Experiment 1 :- Determining the capacitance of a capacitor /

connecting capacitors in series and in parallel:

Goal:
1- Learning how to determine the capacitance by charging
and discharging a
capacitor.

2- Determining the equivalent capacitance of two capacitors

connected in series and
in parallel.
 Apparatus and tools:
1) battery (voltage source)
2) Three capacitors: capacitor 1 and capacitor 2 with capacitance of C1 and C2 respectively,
where C1 = C2 = 1000 μF. The third capacitor (capacitor U) has unknown capacitance CU

3) Voltmeter: (with a known internal resistance R)

4) wires.

5) stop watch

V
How to draw the circt:

Ve
ry
Im
po
rta
nt

- +
V
- +

+
-
 :Theory
What is the capacitance?

the capacitance can be defined as the ratio between the

charge stored in the plates to the voltage difference between
them.
𝑄
𝐶=
𝑉
Where:
C is the capacitance. C (Farad)
Q is the amount of charge. q (coulomb)
V is the potential. V (voltage).

capacitor properties
1) The parallel-plate capacitor is consisted of two plates, the amount of
charge (Q) is the same on each plate.
2) These plates are separated by a distance d filled with a dielectric material.
 :Theory
(Q) If the capacitor is connected by a resistance R for example and to a battery to create voltage
difference between the capacitor plates (i.e. the battery will charge the capacitor) , After disconnecting the
battery the voltage will:
1) Drops immediately to ZERO
2) Will take some to time to reach to the zero point.

After disconnecting the battery, it will take some time (t) which depends on R and C to
discharge the capacitor from Vo to V.

The relationship between these voltages is given by :

− ( 𝑅𝐶
𝑡
) 𝑉 −( ) 𝑡

𝑉 =𝑉 0 𝑒 → = 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
𝑉0

¿ By taking the natural logarithm for both sides 𝑙𝑛

𝑉
𝑉0
−(
= 𝑙𝑛 𝑒 𝑅𝐶
) [ 𝑡
]
𝑉 𝑡
→ 𝑙𝑛 =−
𝑉0 𝑅𝐶
𝑡
∴ 𝐶=−
𝑉
𝑅𝑙𝑛
𝑉0
 Connecting two capacitors in series and in parallel:

in parallel in series
V s =V 1 +V 2 V s =V
V =V
1 2
Q s =Q 1=Q 2 Q s =Q
Q +Q
1 2
1
Cs
=
1
(+
1
C1 C 2 ) C s=C
C 1 +C 2

in series in parallel
Q Q
∵V = V s=V 1+V 2∧Q s=Q 1 =Q 2∵V = → Q=𝑉𝐶 V s =V 1=V 2∧Q s=Q 1 +Q 2
C C
Qs Q1 Q2
∴ = + ∴𝑉 s C s =𝑉 1 C 1 +𝑉 2 C2
Cs C1 C2

¿ ∵ Q s = Q 1 =Q 2 ¿ ∵V s =V 1 =V 2

( ) ( ) ∴ 𝑉 C =𝑉 ( C +C
Q 1 1 1 1 1
∴
Cs
=Q +
C1 C2
→
Cs
= +
C1 C 2 s 1 2 ) →C s =C 1+C 2
:Procedure
Part 1 :- Determining The Value of Unknown Resistance

1- Connect the circuit using Capacitor U

Note that the resistance R is the internal resistance of the voltmeter, which means that
you have to connect the voltmeter instead of R.
2- Open the switch so that Capacitor U is charged, and adjust the applied voltage until
it reaches 10 V, as measured by the voltmeter. This voltage is VO.

3- Close the switch so that Capacitor U is disconnected from the battery. In the same
time start timing (measuring time t) by using the stop watch until Vo decreases to a
lower value V.

4- Repeat timing three times using three different values of V (for example 8, 5 and 3
V) and record t for every time.

5- Use the equation to calculate C for each value of V. Next, calculate the average 𝑡
value of C.
∴ 𝐶=−
𝑉
𝑅𝑙𝑛
6- Calculate the average value of CU. 𝑉0

V (volt) t ( sec) C ( farad) V0 ( volt)

1.9E-2 50 AN
D
8
U E
TR TION
= The Average Capacitance
T
1.2E-2 73 O A
E N PLAN 6
10 R
S A R EX OSE
S ( 1.9×10 −2 )(1.2×10−2 )( 8.4×10−3 )( 5.5×10−3 )
8.4-3
E
LU FO RP
VA ED PU92 4 =1.1×10−2 𝑓
L
AL US
5
5.5E-3 107 2
Part 2 :- Calculating The Equivalent Capacitance Of Part.3.:- Calculating The Equivalent Resistance Of
Two Known Capacitor Connected in Series: Two Known Resistors Connected in Parallel:

Connect Capacitor 1 and 2 in parallel -1 Connect Capacitor 1 and 2 in parallel -1

2- Repeat steps 2 – 6 in Part I in order to 2- Repeat steps 2 – 6 in Part I in order to

determine the equivalent capacitance Cs determine the equivalent capacitance Cs
(this is the experimental value of Cs). (this is the experimental value of Cs).

3- Calculate the theoretical value of Cs by 3- Calculate the theoretical value of Cs by

using: using:

1
Cs
=
1
(
+
1
C1 C 2 ) C s=C1 +C 2
Calculate the percentage error in Rs -4 Calculate the percentage error in Rs -4
X m− X X m− X
%= ×100 %= ×100
X X