Physics 212

Spring 2009
Problem Set #3

1)A capacitor has a capacitance of 2.5 x 10 F. The capacitor

-8

is charged by removing electrons from one plate and

placing them on the other plate. The process continues
until the potential difference between the plates is 450 V.
How many electrons have been transferred in order to
accomplish this?

8)Three capacitors are connected in parallel. Their values are

2)A parallel plate capacitor is filled with a dielectric of ruby
mica. The area of each plate is 3.8 m2. The capacitor
stores 2.7µC of charge if you apply a 1.5 V battery across
the plates. What is the plate separation?
3)The plates of a capacitor are separated by a distance of 11
mm. Each plate contains a charge of 19 µC. The electric
field between the plates is 640 V/m. What is the
capacitance of the capacitor?
3 µF,
5 µF, and 8 µF. The capacitors are connected to a battery of
25 V.
a) Draw a circuit diagram.
b) Find the equivalent capacitance.
c) Find the charge coming off of the battery.
d) Using a Q-C-V chart find the Q and V values for each
capacitor.
9) Determine the equivalent capacitance between points A
and B for the capacitors shown in the circuit below.

4)A “air” capacitor has an area of 2 cm 2

with plates that are
A
5.0 µF
separated by a distance of 2 mm. How much charge does 24 µF
this capacitor store when it is connected to 6 V battery?
4.0 µF 12 µF

5)The flash on a high-tech camera contains a capacitor of 750

µF. The battery in the camera supplies 330 V. (a)
Determine the energy that is used to produce the flash. (b) B
Assuming that the flash lasts for 5 ms, find the power of the 6.0 µF 8.0 µF
flash. (Think back to 211)

6) The potential difference between the plates of a capacitor is

400 V. (a) If the spacing between the plates is doubled
without altering the charge on the plates, what is the new
potential difference? (b) If the plate spacing is double while
the voltage is held constant, by what factor will the charge 10) Determine the equivalent capacitance between points A
change? and B for the capacitors shown in the circuit below. All of
the capacitors have a value of 10 µF.

7)Three capacitors are connected in series. Their values are A

3 µF,
5 µF, and 8 µF. The capacitors are connected to a battery of
25 V.
a) Draw a circuit diagram.
b) Find the equivalent capacitance.
c) Find the charge coming off of the battery.
d) Using a Q-C-V chart find the Q and V values for each B
capacitor.
ANSWERS:
1) 7.0 x 1013 7) b) 1.52 µF
2) 1.0 x 10-4 c) 38 µC
3) 2.7 x 10-6 8) b) 16 µF
4) 5.3 x 10-12 c) 400 µC

5)a) 41 J 9) 2.03 µF
b) 8200 W 10) 6.36 µF