Carmel Alison Lam Foundation Secondary School

Physics AL / ASL Past - Examinations Questions

3. CAPACITORS & CAPACITANCE

1991IIA6a (AL only) An initially unchanged capacitor of capacitance C is connected in series with a resistor of resistance r. The capacitor is now fully charged up by connecting a battery of e.m.f. across this combination. dQ = A BQ # where Q is the charge stored in the capacitor after the (i) eri!e an e"uation dt battery has been connected for a time t. etermine the constants A and B in the abo!e e"uation. (ii) $ol!e this e"uation for Q and s%etch the !ariation of Q with t. &i!e physical e'planations of the !ariation. (iii) (rom the first principles determine the total wor% done by the battery in fully charging up C and the final energy stored in C. )'plain# and account for mathematically# any difference between these. 199*IIA+b,c (AL only) (b) )'plain the concept of capacitance by considering a small charged metal sphere# assuming the in!erse s"uare law for the force between charges. (c) escribe how you would e'perimentally in!estigate the geometric factors affecting the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor using a reed switch to con!ert the stored charge into a current. (There is no need to e'plain the wor%ing of the reed switch.) $uggest two sources of error. 199-II.+a(AL) (AL only) (a) /ith the aid of a circuit diagram# briefly describe how a reed switch wor%s in in!estigating the dependence of the charge stored in a parallel0plate capacitor on (i) the area of o!erlap of the plates# and (ii) the separation between the plates. $how graphically the e'pected results. 1999II.1a(AL) A parallel0plate capacitor of capacitance 2 and a resistor of large resistance 3 are connected in series with a battery of e.m.f. ha!ing negligible internal resistance.

(i)

$%etch graphs to show the time !ariation of the !oltage# across the capacitor and the current in the circuit after closing switch $. .riefly e'plain your answer. (ii) A student uses a !oltmeter of resistance 3 to chec% the !oltage across the capacitor and finds that the reading falls from an initial !alue to a final steady !alue 4*. .riefly e'plain why this is so. (iii) /ith switch $ closed# the plates of the capacitor are pulled apart slightly. escribe and e'plain the possible change(s) in the charge and the energy stored in the capacitor when the steady state is reached.

Section C : Fields, Electricity and Electromagnetism ( ! Ca"acitor # Ca"acitance Essay-ty"e-Q$ P!%&%