Capacitor Lab: Inquiry into Capacitor Design This experiment should improve your familiarity with capacitors and enable you to appreciate what happens when you change the physical characteristics of a parallel plate capacitor. After opening this word document put your name and your partner’s name at the top. Open the following webpage, and then click on the Now” button. When you’re done answering the questions print this page (1 per group)and turn it “Run in to Mrs. LaFever. Directions: Using the Introduction tab, the voltmeter, and the battery, find variables that are used to design a capacitor. Adjust the battery between -1.5 V and 1.5 V. Record your observations. Connect the marked Charge”, and the Voltmeter (You’ll need to connect the voltmeter to the “Plate plates.) Repeat the first procedure, and make three measurements of Charge Q, and the corresponding voltage V. Q /coulombs V/volts Capacitance / F Verify that the capacitance agrees with your measured values of Q and V. Show your work. (C = Q/V) (you may want to write in your work after you’ve printed the assignment) Disconnect all of the meters and the battery and vary the area of the plates. How does the Capacitance vary with area A? Vary the separation of the plates. How does the Capacitance vary with the separation. Capacitance / F A / m d / m Using the formula for capacitance of a parallel capacitor, and calculate the constant of proportionality, (C = A/d ) (you may want to write in your work after you’ve printed the assignment) ε0. ε0 Reconnect the battery and adjust to 1.5 V. Check the View Field Lines” box, and the Charge “Electric meter box. What happens when the separation of the plates is increased?
Capacitor Lab: Inquiry into Capacitor Design This experiment should improve your familiarity with capacitors and enable you to appreciate what happens when you change the physical characteristics of a parallel plate capacitor. After opening this word document put your name and your partner’s name at the top. Open the following webpage, and then click on the “Run Now” button. When you’re done answering the questions print this page (1 per group)and turn it in to Mrs. LaFever. Directions: Using the Introduction tab, the voltmeter, and the battery, find variables that are used to design a capacitor. Adjust the battery between -1.5 V and 1.5 V. Record your observations. Connect the marked “Plate Charge”, and the Voltmeter (You’ll need to connect the voltmeter to the plates.) Repeat the first procedure, and make three measurements of Charge Q, and the corresponding voltage V. Q /coulombs V/volts Capacitance / F Verify that the capacitance agrees with your measured values of Q and V. Show your work. (C = Q/V) (you may want to write in your work after you’ve printed the assignment) Disconnect all of the meters and the battery and vary the area of the plates. How does the Capacitance vary with area A? Vary the separation of the plates. How does the Capacitance vary with the separation. Capacitance / F A / m d / m Using the formula for capacitance of a parallel capacitor, and calculate the constant of proportionality, ε0. (C = ε0 A/d ) (you may want to write in your work after you’ve printed the assignment) Reconnect the battery and adjust to 1.5 V. Check the View “Electric Field Lines” box, and the Charge meter box. What happens when the separation of the plates is increased?
Capacitor%20Lab%202014.docx