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22-Agric-A5 Principles of Instrumentation: Undated paper

Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)

  1. Question 1 Noise, Errors and Signal Conditioning
  2. Question 2 Sensor Principles
  3. Question 3 Inertial Measurement Units
  4. Question 4 Ionization and Optical Smoke Detectors
  5. Question 5 Non-Linear Calibration and Error Structure
  6. Question 6 Electrical Conductivity and Precision Rectification
  7. Question 7 Flow Measurement

Start with Question 1 →

Paper format. 04-Agric-A5 Principles of Instrumentation, National Exam (printed exam date May 2019) — a three-hour open-book exam; any non-communicating calculator is permitted. Questions 1 and 2 are compulsory (20 marks each); candidates then choose any three (3) of Questions 3-7 (20 marks each) for a 100-mark paper. All seven questions are worked here.

Reference texts. E.O. Doebelin, Measurement Systems: Application and Design, 5th ed. (calibration, noise, dynamic sensor response, sampling and ADCs); J.P. Bentley, Principles of Measurement Systems, 4th ed. (error propagation, signal conditioning, bridge circuits); P. Horowitz and W. Hill, The Art of Electronics, 3rd ed. (op-amp circuits, precision rectifiers, instrumentation amplifiers, shot/Johnson noise); J. Fraden, Handbook of Modern Sensors: Physics, Designs, and Applications, 5th ed. (photodetectors, gas sensors, Hall-effect and thermal sensors); F.P. Incropera and D.P. DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer (forced-convection/King's-Law correlations for the hot-wire bridge).

Check — question wording used below. Question 1 includes the sub-part “What is the most common source of instrument drift?”, and part 1(j)'s converter is a 13-bit device (Intersil 7109). Question 6 has six sub-parts (a–f); part (b) asks “What ions in the solution are detected?” Question 2(i) asks “Why are optical sensors sometimes cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures?” Page 2 carries one schematic, the three-op-amp instrumentation amplifier. Question 3 has four sub-parts (a–d).