If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is doubled, what happens to it
Practice Questions
Q1
If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is doubled, what happens to its capacitance?
It doubles
It halves
It remains the same
It quadruples
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the distance between the plates of a capacitor is doubled, what happens to its capacitance?
Correct Answer: Capacitance becomes half (C/2).
Step 1: Understand what a capacitor is. A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy.
Step 2: Know that capacitance (C) is a measure of how much charge a capacitor can store.
Step 3: Remember the formula for capacitance: C = ε * (A/d), where ε is the permittivity of the material between the plates, A is the area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates.
Step 4: Identify that capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance (d) between the plates. This means that if the distance increases, the capacitance decreases.
Step 5: If the distance (d) is doubled, it becomes 2d.
Step 6: Substitute 2d into the capacitance formula: C = ε * (A/(2d)).
Step 7: Simplify the formula: C = (ε * A/d) / 2, which means C = C_original / 2.
Step 8: Conclude that if the distance between the plates is doubled, the capacitance is halved.
Capacitance and Distance Relationship – Capacitance (C) is inversely proportional to the distance (d) between the plates of a capacitor, expressed as C = εA/d, where ε is the permittivity and A is the area of the plates.
