A-Level Physics Capacitance Guide

CAMBRIDGE A LEVEL
PHYSICS
CAPACITANCE
L E A R N I N G O U TC O M E S
No.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
What are capacitors?
ii
How do measure the capacitance of a capacitor?
iii
How do we charge and discharge capacitors?
iv
How do we calculate equivalent capacitances for

capacitors connected in series and/or in parallel?
How do we calculate the energy stored in a

capacitor?
vi
How to analyse simple circuits involving

capacitors and capacitive elements?
W H AT A R E C A PA C I TO R S ?
Capacitors are electronic devices that are
made up of two conductors separated from
each other by a dielectric.
The image below shows certain types of
capacitors seen in electronic devices.
Diagram 24.7, page 793, Sears and

Zemanskys University Physics, Young and
Freedman, 13th edition, Pearson Education,
San Francisco, 2012.
Definition: Capacitors are electronic
devices that are capable of storing
electric potential energy.
Capacitors are used to:
1. block flow of direct current, but

enabling alternating current,
2. filters in radio/TV receivers.
3. used in the flash of cameras,
4. In air bag sensors.
Two parallel conducting plates can be
used to built a capacitor.
We can also use spherical conductors as
capacitors.
Given below is the symbol for parallel
plate capacitors in circuit diagrams:
Source: http://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/620/images/capacitor.gif
HOW DO WE MEASURE
C A PA C I TA N C E ?
Definition: The capacitance of a
capacitor is defined as the amount
of charge stored on one plate of the
capacitor per unit of potential
difference across the capacitor

Mathematically, capacitance,
The unit of capacitance is the Farad
(F).
HOW DO WE MEASURE
C A PA C I TA N C E ?
Definition: 1 Farad is the value of
the capacitance of a capacitor if it
stores 1 Coulomb of charge when a
potential difference of 1 Volt is
applied across it.
Or, equivalently

.
C H A R G I N G C A PA C I TO R S

Whenever a potential difference, V is
applied across a capacitor, electrons
flow from the negative terminal of the
power supply to plate Y.
This is due to the potential difference
between the negative terminal of the
battery and the plate Y.
Equal number of electrons also flow
from plate X to positive terminal since
the positive terminal is at a higher
potential.
The rate of flow of electrons to the plate
Y decreases as more and more electrons
accumulate at Y. This causes the rate of
flow of electrons from X to also decrease.
The rate of flow of electrons follows an
exponential decay function.
Electrons stop flowing when the
potential at each plate of the capacitor
is equal to the adjacent terminal of the
power supply.
Hence, when the potential difference
across the capacitor, is equal to the
terminal p.d., of the power supply,
the capacitor stops charging.
The plate X will acquire a net positive
charge of while plate Y will acquire a
net negative charge of
.
Since the conducting plates are
separated by a dielectric (an
insulator), the charges cannot flow
across them.
Thus, the charges carry electric
potential energy that is stored in the
capacitor.
Note that even though the positive
plate and negative plates carry
charges of
and
respectively,
the charge stored in the capacitor is
Q.
We only consider the amount of
charge stored in one plate.
DISCHARGING
C A PA C I TO R S
The electrical potential energy
stored in capacitors can be drawn
from capacitors when a capacitor is
discharged.
A simple charging / discharging
circuit is shown in the next slide.
DISCHARGING
C A PA C I TO R S
V
Source:
https://tap.iop.org/electricity/capaci
tors/129/img_mid_46212.gif
DISCHARGING
C A PA C I TO R S
When the switch is at position A, the
capacitor starts to charge.
The charging process stops when
the p.d. across the capacitor is equal
to V.
A voltmeter connected across the
capacitor will give a constant
reading when the capacitor is fully
charged.
DISCHARGING
C A PA C I TO R S
By flipping the switch to B, the fully
charged
capacitor
discharges
through the resistance, R.
The capacitor acts as a source of
electric potential energy to the
resistor.
DISCHARGING
C A PA C I TO R S
Current will flow through the
resistor, but this current is an
exponentially decreasing current.
The capacitor stops discharging
when the p.d. across the capacitor is
0; i.e. when it is fully discharged.
The p.d. across R also follows an
exponential decay pattern.
EXAMPLES
Example; 11.2 Capacitance, Page 293, Chapter 11: Fields, International A/AS Level
Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United Kingdom,
2008.
C A PA C I TO R S C O N N E C T E D
IN SERIES
Vsupply
IN SERIES
The diagram on the previous slide
shows 3 capacitors connected in
series.
Electrons flow from negative
terminal of the power supply to
plate Y, and charge plate Y
negative.
IN SERIES
Electrons also flow from plate A
to the positive terminal of the
power supply, thereby causing
plate to acquire a positive charge.
What about the other plates B,
M, N and X?
IN SERIES
Electrons from plate X will be
induced to move to plate N. This
will induce electrons from M to
move to B.
This is how each capacitor gets
charged. Note that the charge
stored in all capacitors are equal,
and the p.d. across all the
capacitors add up to
IN SERIES
The sum of the p.d. across the 3
capacitors must equal the supply
voltage, or

,
The charge stored on each capacitor

is the same, or

IN SERIES
Since,

and

,or

,

Hence
I N PA R A L L E L
I N PA R A L L E L
The diagram shows 3 capacitors
connected in parallel with each other.
Charges flow into the capacitors until
the potential difference across each
capacitor is equal to the charging
voltage, V.
Hence, the potential difference across
the capacitors are the same, and the
total charge that is stored in the three
capacitors is equal to .
I N PA R A L L E L
On

.
simplification,

or
"#
we
obtain
EXAMPLES
2008.
EXAMPLES
Questions 11 and 12, page
378, Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE; Cambridge
International AS and A Level
Physics Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and Woodside,
2nd edition, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
379, Chapter 24:
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
Questions; Section 11.2 Capacitance, Page 303, Chapter 11: Fields, International
A/AS Level Physics, by Mee, Crundle, Arnold and Brown, Hodder Education, United
Kingdom, 2008.
EXAMPLES
380, Chapter 24:
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
Question 19, page 380,
Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE;
Cambridge International
AS and A Level Physics
Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and
Woodside, 2nd edition,
Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
POTENTIAL ENERGY
S T O R E D I N C A PA C I T O R S
Capacitors are capable of

storing
electric
potential
energy.
How do we calculate the
amount of energy stored in a
capacitor?
POTENTIAL ENERGY
Recall that the potential difference
across a capacitor is directly
proportional to the amount of charge
stored in it since
.
What sort of graph would we get if
we plot p.d. versus amount of charge
stored?
POTENTIAL ENERGY
POTENTIAL ENERGY
To calculate the amount of
electric potential energy stored
in the capacitor, we need to find
the area under the curve.
POTENTIAL ENERGY
The energy
capacitor,

(since
stored

).
in
the
EXAMPLES
2008.
EXAMPLES
377, Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE;
Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and
Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
Questions 9 and 10,
page 377, Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE;
Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and
Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
Question 20, page 381,
Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE;
Cambridge
International AS and A
Level Physics
Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and
Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
S I M P L E C A PA C I T O R
CIRCUITS
Instead of a capacitor discharging to a
resistor, a capacitor can be connected
to charge another capacitor.
Figure 24.16, page 380, Chapter 24: CAPACITANCE; Cambridge International AS and A
Level Physics Coursebook, Sang, Jones, Chadha and Woodside, 2nd edition,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK,2014.
CIRCUITS
The capacitors connected in a such a
way are considered to be connected
in parallel.
Initially, the capacitor at the top has a
charge, Q.
The capacitor at the bottom will not
have any charge. The p.d. across the
capacitor at the bottom = 0.
CIRCUITS
The capacitor at the top will begin to
discharge. This builds up charge on
the bottom capacitor (increasing the
p.d. across it as well).
The rate of discharge (i.e. the
amount of current flowing) will
decrease as the p.d. across the
bottom capacitor increases.
CIRCUITS
The capacitor at the top will stop
discharging when the potential
difference across both capacitors are
equal.
For a capacitor discharging into
another capacitor, the total charge in
the system is conserved, but not the
total electric potential energy.
EXAMPLES
Questions 9 and 10,
page 377, Chapter 24:
CAPACITANCE;
Coursebook, Sang,
Jones, Chadha and
Press, Cambridge,
UK,2014.
EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, Question 5.
EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2008, Paper 4, Question 5 (contd).
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
May/Jun 2009, Paper 4, Question 5.
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
EXAMPLES
HOMEWORK
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Winter 09, Paper 42, question 4.

Summer 10, Paper 42, question 5.

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CAMBRIDGE A LEVEL

What are capacitors?

How do measure the capacitance of a capacitor?

How do we charge and discharge capacitors?

How do we calculate equivalent capacitances for

How do we calculate the energy stored in a

How to analyse simple circuits involving

Diagram 24.7, page 793, Sears and

1. block flow of direct current, but

The charge stored on each capacitor

Capacitors are capable of

Winter 09, Paper 42, question 4.

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