess up on the first try when setting up a circuit, and now in modern physics as well. But there is always one person in group that knows how to set it right. I asked them to explain it to me, but in next lab I make a mistake again.

I feel uncomfortable to ask professor to explain it to me again, I feel like I am missing some basic information to learn this, and really want to learn how to do it right.

Thanks
Jasminka

 

[MATLABdude]

Hi everyone,
I just wandered if you know of any materials or internet links that would help me with circuit connections in the lab. I seem to always mess up when I try to connect the circuit based on the drawn scheme.

I took Into to Electromagnetism last semester and would always mess up on the first try when setting up a circuit, and now in modern physics as well. But there is always one person in group that knows how to set it right. I asked them to explain it to me, but in next lab I make a mistake again.

I feel uncomfortable to ask professor to explain it to me again, I feel like I am missing some basic information to learn this, and really want to learn how to do it right.

Thanks
Jasminka

If I understand correctly, all I can really suggest is practice, practice, practice! That and practice drawing circuit diagrams (which will help you better see how circuits are put together). That's the only way you can get better at this. Very few people are experts at this right from the start.

P.S. You don't need to ask the prof; that's what the lab TA is there for (but, as a lab TA, please don't ask the same thing every week for the entire semester!) If this is a circuits course, they'll also provide another set of eyes in debugging circuits.