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Capacitor Phet Lab

This simulation allows students to experiment with capacitors and capacitance. It covers topics like how capacitance, plate charge, stored energy, and voltage change as a battery voltage is increased or decreased. Students can also experiment with multiple capacitors in series and parallel configurations to observe how total capacitance and stored charge are affected. They are asked to record observations and compare the behaviors of capacitors in different circuit setups.

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603 views

Capacitor Phet Lab

This simulation allows students to experiment with capacitors and capacitance. It covers topics like how capacitance, plate charge, stored energy, and voltage change as a battery voltage is increased or decreased. Students can also experiment with multiple capacitors in series and parallel configurations to observe how total capacitance and stored charge are affected. They are asked to record observations and compare the behaviors of capacitors in different circuit setups.

Uploaded by

api-317403302
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Lab Capacitors (H)

Go to https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/capacitor-lab and click the play button


to download the simulation. You will need to click save and/or run now when it opens the initial
java file.
This simulation deals with capacitance and capacitors which we are unable to experiment with
in physical labs because we do not have access to the required materials.
The SI unit of capacitance is the farad (symbol: F), named after the English physicist Michael
Faraday. A 1 farad capacitor, when charged with 1 coulomb of electrical charge, has a potential
difference of 1 volt between its plates.
Introduction
Begin by familiarizing yourself with the setup. Start on the Introduction tab and check all boxes
except Electric Field Detector. Move the red voltmeter wire to the top plate and the black wire
to the bottom plate.
Increase the battery voltage between 0 and 1.5V. Record observations for changes in each of
the following as you increase the voltage.
a. Capacitance
b. Plate charge
c. Stored Energy
d. Voltage across plates (Read off of voltmeter)
e. How does the voltage across the plate compare to the battery voltage?
Now, change the battery voltage to somewhere between 0 and -1.5 V. Record observations for
changes in each of the following.
a. Capacitance
b. Plate charge
c. Stored Energy
d. Voltage across plates (Read off of voltmeter)
e. How does the voltage across the plate compare to the battery voltage?
Multiple capacitors
Change from the introduction tab to the multiple capacitors tab. Make sure that only the total
capacitance and stored charged boxes are checked. Thats the only tool you will need for this
section.

For simplicity, all numbers to be input will be given without the x10-13 and can be recorded
without the x10-13. C1 = 2, C2 = 3, and C3 = 1, these should remain constant. Keep the voltage
supplied by the battery at 1.5 V.
Notice that even if the voltage is set to zero, there is still a total capacitance, this is because
capacitance is based off of the initial set up and material you are working with.
Starting with a single resistor, record the total capacitance and stored charge. These will act as
a baseline for comparison.
Once you have those initial numbers for comparison, you need to fill out the chart displaying
the following information. Using the values given above, you need to find the total capacitance
and the stored charge for each of the available scenarios: 2 in series, 3 in series, 2 in parallel, 3
in parallel, 2 in series + 1 in parallel, 2 in parallel + 1 in series.

Use the information from the above chart and what we have talked about in class to write a full
comparison and conclusion. This should be a lengthy conclusion as there are multiple situations
to compare and draw conclusions from. To be included in the conclusion is a description of how
the total charge was distributed across the different plates. Does the total capacitance make
sense? Why is it smaller when they are in series and much larger when in parallel? Also, look at
the last two set ups which are complex circuits and discuss how the charge is distributed in
each portion of the circuit.

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