Capacitors

School
Candidate
I / C No.
Expt. No.

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Topic
Title
Objective
Theory

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SMK Sultan Abdul Samad, Jalan 12/13, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Date
:( Expt. Day )
.
6
Index No. :- ________________________
Capacitor
Capacitance and time constant
To determine the capacitance of a capacitor and the time constant of an R C circuit.
The diagram shows an R C circuit.
S
V

When the switch S is closed, charging of the capacitor occurs.

The charge Q o stored in a fully charged capacitor of capacitance C under a charging voltage V is
given by

Qo = CV

When the switch S is opened, the capacitor will discharge through the resistor of resistance R .
The potential differences across C and R , VC and VR respectively, are now related by

VC - VR = 0

Capacitors (2)
If

Q = charge on the capacitor at time t.

I = current flowing at time t,
Q
,
Vc =
VR = IR

then,

I =-

( I = positive,

dQ
dt

dQ = negative )

Q
- IR = 0
C

and now

or

dQ
Q
R =
dt
C

Integration followed by differentiation gives

Q = Qo e

I = Io e
where

Q o = initial charge,
I o = initial current,
= CR = time constant .

Apparatus

: - (i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)

A 6 V d.c. power supply

A switch
A d.c. Milliammeter
A stopwatch
A resistor - pack

(vi) Two connecting wires each with a crocodile

clip at one end.
(vii) Some connecting wires
(viii) A capacitor labelled C

Capacitors (3)
Procedure

:6 V d.c.
power
supply

mA
+
C

X
To resistor - pack
Y

(a) The apparatus as shown in the diagram is set up, R being the effective resistance across X and Y.
(b) Starting with R = 6600 , switch S is closed and R is decreased in stages by proper selection
of combination of resistors in the resistor pack until the reading of current I o in the milliammeter is
about 1.0 mA. The values of I o and the corresponding resistance R o are recorded and tabulated.
(c) Keeping the value of R o with the value of I o about 1 mA, switch S is opened and the terminals
of the capacitor are shorted with a short connecting wire to fully discharge it.
(d) Switch S is closed again to charge the capacitor until the reading of the milliammeter shows I o .
(e) Switch S is then opened and simultaneously a stopwatch is started and the reading of the
milliammeter is observed. The stopwatch is stopped when the current reaches a certain value of I .
The values of I and the corresponding time t are recorded.
Iuntil
I 0.
(f) Steps (d) and (e)I o are repeated
o
ln

are also tabulated.

I
(g) Values of I , t , I , and
I o

ln

I o

k
=
ln

versus t is plotted and its gradient ,

t
I
(h) A graph of
, is also determined.
1
=
(i) The time constant for the R C circuit is calculated using the expression
. k

C =
Ro
(j) The capacitance C of the capacitor is determined using the expression
.
I o

ln

(k) From the graph of I versus t , an expression for current I as a function of time t is deduced.

Capacitors (4)
Results

:- Determination of I o and the corresponding Ro

( I o 0.01 ) mA
R/

(i)

( ii )

mean

6600
6500
6400
6300
6200

Hence,
current

Io =

__________________ mA

resistance

Ro =

__________________

Capacitors (5)
Variation of I with t
Time ( t 0.1 ) s

( I 0.01 )
mA

(i)

( ii )

0.90

0.8

1.2

1.2

0.7

3.4

4.4

0.6

5.4

7.0

0.5

8.8

10.0

0.4

13.2

14.4

0.3

19.0

20.2

0.2

28.0

28.6

0.1

41.8

42.2

mean

Io

Io
I

ln

t
n

Io

I

ln

Centroid =

Io

( t , ln

( ?

? )

Io

I
n

ln

Capacitors (6)
Graph

:I o

Graph of ln

versus t / s

I o

ln

centroid
( ? , ? )

Io
? ?
I

ln

t = ?- ? s
0

t /s

Capacitors (7)
Calculations :-

I
From the graph of ln o
I

versus t / s,

slope

I o

ln

I
=
(t / s )
=

? - ?
? - ?

1
s
s- 1

@ ______________ s- 1

Hence,

time constant

capacitance

1
k
1
=
?
=

1
s- 1
s

@ __________

C =

Ro

= _____________ F

Capacitors (8)
As the graph of

versus t / s

is a straight line through the origin with slope k,

Io

ln
we have

I o

ln

= k t + 0

or
I
or
Io
= e kt
and
for the experiment results,
I
which shows that current I is a decreasing exponential function of time t for a discharging capacitor.
I
= e - kt
Io
or

I = Ioe

I =

- kt

? e

- ? t

mA

Capacitors (9)
Discussion :(a) Precautions
1. Switch S must be switched off when the power supply is no longer needed so that the electromotive
force ( e.m.f. ) of the power supply does not deteriorate as deteriorated e.m.f. cannot provide the
same current I o as required each time the experiment is repeated.
2. Also ensure that the power supply is not accidentally short circuited while discharging the capacitor, by
ensuring switch S be opened , as this can damage the cells.
3. While taking readings from the milliammeter or stop-watch ( analogue type ), make sure that the
direction of vision is perpendicular to the scale at the point whose reading is required to avoid parallax
error.
4. Ensure that all electrical connections are clean and tight.
(b) Reliability of results
1. The results obtained for and C are accurate to 2 or 3 significant figures only.
2. It is assumed that the capacitor and resistor are in good working condition ; any leakage or
malfunction can affect the accuracy of the results.
(c) Comment
1. The power supply from a fully charged accumulator can provide a steadier current than a power pack
of dry cells and is therefore preferred.
2. It is important to ensure that the polar electrolytic capacitor under test be correctly connected to the
circuit, i.e. , with its positive and negative terminals be connected to the positive and the negative
terminals of the power supply respectively.
Wrong connection can cause the capacitor to explode besides giving erroneous results.

Capacitors (10)
Conclusion :1. Time constant,

= ______________

s.

2. Capacitance,

C =

F.

______________

3. Current I of a discharging capacitor decreases exponentially with time t, i.e. , for the C R circuit,

I = Io e - k t
or

I =

? e

- ? t

mA .