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Experiment 4 Determination of The Capacitance of A Capacitor in A Series RC AC Circuit

The document describes an experiment to determine the capacitance of a capacitor in a series RC AC circuit. A capacitor is connected in series with a resistor and AC power supply. Voltage and current measurements are taken and plotted to determine total impedance. The capacitance is then calculated using equations relating capacitive reactance, frequency, and capacitance. The experimentally determined capacitance value is found to be 0.081 F, with 19% error from the theoretical value of 0.1 F written on the capacitor.

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195 views

Experiment 4 Determination of The Capacitance of A Capacitor in A Series RC AC Circuit

The document describes an experiment to determine the capacitance of a capacitor in a series RC AC circuit. A capacitor is connected in series with a resistor and AC power supply. Voltage and current measurements are taken and plotted to determine total impedance. The capacitance is then calculated using equations relating capacitive reactance, frequency, and capacitance. The experimentally determined capacitance value is found to be 0.081 F, with 19% error from the theoretical value of 0.1 F written on the capacitor.

Uploaded by

Adoo Adoo
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 PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Experiment 4

Determination of the capacitance of a capacitor


in a series RC AC circuit

Objectives:
The purpose of this experiment is to determine the capacitance of a capacitor in
a series RC AC circuit.
Tools and instruments:
AC power supply + variable resistor + voltmeter + ammeter + capacitor.

Theory:
Figure 1 shows a capacitor of capacitance (C) connected in series with an
ohmic resistance (R) and AC power supply. The total impedance (Z) of the
circuit is given by the equation:

(1)

Where XC is the capacitive reactance of the capacitor and given by the equation:

XC = 1/(ωC) = 1/(2πfC) (2)

where f is the frequency of the electric current = 60 Hz in Saudi Arabia.

Figure (1)
Experimental:

1- First, please note the maximum voltage that can be safely applied on the
capacitor; it's written on the capacitor. Don't exceed this maximum voltage.

2- Register the value of the ohmic resistance R. This value will be used in the
calculations of Z.

3- Fill in the following table with the value of current at each voltage value.

4- Draw a relation between V (Y-axis) and I (X-axis). You will get a straight
line passing the origin point. The slope of this line equals the experimental
value of the total impedance Z ( from Ohm's law).

5- Using the value of Z obtained from step 4, calculate the capacitance C of the
capacitor from equations (1) and (2).

6- Register the theoretical value of the capacitance C written on the capacitor


and compare it to the experimental one obtained from step 5.

Results:

f=0.6 Hz , R=10 Ω , C= 0.1 F

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 V (V)

1.74 1.54 1.35 1.16 0.96 0.77 0.58 0.38 0.19 I (A)
Calculations:

● Experimental results:

From the graph we get


∆𝑦 4−2
Z=𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = ∆𝑥
= 0.38−0.19
=10.53 Ω
2 2 2 2
XC = 𝑍 − 𝑅 = 10. 53 − 10 =3.3 Ω
1 1
C= 2π𝑓𝑋𝑐
= 2×π×0.6×3.3 = 0.081 F

● Theoretical results:
C=0.1 F
1 1
XC= 2π𝑓𝐶
= 2×π×0.6×0.1 = 2.66 Ω

2 2 2 2
Z= 𝑅 + 𝑋𝐿 = 10 + 2. 66 =10.35 Ω

Conclusion:
0.081−0.1
The percentage error in the obtained value of C = 0.1
×100% = -19%

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