Some fundamental topics in introductory circuit analysis: a critique

Circuit analysis grew from an empirical base, and the prevailing attitude is that it is a "tools course" for more specialized courses that follow. Perhaps for that reason, the various topics covered in the typical introductory circuits course have not been thoroughly examined for pedagogy, technical accuracy, and relevance to other more advanced concepts in circuit theory. This paper was written to initiate such a study by pointing out specific examples to illustrate and support the preceding statement. Examples are drawn from popular introductory circuit analysis texts.