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Experiment #3: Capacitors in Series and Parallel: Show Calculations and Units

Experiment #3 tests capacitors in series and parallel configurations. For a circuit with capacitors C1, C2, and C3 connected in series and charged to 10V, the theoretical and experimental voltages across each capacitor are calculated. For the same circuit with the capacitors connected in parallel, the charges and voltages are also calculated. Questions are then asked about how capacitance changes with plate size and separation, the initial discharge rate of a capacitor through a voltmeter, and the percentage discharge of the capacitor over 3 seconds.

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Mari Kuljanishvili
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659 views3 pages

Experiment #3: Capacitors in Series and Parallel: Show Calculations and Units

Experiment #3 tests capacitors in series and parallel configurations. For a circuit with capacitors C1, C2, and C3 connected in series and charged to 10V, the theoretical and experimental voltages across each capacitor are calculated. For the same circuit with the capacitors connected in parallel, the charges and voltages are also calculated. Questions are then asked about how capacitance changes with plate size and separation, the initial discharge rate of a capacitor through a voltmeter, and the percentage discharge of the capacitor over 3 seconds.

Uploaded by

Mari Kuljanishvili
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment #3: Capacitors in Series and Parallel

Show Calculations and Units

F Circuit #1. Given values: V =10V, C1 =3.9µF, C2 =6.8µF, C3 =10µF. Calculate the charge on and the voltage
across each capacitor.

C1
Theoretical Experimental
V C2
Q1 = 19.9 μC V1 = 5.1V V1 = 4.98V
C3
Q2 = 19.9 μC V2 = 2.9V V2 = 2.87V

Q3 = 19.9 μC V3 = 2.0V V3 = 1.95V


Calculation:
1 1 1 1 1 1
= + = −6
+ −6
+
Ct C 1 C2 3.9× 10 F 6.8× 10 F 1.0 × 10−5 F
Ct=1.99× 10-6C
Q=QCt =QC 1=QC 2=QC 3=C t V =1.99 ×10−6 F × 10 V =1.99 ×10−5 coul .
C1 =3.9µF=3.9 × 10-6F, C2 =6.8µF=6.8 × 10-6F, C3 =10µF=10 × 10-6F
Q 1.99× 10−5 C
V 1= = =5.1 V
C1 3.9× 10−6 F
Q 1.99 ×10−5 C
V 2= = =2.9V
C 2 6.8 ×10−6 F
Q 1.99 ×10−5 C
V 3= = =2.0V
C 3 10 ×10−6 F

F Circuit #2. Given values: V =10V, C1 =3.9µF, C2 =6.8µF, C3 =10µF. Calculate the charge on and the voltage
across each capacitor.

Theoretical Experimental
C1
Q1 =31.7 μC V1 =8.1V V1 = 7.91V
V
C2 C 3 μC
Q2 =12.8 V2 =1.9V V2 = 1.85V

Q3 =18.8 μC V3 =1.9V V3 = 1.85V

Calculation:
C1 =3.9µF=3.9 × 10-6F, C2 =6.8µF=6.8 × 10-6F, C3 =10µF=10 × 10-6F
C 2+C 3=6.8 × 10−6 F +10 ×10−6 F=16.8 ×10−5 F as they are parallel
1 1 1 1 1
Capacitors in series = + = +
Ct C 1 C2 +C 3 3.9 ×10 F 16.8 ×10−6 F
−6 Ct=3.17× 10-6C
Q=C t V =3.17× 10−6 F ×10 V =3.17× 10−5 coul .
Q=Q 1 =3.17 ×10−5 coul .
Q 1 3.17 × 10−5 C
V 1= = =8.1 V
C 1 3.9 ×10−6 F
V 2=V 3 =V −V 1=10 V −8.1V =1.9 V
Q 2=C 2 V 2 =6.8× 10−6 F ×1.9 V =1.28× 10−5 Coulomb
Q 3=C 3 V 3=10 ×10−6 F × 1.9V =1.88× 10−5 Coulomb

F Question #1. Capacitor is built up of two parallel circular plates of radii r separated by a distance d. How
the capacitance changes if the radii are doubled, separation is kept the same, while the charge on the
capacitor is halved?

Capacitance does not change

Capacitance increases twice

Capacitance decreases twice

Capacitance increases 4 times

In this case capacitance increases 4 times if radii is doubled :

ε0 A ε0 π r2
C= C= C=R2=22 =4 Area(A)= π r 2
d d

F Question #2. Voltmeter with its 10MΩ internal resistance is connected to a 3.9µF capacitor that has been
charged to 10V. Calculate the initial rate of discharge of the capacitor through the voltmeter in µC per
second. Hint: You do not need exponentials for this calculation.

dQ V 10 V dQ C
=I t=0 I = = =10 ×10−6 A =10 ×10−6 =1.0 μC /s
dt R 10 ×10 Ω6
dt s

F Question #3. Assuming this initial rate of discharge in Question #1 is maintained for 3 seconds, by what
percentage would the capacitor be discharged?

Charge discharged in 3 seconds: Q= ( dQdt ) ×3 sec=3 ×10 −6


C=3 μC

Initial charge on capacitor: Q 0=CV =3.9× 10−6 F ×10 V =39 × 10−6 C=39 μC
3 μC 300
( )
%discharge= 39 μC ×100 %= 39 =7.7%

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