3.2: Structure and Format- Outlining the Speech
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to
- Determine the general and specific purpose of a presentation.
- Create a captivating speech introduction, body, and conclusion.
- Support ideas and arguments through cited research.
- Differentiate between preparation outlines and presentation notes.
Imagine that you are about to enter a building for a job interview. You open the front door and walk straight into the bathroom.  You walk through that door, and you are now in some type of gymnasium. There is a woman in the room, running on a treadmill, and you approach her to ask for help. “Excuse me,” you say. “I’m here for a job interview. Do you know where I can find the Human Resources Department?” “Sure,” the woman replies. “Just climb through that window and head down the hallway.” She points to the window on the far wall, and you walk over to it. It seems crazy, but the window does overlook a hallway with an office at the end. There doesn’t appear to be any other exit from the room you are in. So, you open the window, lift yourself up, and carefully climb through to the hallway on the other side. At the end of the hallway is a door whose small sign you can now read: “Human Resources.” At last, you’ve made it to your interview, but now you have some grave concerns. What type of company would have their employees work in a building like this? How will you connect with the people and resources you need to do your job in such a crazy setup?
Just as a building has structure and an overall plan to guide people through the space in a logical way, you will need an outline for your speech to provide a framework for your ideas and to help your audience see how these ideas connect to create your overall message. Additionally, similar to the way people have expectations for what they will experience when walking into a building, your audience will have some expectations about how your speech will unfold. When these expectations are not met, such as in the example earlier, when you entered the door expecting to see a receptionist and were instead met with a toilet, your audience may find it jarring or uncomfortable if your speech does not have a recognizable introduction or conclusion, or if you abruptly jump from subtopic to subtopic without notice.
In this chapter, we’ll look at how to create an outline to guide your audience through your points in an organized format for a well-structured speech. In a professional setting, most speakers outline their speeches far enough in advance of their presentation date so that they have time to practice their performance and become comfortable with the material. Creating an outline will help you feel confident during your speech, because you took the time to carefully plan out what you desired to say. This leaves you free to focus on your delivery—how you say it—during your speech.
This chapter will first walk you through all the different parts of a speech outline, and it will then show you how a formal outline can be translated into less cumbersome speaking notes.
The Speech Topic
One of the hardest parts of the speech assignment for students is choosing a topic with which to work with. Oftentimes, as soon as you begin drafting an outline for a chosen topic, other topics will start to look more and more appealing, and you will want to change to a new topic. Resist this impulse, if you can! Many speech students have lost points on late assignments because they kept changing their mind about what to speak about. Once you begin working with a topic (approved by your instructor, when applicable), commit to it. Your instructor can help you navigate through the challenges of a topic with which that you are struggling with. Remember, your research and your speech delivery can make almost any topic engaging for the audience.
 Is it a speech intended to inform your audience? Is it a speech where you will be persuading the audience? Or, is the speech designed for entertainment purposes? You will need to know what kind of speech you are giving before you do any other work on this assignment. To make sure that you are aware of the overall goal of the speech, your instructor may ask you to include the general purpose on your outline. There are three basic general purposes that apply to speech presentations: to inform, persuade, or entertain. An informative speech requires you to give a neutral, unbiased perspective to the audience, while a persuasive speech attempts to change an audience’s beliefs, feelings, or actions. An entertainment speech is used to celebrate or commemorate something or as part of a ceremony.
In addition to the general purpose, each speech will also have a corresponding specific purpose. The specific purpose identifies what you would like to leave the audience with after your speech. For example, the specific purpose for an i nformative speech about the pyramids of Giza, Egypt might read: To inform my audience about when and how the pyramids of Giza were built and what they look like today . A specific purpose for a persuasive speech about organ donation might read: To persuade my audience to register as organ donors.
Some professors might prefer that you submit a purpose statement in lieu of a specific purpose. The purpose statement identifies your goal for the audience. Using the example informative speech topic above on the pyramids of Giza, Egypt, your purpose statement might read: At the end of my speech, my audience will know when and how the pyramids of Giza were built and what they look like today. The organ donation speech might have the following purpose statement: At the end of my speech, my audience members will register as organ donors .
The Central Idea
Once you know your topic and your purpose, it’s time to brainstorm the key message of your speech. This message is known as the central idea, and it serves as a thesis for your presentation. Your instructor may ask you to include a central idea on your outline. Creating a central idea is good practice, because it shows that you can state the main ideas of the speech in one sentence. A central idea elaborates on the speech purpose.
For a persuasive speech, the central idea includes what we’re persuading the audience about, and why our viewpoint is correct. For example: Everyone should register as an organ donor because it’s easy to do, and it could save or drastically improve someone’s life at no cost to the donor.
For an informative speech, the central idea is a summary thesis, and it gives the main ideas of the speech in one strong statement. For example: The pyramids of Giza, Egypt, were built by hand over six thousand years ago, and their outer structures and inner chambers are mostly intact today.
A strong central idea should have the following three characteristics:
- It should be a complete sentence.
- It should make a statement, not ask a question.
- It should encapsulate each main idea.
The Speech Introduction
Although your instructor may ask you to include the topic, general purpose, specific purpose, and central idea on your speech outline, you actually won’t share these with your audience as part of your speech. Instead, your presentation to the class should begin with your introduction. The introduction and the conclusion are the most important parts of your speech, because they are the parts that your audience is most likely to remember. Thus, the structure and development of these two parts is crucial to the success of your speech. Your speech introduction should do the following five things:
- Begin with an attention-getter.
- Introduce yourself and your topic.
- Include a statement of credibility/interest.
- Relate the topic to your audience.
- Preview your main ideas.
The Attention-Getter
The first—and most important—thing you can do in a speech introduction is to captivate your audience and interest them in your speech topic. It is much easier to keep someone’s attention than to fight to regain it, so the attention-getter is the first part of your speech that your audience will hear.
There are lots of ways you can help your topic appeal to your listeners. One classic example is to tell a short story. This can either be a personal story, or you can recount a story you heard or read somewhere that leads into your topic. A story can help personalize your topic for the audience and bring in a human connection.
Another way to draw attention to your topic is to startle your audience with a shocking statistic or example that they won’t be expecting. Be careful with this technique. If the audience is already familiar with your “shocking” material, your attention-getter could backfire, and you may end up losing the attention of your audience instead of gaining it.
Many students like to begin their speeches by asking a series of rhetorical questions. This requires the audience to think about the speech topic and make personal applications. If you start your speech in this way, make sure that you ask a few questions. One is rarely enough to generate interest in the topic. Also, the questions should make the audience ponder something. Suppose I began my speech with, “How many of you like lemons? Well, today I’m going to inform you about Miracle Berries.” Did that get your attention? Not likely. Are you excited to hear more about my topic? It’s doubtful. Let’s try that again. “By show of hands, who here likes drinking lemonade? Okay, now who likes having a slice or two of lemons in their drinking water? Now, how many of you would enjoy snacking on slices of lemon—no sugar added? Well, what if I told you there was a way to make lemons taste intensely sweet, without adding any sugar? Today, I’m going to tell you about Miracle Berries. . . .” When using questions as an attention-getter, you might consider incorporating a silent survey. This is where you have your audience answer your questions in a physical way, such as by raising a hand. If students answer your questions vocally, the attention-getter will likely go on for far too long. A silent survey keeps the entire audience involved, without letting the audience take over your speech.
Additionally, you could begin with a powerful quote that ties into your topic. Make sure that you tell the audience where the quote comes from. If the source of the quote is someone that your audience is not likely to be familiar with, you may need to contextualize the source and explain why the words of this person are relevant. For example, if I began my speech, “‘Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society,’ as Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior said . . . ,” your audience might wonder, Who is this person? Nobody knows, so nobody cares. I should contextualize this source, by saying something like, “According to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior . . .” Now my audience will understand why the person who spoke these words is relevant.
You might also try to get the audience’s attention by making them curious about your topic. Give them some clues, and see if they can guess what your topic will be from these clues. Be sure to take a moment and celebrate with them when they finally guess correctly!
Finally, you can begin your speech with some audience participation. Just make sure this is carefully planned and not too complicated. You don’t want the attention-getter to take up all the allotted time for your speech. One student began her informative presentation by having everyone write down five numbers, between zero and nine, in any order, with no repeats. She then held a mini lottery for the class by randomly drawing numbers from a hat and giving a small prize to the student whose written-down numbers were the closest to the drawn ones. This was an exciting way to begin a speech on the New York Lottery.
The attention-getter of the speech is arguably the most important part of the presentation. If you don’t capture the audience’s attention, they are less likely to take in the rest of your speech. Thus, it is worthwhile to spend some time developing an engaging attention-getter that you are comfortable delivering.
Introducing Yourself and Your Topic
Now that your audience is focused and interested in what you have to say, you should share with them who you are, and what you will be speaking to them about. This is especially important if you have used a detailed or complex attention-getter, where it may be necessary to clarify your actual topic for the audience.
Statement of Credibility/Interest
Once you have piqued the interest of your audience, and they know who you are and what you’ll be speaking about, it’s time to gain their trust. What makes you a credible speaker on this topic? Share with the audience why you chose this particular subject, and any personal experience you have with it. For example, if I were giving an informative speech on lacrosse, I might say, “I was first exposed to lacrosse in middle school, and I went on to play the sport for all four years of high school. Our team was very successful, and we won several championships.”
However, you might give a speech on a topic with which you have had no direct experience. Never fear! You can also tell the audience about the kinds of research you have done to prepare yourself to speak on this subject. For example: “Although I’ve never actually played lacrosse, I’ve always been curious about it. I began preparing for this speech by watching videos online to understand how the sport is played, and I found some great articles to help me understand its history and development.”
Sharing your interest in this topic, along with your experience with it, or an explanation of your research process will show the audience that you are a credible speaker on this topic and someone worth listening to.
Relating the Topic to Your Audience
The next step is to help the audience see how they can relate to the topic you have chosen. Be creative! This can be a challenging step, and it requires some critical thinking.  Well, this is an easy one, because almost everyone in your audience will be a college student, and most people like to save money. Now, imagine that you are giving a speech to inform your audience about conjoined twins. It is unlikely that you will have many pairs of conjoined twins in your audience, so how can you make this topic relatable? You might start with the idea that many audience members may want to have children (or more children) someday, or they may know people who plan to have children. It’s important to be informed about a condition that could affect these future children. Also, you could take the angle that we live in a complex world, and we have to deal with lots of different kinds of people. Understanding more about the conditions of people different from ourselves can help us develop empathy. Almost any topic can relate to your audience, but some will take more work than others.
Previewing your Main Ideas
For the final part of the speech introduction, you’ll give your audience a summary of what you’ll specifically be talking about in this speech. This is different from introducing yourself and your topic. There, you might tell the audience that you’ll be informing them about the axolotl. In the preview, you’ll let them know that this speech will describe the physical appearance of the axolotl, where it lives, and how it regenerates different parts of its body. The preview is given at the end of the introduction to help the audience pace the speech. For the example above, when you come to the part about the axolotl regenerating, the audience will know that the speech is almost done. It also helps your audience to know what they should be focusing on during your speech, and what the takeaway will be.
The speech introduction is the foundation of your presentation, and it’s important to ensure that this foundation is sturdy. If the foundation of a building is unstable, the building may crumble and fall apart. Similarly, the speech introduction prepares the audience for the body of the speech. If the introduction is underdeveloped, the rest of the speech will be weakened by association. It is worth taking some extra time to make sure your speech introduction covers each of the five steps.
The Body of the Speech
The body of the speech is where you elaborate on your main ideas, providing information to support the ideas and using transitions to show the relationships between ideas. The body of your speech might begin with a transition from the introduction.
 Wouldn’t that be frustrating? Well, when a speaker doesn’t use transitions, it creates a similarly jarring experience for the audience. Using a transition phrase prepares the audience for a new topic and helps your speech flow logically from point to point.
Transitions in a speech are a little bit different from transitions used in written work. When you are writing an essay, you can use a word such as “also” or “however” to move on to your next point. In a speech, you need to be more specific. The audience needs a clear signal that you are about to begin a new point. In order to transition to your first main point, you might say, “Let’s begin by,” “I’d like to start with,” “First of all, ” “To commence,” etc. For additional main ideas, you could transition with, “Moving on,” “My next point will be,” “Now that we’ve looked at _____, I’ll tell you about _____,” etc. Transitions are especially helpful in separating out your main ideas for your audience so that the body of the speech has distinct sections.
The Main Ideas
The main ideas are the major subtopics of your speech, each serving as a topic sentence in your speech. As a general rule, you should have at least two main ideas. If you only have one main idea, your speech has nowhere to go, and it may feel repetitive for the audience. That being said, you generally shouldn’t have more than five main ideas in your speech. Once you get past the fifth main idea, the audience may have trouble remembering the first one! It’s often a good idea to plan on having three main ideas for your speech. Think about how often the number three comes up in life: three strikes in baseball; three wishes; first, second, and third place, etc. In writing, this is known as the “Rule of Three.” How many bears does Goldilocks encounter? How many musketeers are there? People are used to hearing things come up in sets of three, and so having three main points may make it easier for your audience to remember them. In the end, though, you will need to decide on the appropriate number of points you need to develop your speech topic for your audience.
The Supporting Material
After you have your main ideas planned out, it’s time to start researching material to support these points. For each point, you’ll need some things to talk about. Depending on how you have chosen to organize your speech, you may need to look up some facts to share. This includes definitions, descriptions, and explanations. If you have too many facts, your speech may come across as dry and lacking in depth. Facts are generally used to lay the foundation for your main idea, and you will use other supporting materials to illustrate your point or defend your argument.
As you continue to research your topic, you should look for examples to share. Examples help your audience to understand and relate to your main idea. If I were giving an informative speech on the solar eclipses, I might share a brief example with my audience: “On Monday, August 17th, 2017, a rare, full solar eclipse crossed the North American continent.” A brief example takes an abstract idea from your speech and quickly translates it into a real-life situation. This can help make your topic clearer for your audience.
In that same speech on solar eclipses, you could also use an extended example. In this situation, you would fill in all the details to create a story for your audience. “It was a day to be remembered. Hotels across North America had been booked over a year in advance, and millions of people traveled to find a spot in the path of totality—the area, about 70 miles wide, that would experience a total eclipse of the sun. As the time of the eclipse drew near, the air felt noticeably colder, and there were strange shadows on the ground. Then, for a little over a minute in most cities, the sky was plunged into darkness and the beautiful, white corona of the sun could be seen, along with a few stars. People gasped and screamed with delight. It was over all too soon, but those who witnessed this event would never forget it.” Extended examples add a personal touch to your speech and can help ensure that you have enough content to reach the timing parameters of your assignment.
Additionally, you may decide to use a hypothetical example, beginning with phrases like, “What if you…,” “Suppose you…,” or “Imagine that you….” When used in a speech, a hypothetical example puts the audience into your speech. These types of examples work well as attention-getters in the introduction, and you can use them throughout your speech to grab the attention of your audience and refocus them on your topic. As the audience members think about how they would respond to the imagined scenario, they are directly engaging with your speech concepts.
If you are looking to build credibility with your audience on your main idea, you should include testimonies as part of your supporting material. In the court of law, a person who has experience with the subject of the trial is called upon to give their opinion or relate their direct experience. This is similar to how testimonies are used in a speech, where you will include quotations from people who are experienced with your topic. These quotations fall into two categories: expert and peer. An expert testimony comes from someone who has professional experience with the topic, or some other publicly recognized form of expertise. A peer testimony is someone who has personal experience with your topic, but this experience is not from a professional or academic standpoint. Now, which is better for your speech, expert or peer testimonies? It depends. People tend to trust expert testimony about scientific and medical points; however, people relate to a peer testimony more when the speech point has to do with everyday life. Sometimes expert testimony can feel out of touch with how the average person lives.
Another way to come across as a credible speaker on your topic is to include statistics in your speech. Any numerical data in your speech, except, perhaps, a date or time, would be considered a statistic. When people hear numbers, they are more likely to believe that what you are telling them is backed up by research. However, you need to make sure you are using statistics appropriately. Here are some guidelines to follow when using this type of supporting material.
- Cite: If you use a statistic in your speech, you need to tell us where that number came from. Otherwise, we’ll think you made it up!
- Be sparing: Don’t use too many statistics in your speech! Remember, statistics are like spices. If you use the right ones, they will bring out the flavors of your meal, but if you use too many, they will overwhelm your meal.
- Round: It can be difficult to process complex numbers unless we see them written out. While it’s fine to read that “New York City covers 300.36 miles,” in a speech, it’s better to say that “New York City has just over 300 miles.” It’s okay to be a little less accurate, if it helps you to be understood. Words like “approximately,” “close to,” “almost,” and “nearly” will come in handy here.
- Explain: Help your audience to understand the numbers you are using. For example: “How much is a billion dollars? You could spend $100,000 a day for 25 years before you’d run out of cash.” During your speech, help us grasp complicated numbers in terms we can relate to.
No matter what materials you decide to use in your speech to support your main ideas, you’ll want to include citations in your outline to show where you found this information. Unlike writing, which has several formal citation styles, there is no specific way to cite your sources in your speech body. Your professor may require you to use a particular writing citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago, Associated Press). If not, note that speech citations should include at least the source where you found the information and the date the information was published. You may also include the author of the information, but you may need to contextualize this for us. For example, if I said during my speech, “According to Bob Smith…,” who is Bob Smith? No one knows, and no one cares. However, if I said, “According to the financial journalist Bob Smith, in an article published by The New York Times last month…,” people may care more about Bob’s point of view. The date is important here because the recency of your information can affect its relevance. Unlike a citation in a paper, you don’t need to cite your source every time you use information from it. This would become tedious for the audience to listen to. Instead, you should add your citation at the beginning or end of the portion of your speech in which you are sharing information from that source. For example: “All of the statistics I’ve shared today come from the Red Cross website, updated in 2019.” Or, “The examples you’ll be hearing in my speech all come from the Mermaid documentary published on Animal Planet in 2011.” These oral citations give your audience enough information about your sources to be able to find a complete reference on your outline, if they need to verify something.
The Speech Conclusion
Once you have finished taking your audience on a journey through the main ideas of your speech, it’s time to draw things to a close. However, you need to give your audience a hint that the end is coming. We call this a signal. If you forget to signal the end of your speech, you may finish speaking and find that your audience does not break into applause. They didn’t realize you were on your way to the finish line. Giving your audience a signal alerts them that your speech will be over soon and helps them emotionally prepare for the end of your speech. The signal can be given a specific phrase, such as, “I’d like to end by…” or “to wrap things up….” Pay attention, and you may notice that your college professors will often use a verbal signal near the end of the class session, such as, “and last of all…” or “before we go….” Try using a signal phrase in your next presentation, and see if you can spot your audience visibly perking up when they hear it. More advanced signals can also signal the end of the speech by changing the rate, pitch, or volume of their remarks. However, if you are using this technique, be sure to practice in front of someone before your actual presentation in class. You may think that you’re effecting a great change in the way you are speaking, but those changes might need to be exaggerated to be noticeable by your audience. The only way you’ll know for sure is to get some live feedback.
The signal of the conclusion leads into a brief summary of your main ideas. Simply restate an overview of the main ideas you just covered to help your audience retain the message of your speech. You may notice that your professors will also do this near the end of a class session. “Today we have covered…” is a common way for this to begin.
You’ll want to cap off your conclusion with a strong statement. It’s a good idea to actually plan out, word for word, what you would like to say for the last line of your speech. The audience is most likely to remember the first thing you said, and the last thing you said, so these words are the most important part of your speech. As much as you are able, commit them to memory. This will help you to make eye contact with your audience as you speak to help the words land with maximum effect. A strong statement can be a quote, or it can refer back to something you said in your introduction. In a persuasive speech, this statement will usually contain a call to action, or it will reinforce what you want your audience to believe, feel or do after hearing your presentation. For an informative speech, the strong statement should reinforce the importance of knowing about your topic, or what makes it so interesting.
It may be useful to think of the Three S’s of the speech conclusion as you work on this part of your presentation. Using a signal, summary, and strong statement will provide closure for the audience and help them to remember the ideas that you shared.
Creating a List of References
The last piece of your outline will generally be a list of references that you have used to provide source material for your speech. There should be at least one citation in the body of your speech from each reference. A reference is not just a website link to your research, but it shares details about your source in an organized format. You will generally need to provide the author’s name and the title of the piece, along with the name of the source you got this information from, and the date it was published. If you found the source online, you will also include the URL for the web page where this source can be found. There are standardized ways to organize all this information, and your professor may ask you to use a specific format. The two most common styles for formatting references are MLA and APA. You can find many resources, both online, and in your college’s library, to help you apply the correct formatting of the style your professor has requested. Carefully following these guidelines will add a professional polish to your speech outline and help you develop attention to detail in your written work, which is a valuable skill in the workforce, and in daily life.
Practicing with the Outline
As you are preparing to present your speech, it may be helpful to highlight key words and phrases so that you can quickly find the information you need in a single glance. This way you can have consistent eye contact with your audience. You want to avoid bobbing your head up and down as you speak, alternating between reading and seeing your audience. Remember, the outline is merely there to keep you on track. You don’t have to say all the words exactly as you have written them. In fact, your words will have much greater impact with the audience if you can create the impression that you are speaking spontaneously. Don’t be afraid to check in with your outline to make sure you have included all your ideas, and in the correct order, but also don’t rely so much on the outline that you are not connected to the audience.
If your instructor has asked you to include a speech topic, general purpose, specific purpose, purpose statement, and/or central idea on your outline, do not include these as part of your speech presentation. They belong on the outline to show your professor that you understood the topic and the goals for the assignment, and that you had a clear thesis for the speech, but you don’t share these out loud with your audience. Likewise, you also won’t read off the references to the audience at the end. These are part of the written assignment, but your oral citations are sufficient to establish your credibility in your presentation. For each speech assignment, you’ll begin with the introduction and finish up with the conclusion.
  You can also get some feedback on your speech delivery, so that you can begin to refine your presentation skills. Continue this process of making changes and then practicing again in front of someone. In general, by the fifth time you’ve gone through the speech, you have it loosely committed to memory. You will know the overall flow of your topics and supporting material, and you can focus on connecting with your audience.
Conclusion
Remember the example of the disjointed building at the beginning of this chapter? The building had important rooms, but it was very difficult to navigate between them and make use of them. This concept also applies to your speech. You might find interesting examples and compelling arguments, but if they are not organized well, your audience may miss them. A well-organized speech will help your audience process and remember your message and will give you greater confidence as a speaker.
Review Questions
- Why is it important to create an outline for a presentation?
- What are the three general purposes of speech presentations?
- What is the difference between a specific purpose, or purpose statement, of a speech and its central idea?
- What are the five parts of a speech introduction?
- How do transitions in a speech help the audience?
- What is an example of a type of effective attention-getter for a speech?
- Why should we use statistics sparingly in our presentations?
- When would a peer testimony be more credible with the audience than an expert testimony?
- How does oral citation differ from the type of citation you would use for an essay?
- What could you say to signal the end of your speech?
- What information might you include in your outline that you would speak aloud as part of your speech?
Class Activities
- Read aloud a series of specific purposes or purpose statements, and have the students classify each as having the general purpose of informing, persuading, or entertaining.
- Write down different types of attention-getters on small pieces of paper, such as “Telling a story,” “Startling the audience,” “Asking rhetorical questions,” “Using a powerful quote,” “Making the audience curious,” “Having the audience participate,” etc. Break up the class into small groups and have each group blindly choose an attention-getter from the pile. Then, give the entire class a topic, such as “Chewing gum.” Each group has to come up with an attention-getter for this topic in the type they selected.
- Have students help you come up with a list of 10–14 totally random, but specific, people, places, or things. Give a few examples, such as: mustaches, black widow spiders, North Dakota, etc. Once you have a list, pair the students up and have them share how they would establish credibility on this topic. Do they have personal experience with this topic? Will they need to do research?
- Using the same list as above, have students work with their partner to decide how they would relate this topic to their diverse classroom audience.
- Create an abbreviated preparation outline for students that includes the general purpose, specific purpose, central Idea, and a list of main points. Break up the class into small groups and give each group either the introduction or a main point. Ask each group to prepare 1–2 minutes of content for their section of the speech and elect a spokesperson to present their section to the class. Once the students are prepared, start a timer and do the presentation. Provide transitions between main ideas and a conclusion.
- Have the students find a quotation from their favorite celebrity in an article (not a from a website that simply lists quotations). Break up the class into small groups, have students share their quotation with their group, and let each group pick the best one to present to the class. The elected spokesperson for each group will share the quotation beginning with an oral citation as follows: “According to [the celebrity’s name], as reported by [the source of the quotation] on [the date] . . .”
- Make 5–10 enlarged copies of both an APA reference and an MLA reference. Cut the copies up so that the author, article title, publication date, URL, and other elements of the reference each appear on a different slip of paper. Divide the class into groups and give each group an APA “puzzle” to assemble. The first group to assemble its reference correctly wins! Repeat with the MLA reference.
- Pass out a lined index card to each student. Give students an easy topic, and have them freewrite in complete sentences on this topic until either the time is up or the card is filled. Next, have students choose 10 key words that will help them remember what they wrote and list those words on the blank side of the card. Then, pair the students up and tell them to decide who will be “Person A” and who will be “Person B.” “Person A” holds their card so that they can see only the key words and their partner can see the freewriting. “Person A” then attempts to share what they wrote with “Person B,” using only the key words as a prompt. At the end, “Person B” will let them know if anything was left out. Next, the partners will switch roles, so that “Person B” can present. Have a discussion with the class about the difference between presentation notes and preparation outlines.
Works Consulted
Gallo, Carmine. Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World’s Top Minds . St. Martin’s Press, 2014.
Hemmert, Nancy Grass. Public Speaking in American English: A Guide for Non-Native Speakers . Pearson, 2007.
Lucas, Stephen E. The Art of Public Speaking . 12th ed., McGraw Hill, 2014.
Powell, Susanna, et al. Stand and Deliver: High Impact Presentations . 4th ed., Pearson, 2014.


10: Confidence Interval for a Population Mean Given Data
Confidence Interval for a Population Mean Given Data
This calculator creates a confidence interval for a population mean given a set of data. Please report the error to Dr. Jessica Kuang at jkuangATvcccd.edu.
To learn how to use this calculator, please watch a short video here.
Input
Type in the values from the data set separated by commas, for example, 2,4,5,8,11,2. Then type in the confidence level (CL) and hit Calculate. Write the confidence level as a decimal. For example, for a 95% confidence level, enter 0.95.
Data:
| Confidence Level (enter a decimal): |
Output
| Sample Mean (\(\bar{x}\)): | Standard Deviation (\(s\)): | Lower Bound: | Upper Bound: |
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1.1: Objectives
This chapter contains many examples of arithmetic techniques that are used directly or indirectly in algebra. Since the chapter is intended as a review, the problem-solving techniques are presented without being developed. If you would like a quick review of arithmetic before attempting the study of algebra, this chapter is recommended reading. If you feel your arithmetic skills are pretty good, then move on to Basic Properties of Real Numbers. However you feel, do not hesitate to use this chapter as a quick reference of arithmetic techniques .
The other chapters include Practice Sets paired with Sample Sets with sufficient space for the student to work out the problems. In addition, these chapters include a Summary of Key Concepts, Exercise Supplements, and Proficiency Exams.


11.8: Exercises
1. Consider a random graph with vertex set \(\{1,2,;n\}\). If the edge probability is \(p=1/2\), then let \(X\) denote the number of complete subgraphs of size \(t=2 \log n\) and let \(Y\) denote the number of independent sets of size \(t=2 \log n\).
a. Show that \(E(X+Y)<1\), when \(n\) is sufficiently large.
b. Use the result from part a to show that \(ω(G)\) is less than \(2 \log n\), while the chromatic number of \(G\) is at least \(n/(2 \log n)\) (both statements holding with high probability). As a result, the basic inequality \(\chi(G)≥ω(G)\) is far from being tight for a random graph.
2. We form a random tournament as follows. Start with a complete graph with vertex set \(\{1,2,…,n\}\). For each distinct pair \(i, j\) with \(1≤i<j≤n\), flip a fair coin. If the result is heads, orient the edge from \(i\) to \(j\), which we denote by \((x,y)\). If the toss is tails, then the edge is oriented from \(j\) to \(i\), denoted \((y,x)\). Show that when \(n\) is large, with high probability, the following statement is true: For every set \(S\) of size \(\log n/10\), there is a vertex \(x\) so that \((x,y)\) in \(T\) for every \(y \in S\).
3. Let \(T\) be a random tournament on \(n\) vertices. Show that with high probability, the following statement is true: For every pair \(x, y\) of distinct vertices, either (1) \((x,y)\) in \(T\), or (2) there is a vertex \(z\) for which both \((x,z)\) and \((z,y)\) are in \(T\).
4. Many statements for random graphs exhibit a threshold behavior . Show that a random graph with edge probability \(p=10 \log n/n\) almost certainly has no isolated vertices, while a random graph with edge probability \(p= \log n/(10n)\) almost certainly has at least one isolated vertices.
5. In the sense of the preceding problem, determine the threshold probability for a graph to be connected.


12.13: Post-test
- True or False: Handwashing is the easiest and most important way a Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide can prevent the spread of infection.
-
When should hands be washed?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- Before and after using the bathroom
- When arriving and leaving a patient’s home
- Before preparing food
- After handling raw meat or eggs
- Before and after wearing gloves
- When hands are visibly soiled
- True or False: It is okay to place used needles (sharps) in the regular garbage.
-
Who is most at risk for infection?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- The very young
- The very old
- People who are immunocompromised
-
Which of the following are ways the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide can break the chain of infection?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- Wear gloves whenever coming into contact with blood, urine, feces, or vomit
- Wear gloves while preparing food
- Wear gloves when touching dirty linens
- Properly cleaning and sanitizing the home
- Teach patients to wash hands before meals and after using the restroom
- Teach patients to place used needles into sharps containers
- Teach patients to sneeze and cough into a tissue
-
When should gloves be changed?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- When they have ripped or torn
- When visibly soiled
- When moving from a dirty to a clean area on the patient’s body
- After handling body fluids such as blood, feces, urine, or vomit
-
Water temperature should always be checked prior to bathing a patient. Which of the following is the temperature at which water should not be above?
- 105 degrees Fahrenheit
- 200 degrees Fahrenheit
- 150 degrees Fahrenheit
- 110 degrees Fahrenheit
- True or False: When bathing a patient the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should move from areas that are dirty such as the genital or anal area to clean areas such as the face.
- True or False: It is important to provide privacy for the patient during bathing and dressing.
- True or False: It is okay to leave areas under skin folds such as under breasts or the abdomen wet after bathing. Drying the skin doesn’t help prevent infection or skin breakdown.
- True or False: When cleansing the genital area of a female, the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should wipe from back to front.
-
Back rubs may be offered to a patient for which of the following reasons?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- Stimulate circulation
- To help the patient relax when stressed
- Promote sleep
- Relaxation of muscles
-
Which of the following types of dressing changes may Home Health Aides perform?
- Sterile dressing changes
- Clean dressing changes
- No dressing changes
-
Which of the following dressing changes may Personal Care Aides can perform?
- Sterile dressing changes
- Clean dressing changes
- No dressing changes
- True or False: When shaving a patient, the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should shave in the direction of hair growth.
- True or False: Gloves should be worn while shaving a patient as there is a risk of the patient bleeding.
- True or False: Toenails should never be cut by a Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide.
- True or False: For patients who are unconscious or unable to drink, mouth care should be performed every two hours.
- True or False: When cleaning dentures, a towel should be placed at the bottom of the sink to prevent breakage of the dentures.
- True or False: When applying compression stockings it is okay to leave wrinkles in the stockings and they should be so tight that the patient complains of pain.
-
When cleaning catheter tubing, how should the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide clean the tubing?
- From the lowest part of the tubing up to the urinary opening
- From the urinary opening down the tubing
- The tubing should never be cleaned
- True or False: The Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should hold the catheter tubing with one hand while cleaning with the other to prevent damaging the patient’s bladder.
- True or False: Catheter tubing should always be checked for kinks and urinary drainage bags should be kept below the level of the patient’s bladder.
- True or False: When using a bedpan or urinal most patients find it easier to eliminate in a sitting up position.
-
Put the steps for applying a condom catheter in order.

- True or False: The Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should offer toileting and a glass of water to patients every two hours when turning and positioning.
-
Which of these areas are high-risk for development of pressure ulcers?
Select
all
that
apply
.
- Back of the head
- Elbows
- Ankles
- Sacrum
- Coccyx
- Hip
- True or False: Pillows should be placed under bony prominences after positioning a patient to help prevent pressure ulcers from developing.
- True or False: To ensure patient safety, bed wheels should be locked, the bed kept at its lowest position and side rails raised.
- True or False: When performing tasks such as bathing and positioning a patient, the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should raise the bed to waist level to avoid having to overextend or bend their back.
-
When ambulating a patient, how should the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide position themselves?
- Behind the patient and push the patient forward
- Behind and to the side of the patient, supporting their back
- Walk in front of the patient to encourage them to walk faster
- Take a break and let the patient ambulate independently
- True or False: When assisting a patient to a standing position and during transfers, the Home Health Aide/Personal Care Aide should count aloud to 3 and use a rocking motion to inform the patient when the transfer will occur and to help give their body momentum.
-
Which of the following is the best position to place a patient for eating, drinking, and taking pills?
- Supine
- Fowler’s
- Prone
- Lateral
- True or False: When picking up and handling an infant, the head, neck, and back should always be supported.
- True or False: Babies are good about regulating their own body temperature and care does not need to be taken to keep them warm and dry.
-
Which is the proper position to keep a baby in when placing them in their crib?
- Supine
- Prone
- Lateral
- Fowlers
- True or False: It is okay to leave a baby or child in the bathtub if they are in a bath seat to answer a phone call.
-
Which of the following are rights of medication administration?
- Right Patient
- Right Medication
- Right Dose
- Right Route
- Right Time
-
In what way may a Home Health Aide assist with medications?
- Administer medications
- Assist with reminders, read medication labels, and provide positioning and a drink
- They may not assist at all
-
In what way may a Personal Care Aide Assist with medications?
- Administer medications
- Assist with reminders, read medication labels, and provide positioning and a drink
- They may not assist at all
- Answer
-
1 True
2. All are times when hands should be washed
3. False
4. All
5. All are ways to break the chain of infection
6. All are times when gloves should be changed.
7. A
8. False
9. True
10. False
11. False
12. All are reasons to offer a back rub
13. B
14. C
15. True
16. True
17. True
18. True
19. True
20. False
21. B
22. True
23. True
24. True
25. B, A, D, C
26. True
27. All are areas of high risk for pressure ulcer development
28. True
29. True
30. True
31. B
32. True
33. B
34. True
35. False
36. A
37. False
38. All
39. B
40. C


8.2: The Global Perspective
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Describe the components of Earth’s interior and explain how scientists determined its structure
- Specify the origin, size, and extent of Earth’s magnetic field
Earth is a medium-size planet with a diameter of approximately 12,760 kilometers (Figure 8.2). As one of the inner or terrestrial planets, it is composed primarily of heavy elements such as iron, silicon, and oxygen—very different from the composition of the Sun and stars, which are dominated by the light elements hydrogen and helium. Earth’s orbit is nearly circular, and Earth is warm enough to support liquid water on its surface. It is the only planet in our solar system that is neither too hot nor too cold, but “just right” for the development of life as we know it. Some of the basic properties of Earth are summarized in Table 8.1.
| Property | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Semimajor axis | 1.00 AU |
| Period | 1.00 year |
| Mass | |
| Diameter | 12,756 km |
| Radius | 6378 km |
| Escape velocity | 11.2 km/s |
| Rotational period | 23 h 56 m 4 s |
| Surface area | |
| Density | 5.514 g/cm 3 |
| Atmospheric pressure | 1.00 bar |
Earth’s Interior
The interior of a planet—even our own Earth—is difficult to study, and its composition and structure must be determined indirectly. Our only direct experience is with the outermost skin of Earth ’ s crust, a layer no more than a few kilometers deep. It is important to remember that, in many ways, we know less about our own planet 5 kilometers beneath our feet than we do about the surfaces of Venus and Mars.
Earth is composed largely of metal and silicate rock (see the Composition and Structure of Planets section). Most of this material is in a solid state, but some of it is hot enough to be molten. The structure of material in Earth’s interior has been probed in considerable detail by measuring the transmission of seismic waves through Earth. These are waves that spread through the interior of Earth from earthquakes or explosion sites.
Seismic waves travel through a planet rather like sound waves through a struck bell. Just as the sound frequencies vary depending on the material the bell is made of and how it is constructed, so a planet ’ s response depends on its composition and structure. By monitoring the seismic waves in different locations, scientists can learn about the layers through which the waves have traveled. Some of these vibrations travel along the surface; others pass directly through the interior. Seismic studies have shown that Earth’s interior consists of several distinct layers with different compositions, illustrated in Figure 8.3. As waves travel through different materials in Earth’s interior, the waves—just like light waves in telescope lenses—bend (or refract) so that some seismic stations on Earth receive the waves and others are in “shadows.” Detecting the waves in a network of seismographs helps scientists construct a model of Earth’s interior, showing liquid and solid layers. This type of seismic imaging is not unlike that used in ultrasound, a type of imaging used to see inside the body.
The top layer is the crust , the part of Earth we know best (Figure 8.4). Oceanic crust covers 55% of Earth’s surface and lies mostly submerged under the oceans. It is typically about 6 kilometers thick and is composed of volcanic rocks called basalt . Produced by the cooling of volcanic lava, basalts are made primarily of the elements silicon, oxygen, iron, aluminum, and magnesium. The continental crust covers 45% of the surface, some of which is also beneath the oceans. The continental crust is 20 to 70 kilometers thick and is composed predominantly of a different volcanic class of silicates (rocks made of silicon and oxygen) called granite . These crustal rocks, both oceanic and continental, typically have densities of about 3 g/cm 3 . (For comparison, the density of water is 1 g/cm 3 .) The crust is the easiest layer for geologists to study, but it makes up only about 0.3% of the total mass of Earth.
The largest part of the solid Earth, called the mantle , stretches from the base of the crust downward to a depth of 2900 kilometers. The mantle is more or less solid, but at the temperatures and pressures found there, mantle rock can deform and flow slowly. The density in the mantle increases downward from about 3.5 g/cm 3 to more than 5 g/cm 3 as a result of the compression produced by the weight of overlying material. Samples of upper mantle material are occasionally ejected from volcanoes, permitting a detailed analysis of its chemistry.
Beginning at a depth of 2900 kilometers, we encounter the dense metallic core of Earth. With a diameter of 7000 kilometers, our core is substantially larger than the entire planet Mercury. The outer core is liquid, but the innermost part of the core (about 2400 kilometers in diameter) is probably solid. In addition to iron, the core probably also contains substantial quantities of nickel and sulfur, all compressed to a very high density.
The separation of Earth into layers of different densities is an example of differentiation, the process of sorting the major components of a planet by density. The fact that Earth is differentiated suggests that it was once warm enough for its interior to melt, permitting the heavier metals to sink to the center and form the dense core. Evidence for differentiation comes from comparing the planet’s bulk density (5.5 g/cm 3 ) with the surface materials (3 g/cm 3 ) to suggest that denser material must be buried in the core.
Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere
We can find additional clues about Earth’s interior from its magnetic field. Our planet behaves in some ways as if a giant bar magnet were inside it, aligned approximately with the rotational poles of Earth. This magnetic field is generated by moving material in Earth’s liquid metallic core. As the liquid metal inside Earth circulates, it sets up a circulating electric current. When many charged particles are moving together like that—in the laboratory or on the scale of an entire planet—they produce a magnetic field.
Earth’s magnetic field extends into surrounding space. When a charged particle encounters a magnetic field in space, it becomes trapped in the magnetic zone. Above Earth’s atmosphere, our field is able to trap small quantities of electrons and other atomic particles. This region, called the magnetosphere , is defined as the zone within which Earth’s magnetic field dominates over the weak interplanetary magnetic field that extends outward from the Sun (Figure 8.5).
Where do the charged particles trapped in our magnetosphere come from? They flow outward from the hot surface of the Sun; this is called the solar wind . It not only provides particles for Earth’s magnetic field to trap, it also stretches our field in the direction pointing away from the Sun. Typically, Earth’s magnetosphere extends about 60,000 kilometers, or 10 Earth radii, in the direction of the Sun. But, in the direction away from the Sun, the magnetic field can reach as far as the orbit of the Moon, and sometimes farther.
The magnetosphere was discovered in 1958 by instruments on the first US Earth satellite, Explorer 1 , which recorded the ions (charged particles) trapped in its inner part. The regions of high-energy ions in the magnetosphere are often called the Van Allen belts in recognition of the University of Iowa professor who built the scientific instrumentation for Explorer 1 . Since 1958, hundreds of spacecraft have explored various regions of the magnetosphere. You can read more about its interaction with the Sun in a later chapter.


22.7: Intelligent Tutoring Systems
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Intelligent tutoring systems attempt to mimic the “perfect instructor”. The basic requirements of an intelligent tutoring system include the ability to:
None of these basic requirements have been perfectly resolved.
Although it is possible to incorporate a model or two of student learning into a computer-based training application, a fixed model does not represent intelligence. How can a “typical” student be modelled when students and their learning preferences are so diverse? It is not sufficient to simply categorize students into one of two types and then create two ways for students to learn the material. This has been the premise in some “intelligent” tutoring systems. A compounding factor is that learner preferences vary depending on the situation and material being taught. It is impractical to create a different teaching strategy for every individual. See Chapter 20, Learning Strategies, for more information on learning styles.
Although intelligent tutoring systems should be adaptable, based on the learner’s previous successes and failures, it is a challenging goal. It is simple to record where students make mistakes, but a challenge to know when there is a misunderstanding, what caused it, and what to do about it. In a sense, the computer would have to be able to read each student’s mind.
Generating the appropriate response would be difficult even if the first two needs were met. How can a designer determine all of the response possibilities? Every possibility must be based on a known rule. Intelligent tutoring systems can and should have responses for expected misunderstandings but this is, at best, limited to the finite expressed problems.
There are some excellent intelligent tutoring systems available. However, these tend to be labour-intensive and expensive to develop. Although the potential of intelligent tutoring systems is exciting, the reality is that much research still needs to be done. In other words, instructors need not worry about being replaced by an intelligent tutoring system. Given the present state of the technology, it can be argued that well-designed instructional multimedia applications are essentially the same from a student’s perspective.


8: The People in Information Systems
Introduction
In the opening chapters of this text, we focused on the technology behind information systems: hardware, software, data, and networking. In the last chapter, we discussed business processes and the key role they can play in the success of a business. In this chapter, we will be discussing the last component of an information system: people.
People are involved in information systems in just about every way you can think of: people imagine information systems, people develop information systems, people support information systems, and, perhaps most importantly, people use information systems.
Upon successful completion of this chapter, you will be able to:
- describe each of the different roles that people play in the design, development, and use of information systems;
- understand the different career paths available to those who work with information systems;
- explain the importance of where the information-systems function is placed in an organization; and
- describe the different types of users of information systems.


1.10.11: Gibbs Energies- Solutions- Solute-Solute Interactions- Pairwise
Analysis of the thermodynamic properties of aqueous solutions was taken a step further by Savage and Wood who envisage two solute molecules A and B in aqueous solution [1]. The total pairwise interaction between these molecules is described in terms of pairwise group-group interaction parameters. Then, for example, the pairwise enthalpic solute-solute interaction parameter \(\mathrm{H}_{\mathrm{AB}\) is written as the sum of products, \(\mathrm{n}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{A}} \, \mathrm{n}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{B}} \, \mathrm{h}_{\mathrm{ij}}\) where \(\mathrm{n}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{A}}\) is the number of A-groups in solute molecule \(\mathrm{i}\) and \(\mathrm{n}_{\mathrm{j}}^{\mathrm{B}}\) is the number of B-groups in solute molecule \(\mathrm{j}\) where \(\mathrm{h}_{\mathrm{ij}}\) is a pairwise enthalpic group interaction parameter. A similar analysis is carried out for interaction Gibbs energies leading to pairwise Gibbs energy parameters \(\mathrm{g}_{\mathrm{ij}}\). So, for example, \(\mathrm{g}(\mathrm{OH}-\mathrm{OH})\) is negative characteristic of a hydrophilic-hydrophilic interaction. Whereas \(\mathrm{g}\left(\mathrm{OH}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}\right)\) is positive indicating 'repulsion' within hydrophobic-hydrophilic pairs. Interestingly \(\mathrm{g}\left(\mathrm{CH}_{2}-\mathrm{CH}_{2}\right)\) is negative" which is indicative of a hydrophobic-hydrophobic attraction (cf. hydrophobic bonding); the corresponding enthalpic pairwise parameter is positive. Thus it is tempting to speculate that hydrophobic attraction is entropy driven [2]; for further comments see references [3-13].
The general approach is readily extended to a consideration of pairwise interactions between added solutes and both initial and transitions states for given chemical reactions in aqueous solution [14-18].
Footnotes
[1] J.J. Savage and R. H. Wood, J. Solution Chem.,1976, 5 ,733.
[2] J.J. Spitzer, S. K. Suri and R. H. Wood, J. Solution Chem.,1985, 14 ,5; and references therein.
[3] S. K. Suri and R. H. Wood, J. Solution Chem.,1986, 15 ,705.
[4] S. K. Suri, J.J.Spitzer, R. H. Wood, E.G.Abel and P.T. Thompson, J. Solution Chem.,1986, 14 ,781.
[5] A. L. Harris, P. T. Thompson and R. H. Wood, J. Solution Chem.,1980, 9 ,305.
[6] For the role of solute stereochemistry see F. Franks and M. D. Pedley, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 1, 1983, 79 ,2249.
[7] Amides in N,N-dimethvl formamide: M. Bloemendal and G. Somsen, J. Solution Chem.,1983, 12 ,83.
[8] Solutions in DMF with a modification of the role of the solvent; M. Bloemendal and G. Somsen, J. Solution Chem.,1987, 16 ,367
[9] Interaction between amides and urea in aqueous solution; P. J. Cheek and T. H. Lilley, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans.1, 1988, 84 ,1927.
[10]
- Diols(aq); S. Andini, G. Castronuovo, V. Ella and L. Fasano, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans.. 1990. 86 , 3567.
- Amino acids and peptides; T H. Lilley and R. P. Scott, J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 1, 1976, 72 ,359.
- Monosaccharides(aq); G. Barone, G. Castronuovo, D. Doucas, V.Elia and G. A. Mattia, J.Phys.Chem.,1983, 87 ,1931.
[11] Urea and polyols(aq); G. Barone, V. Elia and E. Rizzo, J. Solution Chem.,1982, 11 ,687.
[12] Volumes and heat capacities of aromatic solutes(aq); S. Cabani, P. Gianni,V. Mollica and L. Lepori, J. Solution Chem., 1981, 10 ,563.
[13] Small peptides(aq); enthalpies; O. V. Kulikov, A. Zielenkiewicz, W. Zielenkiewicz. V. G. Badelin and A.Krestov , J. Solution Chem., 1993, 22 ,59.
[14] M. J. Blandamer, J. Burgess, I . M. Horn, J. B. F. N. Engberts and P. Warrick Jr., Colloids and Surfaces, 1990, 48 ,139.
[15] M. J. Blandamer, J. Burgess, J. B. F. N. Engberts and W. Blokzijl, Annu. Rep. Prog. Chem., Sect C, Phys. Chem.,1990, 87 ,45.
[16] W. Blokzijl, J. B. F. N. Engberts, J. Jager and M. J. Blandamer, J. Phys. Chem.,1987, 91 ,6022.
[17] M. J. Blandamer, J. Burgess and J. B. F. N. Engberts, Chem. Soc Rev.,1985, 14 ,237.
[18] M. J. Blandamer and J. Burgess, Pure Appl. Chem.,1982, 54 ,2285.


6: Resistive Networks
In the preceding few chapters, we discussed electric components, including capacitors, resistors, and diodes. In this chapter, we use these electric components in circuits. A circuit is a collection of electrical components connected to accomplish a specific task. The second section of this chapter covers the analysis of series and parallel circuits that consist of resistors. Later in this chapter, we introduce the basic equations and techniques to analyze any circuit, including those that are not reducible through simplifying parallel and series elements. But first, we need to understand how to power a circuit.
-
- 6.7: Circuits, Bioelectricity, and DC Instruments
- This collection of modules takes the topic of electric circuits a step beyond simple circuits. When the circuit is purely resistive, everything in this module applies to both DC and AC. Matters become more complex when capacitance is involved. We do consider what happens when capacitors are connected to DC voltage sources, but the interaction of capacitors and other nonresistive devices with AC is left for a later chapter.
-
- 6.7.1: Prelude to Circuits and DC Instruments
- 6.7.2: Resistors in Series and Parallel
- 6.7.3: Electromotive Force - Terminal Voltage
- 6.7.4: Kirchhoff’s Rules
- 6.7.5: DC Voltmeters and Ammeters
- 6.7.6: Null Measurements
- 6.7.7: DC Circuits Containing Resistors and Capacitors
- 6.7.E: Circuits and DC Instruments (Exercise)