Physics Assignment M.
Prakash Academy
Capacitors and Dielectrics
Section 1: Capacitors without dielectrics
1) You are given a parallel plate capacitor with square plates of area A and separation d, in vacuum. What is the
qualitative effect of each of the following on its capacitance?
a) Double the area of one plate only
b) Slide the plates parallel to each other, so that the area of overlap is 50%
2) Suppose a charge +Q1 is given to the positive plate and a charge -Q2 to the
negative plate of a capacitor. What is the ``charge'' on the capacitor? Why? a
a b
3) A capacitor is made up of a flat plate of area A and a second plate having a
a b
stair-like structure as shown. The width of each stair is a and the height is b.
Find the capacitance of the assembly. d
3a
4) Four identical metal plates, each having area A are located in air at equal M
distances d from each other, as shown. If the extreme plates are
connected by a conducting wire, find the capacitance of the system
between points M and N.
N
5) Two long straight wires with equal cross-sectional radius a are located parallel to each other in air. The
distance between their axes is equal to b. Find the capacitance of the wires per unit length if b >> a. Hint:
Assume equal and opposite charge uniformly distributed on the wires.
C1 C1
C2 C2
6) Take C1=4.0 μF and C2=6.0 μF in the figure. Calculate the equivalent capacitance A B
C1 C1
between A and B.
C2 C2
7) Find the equivalent capacitance between A and B in the circuit shown. The
capacitance of each capacitor is 100 μF.
B
C4
8) Find the equivalent capacitance between the terminals of the circuit.
Assume that C2=10 μF and that other capacitors are all 4.0 μF each.
C1 C2 C5 C3
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Physics Assignment M. Prakash Academy
9) Find the equivalent capacitances for the following combinations.
2μF 4μF
2 μF 4 μF
6μF
4μF 8μF
5 μF
6μF
(a) (b) 4μF 8μF
4 μF 8 μF
6μF
4 μF
2μF 4μF
10) A 100 pF capacitor is charged to a potential difference of 50 V, the charging battery being disconnected. The
capacitor is then connected in parallel with a second (initially uncharged) capacitor. If the measured potential
difference drops to 35 V, what is the capacitance of this second capacitor?
11) A potential difference of 300 V is applied to a 2.0 μF capacitor and an 8.0 μF capacitor connected in series.
a) What are the charge and potential difference for each capacitor?
b) The charged capacitors are now reconnected with their positive plates together and their negative plates
together, no external voltage being applied. What are the charge and potential difference for each?
c) The capacitors in (a) are reconnected with the plates of opposite sign together. What are the charge and
potential difference for each?
S
12) When switch S is thrown to the left in the following figure, the plates of the capacitor
C2
C1 acquire potential difference V0. C2 and C3 are initially uncharged. The switch is C1
V0
now thrown to the right. What are the final charges q1, q2, q3 on the corresponding C3
capacitors?
C1 C3
13) In the figure, the battery supplies 12 V. Take C1=1.0 μF, C2=2.0 μF, C3=3.0 μF,
C4=4.0 μF
S2
a) . Find the charge on each capacitor when switch S1 is closed.
C2 C4
b) When, later, switch S2 is also closed.
V S1
V
14) In the figure, let C1=10 μF, C2=5 μF, C3=4 μF and V=100 volt. Calculate potential
C1 C2 difference across each capacitor
C3 4 μF 8 μF
C
15) Take the potential of point B in the figure to be zero.
D
3 μF 6μF
a) Find the potentials at points C and D
B
50 V
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Physics Assignment M. Prakash Academy
b) If a capacitor is connected between C and D, what charge will appear on this capacitor?
a d
16) Capacitors C1 (1.0 μF) and C2 (3.0 μF) are each charged to a potential V (100 volt) S1
but with opposite polarity, so that points a and c are on the side of the respective ++ --
C1 C2
positive plates of C1 and C2, and points b and d are on the side of respective -- ++
negative plates. Switches S1 and S2 are now closed. S2
b c
a) What is potential difference across the capacitors
b) What are the charges on the capacitors?
17) Find the potential difference Va-Vb between the points a and b shown in each part of the following figure.
2V a 2V 6V 4 μF
12 V 2 μF
a b
24 V 1 μF
2 μF b 2 μF
(a) (b)
C1
18) In the circuit diagram, find the charge which will flow in the directions 1 and 2
when the key is closed. V C2 V
1 2
19) Consider the circuit shown in the figure below. The switch S is open for a long
time and then closed.
C C
a) Find the charge flown through the battery when the switch is closed.
b) Find the work done by the battery
c) Find the change in energy stored in the capacitors S
d) Find the heat developed in the system V
1
20) What amount of heat will be generated in the circuit shown, after the switch is C 2
thrown from position 1 (in which it is for a long time) to position 2?
V1 V2
21) What amount of heat will be generated in the circuit after switch is thrown from
position to position ?
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Physics Assignment M. Prakash Academy
(21 a): Two identical metal plates of area A each are arranged as shown: the top plate is
suspended by a spring with a force constant k and the bottom plate is mounted underneath
so that it does not move. When both plates are neutral, the equilibrium distance between
them is h. What maximum voltage between the plates would not cause them to touch?
Answer Key to Section 1
(1) (a) Increases (b) Decreases (2) (Q1+Q2)/2, since this charge decides the potential difference between the
0 A 3d 2 6bd 2b 2 0
plates (3) (4) 3C/2 (5) C (6) 10 μF (7) 1.25 x 10-4 C (8) 4.0 μF
3d d bd 2b b
ln
a
(9) (a) 8 μF (b) 8 μF (10) 43 pF (11) (a) Charge on each is 480 μC, Voltages are 240 and 60 volts. (b) Voltage
for each is 96 volt, Charges are 190 μC and 770 μC (c) Charge and voltage both zero
C1 C2 C3 C2 C3
(12) q1 C1V0 , q2 q3 C1V0 (13) (a) q1=9.0 μF, q2=16 μF,
C1C2 C2 C3 C1C3 C1C2 C2 C3 C1C3
q3=9.0 μF, q4=16 μF (b) q1=8.4 μF, q2=17 μF, q3=11 μF, q4=14 μF (14) V1=V2=21 V, V3=79 V (15) (a) -100/3 V at
each point (b) Zero (16) (a) 50 V (b) 0.5 x 10-4 C, 1.5 x 10-4 C (17) (a) Zero (b) -10.3 V (18) Q1=+VC2,
VC1C2
Q2 (19) (a) CV2/2 (b) CV2/2 (c) CV2/4 (d) CV2/4 (20) CV22/2 (21)
C1 C2
(21 a)
Section 2: Capacitors with dielectrics
22) A dielectric slab is slipped between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor. Describe qualitatively what
happens to the charge, the capacitance, the potential difference, the electric field, and the stored energy; in
the following two cases:
a) the capacitor was charged using a battery which was then disconnected
b) the capacitor remains connected to a battery
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Physics Assignment M. Prakash Academy
23) Two identical capacitors are connected as shown below. A dielectric slab is slipped between the plates of one
capacitor, the battery remaining connected. Describe qualitatively what happens to the charge, the
capacitance, the potential difference, the electric field, and the stored energy for each capacitor.
2
24) A parallel plate capacitor has a capacitance of 100 pF, a plate area of 100 cm and a mica dielectric of k=5.4.
At 50 V potential difference, calculate
a) E in the mica
b) the magnitude of the free charges on the plates
c) the magnitude of the induced surface charge
25) A dielectric slab of thickness b and dielectric constant k is introduced between the plates of a parallel plate
capacitor of plate separation d. Calculate the capacitance.
26) A capacitor stores 50 μC charge when connected across a battery. When the gap between the plates is filled
with a dielectric, a charge of 100 μC flows through the battery. Find the dielectric constant of the material
inserted.
K2 d
27) What is the capacitance of the capacitor in the figure shown? The plate area is A.2d K1
K3 d
28) If the area of parallel plates shown in the figure below is A, and they are placed a
distance d apart, find the equivalent capacitance between the points A and B. The outer k d k
surfaces are connected by a conducting wire. 1 2
A B
d d
29) The space between the two coaxial cylindrical shells of radius R1 and R2 is filled with a
3
dielectric substance. The dielectric constant of the substance varies with the distance from the axis as k=C/r ,
where C is a positive constant and r is the length measured from the central axis. If the length of the
cylindrical shells is l, find the capacitance of the system.
30) Consider very thin concentric conducting shells A, B and C with radii a, 2a and 3a respectively. Space
between A and B is empty and between B and C is filled with a dielectric of constant k. Find the capacitance
of shell B with respect to infinity.
31) A capacitor consists of two stationary plates shaped as a semi-circle of radius R and a
movable plate made of dielectric with dielectric constant k and capable of rotating about an
axis O between the stationary plates. The thickness of the movable plate is equal to d θ
O
which is practically the separation between the stationary plates. A potential difference V is
applied to the capacitor. Find the magnitude of the torque relative to the axis O acting on
the movable plate in the position shown in the figure.
32) A capacitor is formed by two square metal-plates of edge a, separated by a distance d. K1
d
K2
Dielectrics of dielectric constants k1 and k2 are filled in the gap as shown. Find the
capacitance. a
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Physics Assignment M. Prakash Academy
33) A parallel plate capacitor is located horizontally so that one of its plates is
submerged into liquid while the other is over its surface. The dielectric h
constant of the liquid is k and its density is ρ. To what height will the level of
the liquid in the capacitor rise after its plates get a charge of surface density
σ?
34) Consider a dielectric ball polarized uniformly with polarization
a) Show that this situation can be equivalently represented as a thin a shell of the same
radius with surface charge density P cos , θ is the polar angle.
P θ
b) Show that the situation can also be represented as two overlapping charged balls with
equal and opposite volume densities, but whose centers are shifted by a small distance
along the line coinciding with
c) From the considerations in (a) or (b) determine electric field inside the ball
35) Consider an infinite polarized dielectric with uniform polarization . Let the electric field inside a spherical
cavity inside the dielectric be and electric field inside the bulk of the dielectric far away from the cavity be
. Determine the relation between and .
36) A uniform dielectric ball is placed in a uniform electric field . Under these conditions the dielectric is
polarized uniformly. If the dielectric constant of the material is k, show that the electric field inside the
dielectric, and the polarization are given by
Answer Key to Section 2
(22) (a) Remains same, Increases, Decreases, Decreases, Decreases (b) Increases, Increases, Remains same,
Remains same, Increases (23) Upper: Increases, Same, Increases, Increases, Increases; Lower: Increases,
Increases, Decreases, Decreases, Decreases (24) (a) 1.04 x 104V/m (b) 5 x 10-9 C (c) 4.1 x 10-9 C (25)
k 0 A A K K K A k k k1 k2 6 0Cl 24 0 ak
(26) 3 (27) 0 2 3 1 (28) 0 1 2 (29) 3 (30)
kd b k 1 2d K 2 K 3 2 d k1 k2 R2 R13
1 2k
k1
0 k1k2 a 2 ln
(31)
V 0 R k 1
2 2
(32) k2 (33)
k 1 2 (34) (c) (35)
4d d k1 k2 2 0 k g
