Eighth Edition of Sedra and Smith [Society News

Abstract

This book, in its eighth edition, has been known by generations of students as Sedra and Smith after its coauthors, Dr. Adel S. Sedra of the University of Waterloo and Dr. Kenneth C. Smith of the University of Toronto. The authors of this latest text have not only brought the content up to date to reflect current electronics practice; they’ve also developed an enhanced ebook that supports modern teaching practices with digital resources integrated into the text itself. The biggest innovation of the eighth edition is the creation of an enhanced ebook, which embeds additional video and problem-solving resources and gives students more control over how the content is displayed. Popups are available by hovering over references to figures and equations; answers to exercises can be hidden so that students can try them out on their own. The videos provide instructors with an added tool to aid in flexible course delivery. The videos are designed to provide students with the missing link between reading and problem solving. These videos take students step by step through an example problem from the text, so when they’re asked to do it on their own, they know exactly where to begin and how to proceed. Also, in the enhanced ebook, the authors have created 150 additional end-of-chapter problems for nine of the most frequently used chapters. These are designed to be a study aid for students and are presented with solutions in step-by-step detail. The examples, exercises, and homework problems in the text have also been thoroughly updated. According to Dr. Sedra, “The rapid reduction in device size has meant that the numbers that we use in examples, exercises, and problems have to be all revised.” Another innovation in the eighth edition is the designation of essential problems, which will be helpful for instructors looking for guidance when selecting sets of problems for students to solve. The end result is a package of print and media resources surpassing anything these authors have provided in the past. Moreover, at just US$60 (365- day access) for the enhanced ebook, this total package is far more affordable for students than print editions have ever been.