IITM BS Signals and Systems (EE2101): Syllabus and Tips

Signals and Systems (EE2101) is a 4 credit diploma course in the IITM BS in Electronic Systems. You learn to describe signals, study linear time-invariant (LTI) systems through convolution, and analyse both with Fourier series, the Fourier transform and the Laplace transform. You need Electrical and Electronic Circuits (EE1103) first. Much of the diploma depends on this course.

The syllabus names Prof. Lakshmi Narasimhan Theagarajan of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras, as the instructor. The syllabus and the handbook agree on the level and the 4 credits.

What you need before Signals and Systems

• Both handbook tables make EEC (EE1103) the prerequisite.
• The prerequisite section also lists Math for Electronics II (MA2101) as a corequisite. The main table does not. Taking Maths II earlier or in the same term covers both readings.
• As a diploma course, it needs your foundation courses up to the Electronics Laboratory done first.

What you learn in Signals and Systems

The syllabus runs over 12 weeks.

• Weeks 1 to 4: describing signals. Continuous and discrete time, analog and digital, and shifting and scaling in time. Complex signals and phasors. Even and odd parts, symmetry, periodic signals, orthogonal signals, energy and power, and the Dirac delta.
• Weeks 5 and 6: systems and convolution. Properties such as causality, memory, stability, linearity and time invariance. Then LTI systems, convolution and its properties, and the step response.
• Weeks 7 to 10: Fourier analysis. Fourier series with Parseval's theorem and Dirichlet's conditions. Then the Fourier transform, its symmetry and duality, and the uncertainty principle. Finally, using it for LTI systems, the ideal low-pass filter and circuit analysis.
• Weeks 11 and 12: the Laplace transform. Region of convergence, pole-zero plots, Bode plots, the initial and final value theorems, and Laplace in circuit analysis.

The suggested books are Signals and Systems by Oppenheim, Willsky and Nawab and Principles of Linear Systems and Signals by B. P. Lathi.

Like every diploma course, it asks you to upload photos of your written working with assignments. See worked-out assignment submissions. The syllabus does not give a grading formula.

Who finds it hard and how to prepare

Convolution and the Fourier transform are where most of the effort goes. The course is maths heavy, and the ideas build week on week, so a missed week hurts later.

• Learn convolution by drawing it: flip one signal, slide it, multiply and add up the overlap. Do many by hand.
• Build your own table of standard Fourier transform pairs and properties. Derive each once yourself.
• Revise Laplace transforms and Bode plots from EEC before weeks 11 and 12. They come back here.
• Brush up on complex numbers and phasors before week 2.
• If you take Maths II in the same term, link its Fourier series week to weeks 7 and 8 here.

What to take before and after

Before: EEC, and Maths II before or alongside. After: Signals and Systems is the prerequisite for Analog Electronic Systems (EE2102) and Digital Signal Processing (EE3101). It is also a corequisite of the Signal Processing Project, and it is tied to Control Engineering. The full chain is in ES diploma courses.

Common questions

Why should I take Signals and Systems early in the diploma?

Analog Electronic Systems and Digital Signal Processing both need it, and Sensors and Applications needs Analog. If you delay it by a term, a large part of the diploma moves back with it.

How is it different from Digital Signal Processing?

Signals and Systems spends most of its time on continuous-time signals and the Fourier and Laplace transforms. Digital Signal Processing moves to discrete time: sampling, the DTFT, the z-transform and the DFT.

Is Control Engineering linked to this course?

Yes. The handbook's main table makes Signals and Systems a prerequisite of Control Engineering. The prerequisite section lists it as a corequisite instead. Either way, plan Signals and Systems first.