All RF Cafe Quizzes make great fodder for
employment interviews for technicians or engineers - particularly those who are
fresh out of school or are relatively new to the work world. Come to think of it,
they would make equally excellent study material for the same persons who are going
to be interviewed for a job. Bonne chance, Viel Glück, がんばろう,
buena suerte, удачи, in bocca al lupo, 행운을 빕니다,
ádh mór, בהצלחה, lykke til, 祝你好運.
Well, you know what I mean: Good luck!
Click here for the complete list of
RF Cafe Quizzes.
Note: Some material based on books have quoted passages.
![Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers - RF Cafe](images/ten-essential-skills-electrical-engineers.jpg) This quiz is based on the information
presented in
Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers, by Barry L.
Dorr.
Note: Some of these books are available as prizes in the monthly
RF Cafe Giveaway.
You or somebody you know needs this book. When author Barry Dorr told me a while
back that he had a new book coming out aimed at recent college graduates and other
job hunters, I figured it might be just another "Top 10" type collection of ideas
which wouldn't hurt to know, but that would be too specific for general use. After
reading through
Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers I can confidently
tell you that it is much more than one guy's opinion of what you should know to
advance in your career. It is rare that I actually read through as much of an engineering
book as I did this one. Mr. Dorr's primary goal is to provide new graduates and
junior level engineers the tools needed to seek out and get invited for an interview,
and then to perform well during the interviewing process and follow up in a manner
that sets them apart from the rest (assuming the competition has not also read his
book). From beginning to end, he has packed the pages with very useful review material
and fundamentals on circuit analysis, design and implementation of analog and digital
filters, opamps, and feedback control systems. Clear examples are provided for each
topic, and practice problems are provided to help you hone the skill just learned.
One chapter I particularly appreciated discussed using statistics to design manufacturable
products. Being able to demonstrate a familiarity with "real world" requirements
for providing the production floor with designs that will pass electrical test is
something every interviewer will appreciate. Of course just about everybody reading
this will also love the inclusion of a full chapter on RF circuits that reviews
reflections, the Smith Chart, and impedance matching. The closing sections teach
strategies for behavior during the interview, such as how to choose the best seat
in the room when being grilled by a team of questioners, how to respond both when
you know the answer and when you don't, and even how to help a not-so-great interviewer
focus on your potential for contribution to the company's needs so as not to waste
your time. I definitely give
Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers a 10:10 rating
for achieving its stated goal. That said, if there were ever to be a second edition
published, I would like to see the addition of a chapter reviewing the proper use
of precision and accuracy in numerical calculations; the random use of significant
digits in mathematical operations that use measured and/or specified values is one
of my pet peeves.
Now, on to the quiz:
1. What can be the result on digital signals when signal
reflections exist between source and load?
a) Erratic clocking b) Garbled data c) Overstressing
of components d) All the above
2. What causes signal reflections?
a) A current mirror circuit in the source b) A current mirror
circuit in the load c) An impedance mismatch between the source and the
load d) Buried circuit traces
3. Why is sitting at the head of the table during a group
interview the best position?
a) It establishes your dominance b) It allows you to address everyone
eye-to-eye at once c) It forces everyone else to enter first d)
It is usually closest to the door, facilitating a hasty retreat
4. What is 'statistical independence' when referring to
component failure rates?
a) The failure of one component has no influence on the failure of any
other component b) The failure of one component influences the failure
of other components c) The calculated failure rate is not likely to be
erroneous d) The calculated failure rate is likely to be erroneous
5. What parameter does the Smith Chart represent?
a) Complex reflection coefficient b) Vector voltage c)
Tensor susceptance d) All the above
6. What is the difference between a passive and an active
analog filter?
a) Passive versus active components b) Analog versus digital components
c) An active filter includes a gain element (i.e., opamp) whereas a passive
one does not d) There is no difference, fundamentally
7. What limits the response of a FIR (finite impulse response)
digital filter?
a) Duration of the input signal b) Amplitude of the input signal
c) Clock speed of the DAC d) Length of the filter register
8. What property describes a first-order feedback control
system?
a) No steady state error to step input b) Unconditionally stable
c) No overshoot in response to step input d) All the above
9. What are the electrical circuit model equivalents of
temperature and heat?
a) Voltage and current b) Inductance and capacitance c)
Resistance and conductance d) Power and energy
10. What is the term for the area of negotiation between
the new graduate's perspective and
the employer's perspective?
a) Middle ground b) No-man's land c) Hades d)
38th parallel
Need some help? Click here for
the
answers and explanations.
Quizzes from vintage electronics magazines such as Popular
Electronics, Electronics-World, QST,
Radio-Electronics, and Radio News
were published over the years - some really simple and others not so simple. Robert P. Balin
created most of the quizzes for Popular Electronics. This is a listing
of all I have posted thus far.
- RF Cafe Quiz #71:
Tech Headlines for Week of 3/13/2023
- RF Cafe Quiz #70:
Analog &
RF Filter Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #69:
RF
Electronics Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #68:
RF & Analog Company Mergers & Acquisitions in 2017
- RF Cafe Quiz #67:
RF & Microwave Company Name Change History
- RF Cafe Quiz #66:
Spectrum and Network Measurements
- RF Cafe Quiz #65:
Troubleshooting & Repairing Commercial Electrical Equipment
- RF Cafe Quiz #64:
Space-Time Adaptive Processing for Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #63:
Envelope Tracking Power Amplifiers
- RF Cafe Quiz #62:
Stimson's Introduction to Airborne Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #61:
Practical Microwave Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #60:
Ten Essential Skills for Electrical Engineers
- RF Cafe Quiz #59:
Microwave Circulator Design
- RF Cafe Quiz #58:
Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Electronic Packaging
- RF Cafe Quiz #57:
Frequency-Agile Antennas for Wireless Communications
- RF Cafe Quiz #56:
Tube Testers
and Electron Tube Equipment
- RF Cafe Quiz #55:
Conquer
Radio Frequency
- RF Cafe Quiz #54:
Microwave Mixer Technology and Applications
- RF Cafe Quiz #53:
Chipless RFID Reader Architecture
- RF Cafe Quiz #52:
RF and Microwave Power Amplifiers
- RF Cafe Quiz #51:
Antennas and Site Engineering for Mobile Radio Networks
- RF Cafe Quiz #50:
Microstrip Lines and Slotlines
- RF Cafe Quiz #49:
High-Frequency Integrated Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #48:
Introduction to Infrared and Electro-Optical Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #47:
LCP for Microwave Packages and Modules
- RF Cafe Quiz #46:
RF, Microwave, and Millimeter-Wave Components
- RF Cafe Quiz #45:
Dielectric and Thermal Properties of Materials at Microwave Frequencies
- RF Cafe Quiz #44:
Monopulse Principles and Techniques
- RF Cafe Quiz #43:
Plasma Antennas
- RF Cafe Quiz #42: The Micro-Doppler
Effect in Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #41: Introduction
to RF Design Using EM Simulators
- RF Cafe Quiz #40: Introduction
to Antenna Analysis Using EM Simulation
- RF Cafe Quiz #39: Emerging
Wireless Technologies and the Future Mobile Internet
- RF Cafe Quiz #38: Klystrons,
Traveling Wave Tubes, Magnetrons, Crossed-Field Amplifiers, and Gyrotrons
- RF Cafe Quiz #37: Component
Reliability for Electronic Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #36: Advanced
RF MEMS
- RF Cafe Quiz #35: Frequency
Synthesizers: Concept to Product
- RF Cafe Quiz #34: Multi-Gigabit
Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Wireless Communications
- RF Cafe Quiz #33: Battlespace
Technologies: Network-Enabled Information Dominance
- RF Cafe Quiz #32: Modern Communications
Receiver Design and Technology
- RF Cafe Quiz #31: Quantum
Mechanics of Nanostructures
- RF Cafe Quiz #30: OFDMA System
Analysis and Design
- RF Cafe Quiz #29: Cognitive
Radar
- RF Cafe Quiz #28: Human-Centered
Information Fusion
- RF Cafe Quiz #27: Remarkable
Engineers
- RF Cafe Quiz #26: Substrate
Noise Coupling in Analog/RF Circuits
- RF Cafe Quiz #25: Component
Reliability for Electronic Systems
- RF Cafe Quiz #24: Ultra Low
Power Bioelectronics
- RF Cafe Quiz #23: Digital
Communications Basics
- RF Cafe Quiz #22: Remember
the Basics?
- RF Cafe Quiz #21: Wireless
Standards Knowledge
- RF Cafe Quiz #20: Famous First
Names
- RF Cafe Quiz #19: Basic Circuit
Theory
- RF Cafe Quiz #18: Archaic
Scientific Words & Definitions
- RF Cafe Quiz #17: Inventors &
Their Inventions
- RF Cafe Quiz #16: Antennas
- RF Cafe Quiz #15: Numerical
Constants
- RF Cafe Quiz #14: Oscillators
- RF Cafe Quiz #13: General
Knowledge
- RF Cafe Quiz #12: Electronics
Corporations Headquarters
- RF Cafe Quiz #11: Famous Inventors &
Scientists
- RF Cafe Quiz #10: A Sampling
of RF & Wireless Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #9: A Smorgasbord
of RF Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #8: Hallmark Decades
in Electronics
- RF Cafe Quiz #7: Radar Fundamentals
- RF Cafe Quiz #6: Wireless Communications
Fundamentals
- RF Cafe Quiz #5: Company Logo
Recognition
- RF Cafe Quiz #4: General RF
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #3: General RF/Microwave
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #2: General RF
Topics
- RF Cafe Quiz #1: General RF
Knowledge
- Vacuum Tube Quiz,
February 1961 Popular Electronics
- Kool-Keeping Kwiz, June
1970 Popular Electronics
- Find the Brightest
Bulb Quiz, April 1960 Popular Electronics
-
Where Do the Scientists Belong? - Feb 19, 1949 Saturday Evening Post
|
- What's
Your EQ? - September 1962 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - October 1961 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - November 1961 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - March 1964 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - April 1962 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - May 1962 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - June 1962 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - April 1967 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - March 1967 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - December 1964 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - January 1967 Radio-Electronics
-
Wanted: 50,000 Engineers - January 1953 Popular Mechanics
-
What's Your EQ? - August 1964 Radio-Electronics
- Voltage Quiz
- December 1961 Popular Electronics
-
What is It? - June 1941 Popular Science
- What Do You Know
About Resistors? - April 1974 Popular Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - September 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Potentiometer Quiz - September
1962 Popular Electronics
-
Mathematical Bafflers - March 1965 Mechanix Illustrated
- Op Amp Quiz -
October 1968 Popular Electronics
- Electronic "A"
Quiz - April 1968 Popular Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - May 1961 Radio-Electronics
-
Popular Science Question Bee - February 1939 Popular Science
-
What is It? - A Question Bee in Photographs - June 1941 Popular Science
-
What's Your EQ? - June 1961 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - June 1964 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - May 1964 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - August 1963 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - May 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Bridge
Function Quiz - September 1969 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - March 1963 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - February 1967 Radio-Electronics
-
Circuit Quiz - June 1966 Radio-Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - June 1966 Radio-Electronics
- Electronics
Mathematics Quiz - June 1969 Popular Electronics
- Brightest
Light Quiz - April 1964 Popular Electronics
-
What's Your EQ? - April 1963 Radio-Electronics
- Electronics "B" Quiz
- July 1969 Popular Electronics
- Ohm's Law Quiz
- March 1969 Popular Electronics
-
Antenna Quiz - November 1962 Electronics World
- Color Code Quiz
- November 1967 Popular Electronics
- CapaciQuiz
- August 1961 Popular Electronics
- Transformer
Winding Quiz - December 1964 Popular Electronics
-
Audiophile Quiz - November 1957 Radio-electronics
- Capacitor
Function Quiz - March 1962 Popular Electronics
- Greek Alphabet
Quiz - December 1963 Popular Electronics
- Circuit
Designer's Name Quiz - July 19680 Popular Electronics
-
Sawtooth Sticklers Quiz - November 1960 Radio-Electronics
-
Elementary
Radio Quiz - December 1947 Radio-Craft
- Hi-Fi
Quiz - October 1955 Radio & Television News
- Electronics Physics
Quiz - March 1974 Popular Electronics
- A Baffling Quiz
- January 1968 Popular Electronics
- Electronics IQ
Quiz - May 1967 Popular Electronics
- Plug and Jack
Quiz - December 1967 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Switching Quiz - October 1967 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Angle Quiz - September 1967 Popular Electronics
- International
Electronics Quiz - July 1967 Popular Electronics
- FM Radio
Quiz - April 1950 Radio & Television News
- Bridge Circuit
Quiz -December 1966 Popular Electronics
- Diode Function
Quiz - August 1965 Popular Electronics
- Diagram Quiz,
August 1966 Popular Electronics
- Quist Quiz - November
1953 QST
- TV Trouble Quiz,
July 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronics History Quiz,
December 1965 Popular Electronics
- Scope-Trace Quiz,
March 1965 Popular Electronics
-
Electronic
Circuit Analogy Quiz, April 1973
-
Test Your Knowledge of Semiconductors, August 1972 Popular Electronics
- Ganged Switching
Quiz, April 1972 Popular Electronics
- Lamp Brightness
Quiz, January 1969 Popular Electronics
- Lissajous
Pattern Quiz, September 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Quizoo, October 1962 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Photo Album Quiz, March 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Alphabet Quiz, May 1963 Popular Electronics
- Quiz: Resistive?
Inductive? or Capacitive?, October 1960 Popular Electronics
- Vector-Circuit
Matching Quiz, June 1970 Popular Electronics
- Inductance
Quiz, September 1961 Popular Electronics
- RC Circuit Quiz,
June 1963 Popular Electronics
- Diode Quiz, July
1961 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Curves Quiz, February 1963 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Numbers Quiz, December 1962 Popular Electronics
- Energy Conversion
Quiz, April 1963 Popular Electronics
- Coil Function
Quiz, June 1962 Popular Electronics
-
Co-Inventors Quiz - January 1965 Electronics World
-
"-Tron" Teasers Quiz - October 1963 Electronics World
- Polarity Quiz
- March 1968 Popular Electronics
-
Television
I.Q. Quiz - October 1948 Radio & Television News
- Amplifier Quiz
Part I - February 1964 Popular Electronics
- Semiconductor
Quiz - February 1967 Popular Electronics
- Unknown
Frequency Quiz - September 1965 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Metals Quiz - October 1964 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Measurement Quiz - August 1967 Popular Electronics
- Meter-Reading
Quiz, June 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Geometry Quiz, January 1965 Popular Electronics
- Electronic
Factor Quiz, November 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electronics
Math Quiz, November 1965 Popular Electronics
- Series Circuit
Quiz, May 1966 Popular Electronics
- Electrochemistry
Quiz, March 1966 Popular Electronics
- Biz
Quiz: Test Your Sales Ability - April 1947 Radio News
- Electronic
Analogy Quiz, November 1961 Popular Electronics
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Posted May 30, 2014
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