A capacitor in an AC circuit has a capacitive reactance of 50 ohms. If the frequ
Practice Questions
Q1
A capacitor in an AC circuit has a capacitive reactance of 50 ohms. If the frequency of the AC source is increased, what happens to the capacitive reactance?
Increases
Decreases
Remains the same
Becomes infinite
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A capacitor in an AC circuit has a capacitive reactance of 50 ohms. If the frequency of the AC source is increased, what happens to the capacitive reactance?
Step 1: Understand what capacitive reactance (X_C) is. It is a measure of how much a capacitor resists the flow of alternating current (AC).
Step 2: Know the formula for capacitive reactance: X_C = 1/(2πfC), where f is the frequency of the AC source and C is the capacitance.
Step 3: Identify that in the formula, X_C is inversely related to frequency (f). This means that as frequency increases, X_C will decrease.
Step 4: Conclude that if the frequency of the AC source is increased, the capacitive reactance (X_C) will decrease.
Capacitive Reactance – Capacitive reactance is the opposition that a capacitor offers to the flow of alternating current, which is inversely proportional to the frequency of the AC source and the capacitance.
Frequency and Reactance Relationship – As the frequency of the AC source increases, the capacitive reactance decreases, which is a key principle in AC circuit analysis.