Component values and references in PCB Design - Practice Problems & Coding Challenges

Challenge - 5 Problems

🧠 Conceptual

intermediate

Understanding Component Reference Designators

In a PCB design, what does the reference designator R5 typically represent?

A The fifth resistor component on the board

B The fifth relay component on the board

C The fifth resistor-capacitor network

D The fifth rotary switch

💡 Hint

Reference designators usually start with a letter indicating the component type.

In PCB design, 'R' stands for resistor. 'R5' means the resistor labeled number 5.

❓ dax_lod_result

intermediate

Calculating Total Resistance from Component Values

You have a table of components with their reference designators and resistance values in ohms. Which DAX measure correctly calculates the total resistance of all resistors?

PCB Design

Components = DATATABLE("Ref", STRING, "Value", INTEGER, { {"R1", 100}, {"C1", 10}, {"R2", 200}, {"L1", 5} })

A TotalResistance = CALCULATE(SUM(Components[Value]), Components[Ref] = "R")

B TotalResistance = SUMX(FILTER(Components, Components[Ref] = "R"), Components[Value])

C TotalResistance = SUM(Components[Value])

D TotalResistance = CALCULATE(SUM(Components[Value]), FILTER(Components, LEFT(Components[Ref],1) = "R"))

💡 Hint

Use FILTER to select only resistors by checking the first letter of the reference.

Option D filters components where the reference starts with 'R' and sums their values correctly.

❓ visualization

advanced

Best Visualization for Component Value Distribution

You want to show the distribution of component values by type (Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors) on a dashboard. Which visualization is best?

A A stacked bar chart showing total values per component type

B A pie chart showing percentage of each component type by count

C A scatter plot with component value on X-axis and reference number on Y-axis

D A line chart showing component values over time

💡 Hint

Think about comparing totals across categories clearly.

A stacked bar chart clearly shows total values per component type, making it easy to compare.

❓ data_modeling

advanced

Modeling Component References and Values

You have two tables: Components with reference designators and Values with component values. How should you model the relationship to analyze component values by reference?

A Create a many-to-many relationship between Components and Values on Ref

B Create a one-to-many relationship from Components[Ref] to Values[Ref]

C Create a one-to-one relationship from Values[Ref] to Components[Ref]

D Do not create any relationship; use LOOKUPVALUE in measures

💡 Hint

One component can have one value, but values table may have multiple entries.

A one-to-many relationship from Components to Values on Ref allows aggregation of values per component.

🔧 Formula Fix

expert

Debugging Incorrect Component Value Aggregation

A DAX measure to sum resistor values is returning zero. The measure is:
TotalResistors = CALCULATE(SUM(Components[Value]), Components[Ref] = "R")
What is the cause of the problem?

A Components[Value] column contains text, not numbers

B SUM cannot be used inside CALCULATE

C The filter condition Components[Ref] = "R" is incorrect because Ref contains full designators like 'R1', not just 'R'

D CALCULATE requires an explicit FILTER function to work

💡 Hint

Check how the filter condition matches the data format.

The filter checks for exact match 'R' but references are like 'R1', so no rows match and sum is zero.