A capacitor is charged to a voltage of 12V and then disconnected from the battery. If the distance between the plates is doubled, what happens to the voltage across the capacitor? (2023)
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
A capacitor is charged to a voltage of 12V and then disconnected from the battery. If the distance between the plates is doubled, what happens to the voltage across the capacitor? (2023)
It remains the same
It doubles
It halves
It becomes zero
When the distance between the plates is doubled, the capacitance decreases, which causes the voltage to double since Q remains constant.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: A capacitor is charged to a voltage of 12V and then disconnected from the battery. If the distance between the plates is doubled, what happens to the voltage across the capacitor? (2023)
Solution: When the distance between the plates is doubled, the capacitance decreases, which causes the voltage to double since Q remains constant.
Steps: 6
Step 1: Understand that a capacitor stores electrical energy and has two plates with a certain distance between them.
Step 2: Know that when a capacitor is charged to a voltage (in this case, 12V), it holds a certain amount of charge (Q).
Step 3: Remember that when the capacitor is disconnected from the battery, the charge (Q) on the plates remains constant.
Step 4: Recognize that the capacitance (C) of a capacitor is affected by the distance (d) between the plates. If the distance is doubled, the capacitance decreases.
Step 5: Use the formula for voltage (V) across a capacitor: V = Q / C. Since Q is constant and C decreases, V must increase.
Step 6: Conclude that if the distance between the plates is doubled, the voltage across the capacitor will double from 12V to 24V.
