General Physics 2

Quarter 3- Module 4:
Intro to Capacitors

Prepared by:
Ian Karlo Perilla
Special Science Teacher I
3 Module 3

Capacitance

What I Need to Know

The learners…
1. Deduce the effects of simple capacitors (e.g. parallel-plate, spherical, cylindrical) on the
capacitance, charge, and potential difference when the size, potential difference, or charge is
changed.

What I Know

1. Shown in the figure is a uniform electric field between a parallel plate capacitor, directed toward
the right. Which statement about this situation is correct?

a. The potential at point A,B and C is the same

b. The potential at point A and B are the same, potential at C is higher than the potential at
point A.
c. The potential at point A and B are the same, potential at C is lower than the potential at
point A.
d. The potential at point A is highest, the potential at point B is the second highest and the
potential at point C is the lowest.
2. The quantity with the SI unit of C2 S2 / (kg m2) is a/an..
a. Electric potential difference
b. Dielectric constant
c. Electric field strength
d. Capacitance
e. Electric potential energy
3. If the E field between an air-filled parallel plate capacitor is weakened by removing some
charges from the plates, what will happen to the capacitance of the capacitor?
a. Increases
b. Decreases
 c. Does not change
d. More information needed
4. Two ideal parallel plate capacitors A and B are identical in every way except that capacitor B has
twice the plate area of capacitor A. If capacitor A has capacitance C, what would be the
capacitance of B?
a. C/2
b. C
c. 2C
d. 4C
5. An ideal parallel plate with an area A and separated with distance r has a capacitance of C. if the
area is doubled and the distance r is halved, what is the new capacitance?
a. C/4
b. C/2
c. 2C
d. 4C
6. A parallel plate capacitor was fully charged by a battery and then removed from it. The plates are
then slowly pulled apart. What happens to the potential difference?
a. Increases
b. Decreases
c. Remains constant
d. More information needed
7. A parallel plate capacitor are attached to a battery as its plates are moved apart. What happens to
the amount of charge in the process?
a. Must increase
b. Must decrease
c. Must remain constant
d. More information needed
e. More information needed
8. When a capacitor carries a charge of 10 µC on each plates, the potential difference across the
plates is 25 volts. Which of the following statement is true?
a. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the capacitance of the capacitor will
also double.
b. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the potential difference across the plates
will also double.
c. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the capacitance of the capacitor will not
change.
d. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the potential difference across the plates
will decrease by a factor of two.
9. If you want to increase the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor, which of the following will
you consider? (choose all applicable)
a. a decrease in the plate area and an increase in the plate separation
b. a decrease in the potential difference between the plates
c. an increase in the potential difference between the plates
d. an increase in the plate area and a decrease in the plate separation
e. an increase in the charge on the plates
 10. When a dielectric material was inserted between the plates of the parallel plate capacitor, the
capacitance increases by a factor of 4. What is the dielectric constant of the material inserted?
a. 0.4
b. 0.25
c. 2
d. 4
e. None of the choices.

What’s New?
In the previous modules, you learn that energy is stored in an electric field. The energy is in the form of
electric potential. So far, you know how to generate an electric field, even a uniform electric field. Can we
make some energy storage device through the use this principles? Yes – a capacitor.

What Is It
I. Whats inside: Capacitors
Capacitor is formerly
Capacitor is simply two pieces of metal (called plates) near each other, known as condenser, and
separated by an insulator or air (called dielectrics). A capacitor is used to store prior to that known as
charge and energy in an electric field permittor

This is a simple capacitor: two metal plates (i.e. aluminum foil)

separated by a insulator (i.e. paper).

Some were circular

plates (metal) separated
by air (an insulator)..
this is also a capacitor.
It is called parallel
plate capacitor since it
was made by two
parallel plates.
 This is a DIY capacitor, two metal plates (aluminum foil) wrapped
in a plastic bottle. One plate is inside the plastic bottle, the other
one is outside. Thus, the two metal plates are separated by an
insulator, which is the plastic.

On the right, instead he used a metal plate

as a conductive material, he uses saltwater,
separated by the plastic bottle as the
dielectric.

Commercially available capacitors also work in this principle: two conductive

material separated by an insulator such as:
Electrolytic capacitor, as seen below, are two metal plates separated by an insulator, BUT it is rolled to
fit in a cylindrical casing. As you can see there are two wires, the first wires is connected to plate A and
the second wire is connected to plate B.

Another type you can commonly see is the Disc Capacitor or Ceramic Capacitor it is also made from
two conductive material separated by a ceramic as dielectric.
II. Working principles of capacitors
Capacitor stores energy in the electric field. The principle is to create an electric field by keeping two
conductive material/metal plates as near as possible to each other BUT never touching (so we need a
dielectric/separator). If one plate is positively charged and the other plate is negative and both has the
same amount of charge Q (the no. of electron lacks on the other side, is the same no. of excess
electrons on the other side) then the plate will experience an attractive force = will generate electric
field.
Example: Parallel plates are separated by a distance d, each plate with an area A. If A is large and d
is small, the plates are effectively infinite planes, and the E Field is uniform and entirely in between
plates.

Positively
Negatively charged plate
charged plate

Creates uniform ..Just don’t make the electrons

Electric field E… from the negative plate make it to
the other plate, otherwise the
plates will have neutral charges
and if it happens the E field will
gone; no e field = no potential =
no energy

If you connect the two plates together (i.e. using a wire or any conductive
material), the electrons from the negative plate will RUSH towards the
positive plate.. thus, you create flow of electrons! Flow of electrons =
current, sometimes you see SPARKS, if electrons br

Important:
1. At the positive plate the potential is higher and its magnitude decreases towards the
negative plate.
2. The potential difference between points A and B means potential at A minus potential at B
(ΔV=Va-Vb). So if you areinlooking
eaks the air.for the potential difference between the plates of a
capacitor, your will just subtract the Vs of both plates.
 3. Can you light a bulb using a capacitor? Yes!
It depends on how fast the electron flow in the
connecting wire. So.. you can try, get the
parallel plate capacitor, connect the two parallel
plates using a wire… if you do it, the electrons
from the negative plate will rush in the wire just
to reach the positive plate… hence you’ve
created an electron flow! (just connect your bulb
on the wire)
In the picture at the right, just an aluminum foil
and plastic bottle serves as an energy storage
and lights up the bulb.
4. How can I charge the plates? There are many ways: charging by induction.. charging by
conduction.. HOWEVER, you can also use BATTERIES to charge a capacitor. A battery is
also an energy source, however it stores energy through chemical means unlike the capacitor
which stores its energy in the electric field.

Capacitor
Battery is like a PUMP, once you
connect something between the
This hexagonal terminal, it will make electrons
terminal is the flow in the direction NEGATIVE to
NEGATIVE terminal POSITIVE.. since the plates are
(electron ENTRANCE) separated by an insulator, one
of the battery plate will accumulate the extra
electrons, while the other plate
loses electrons….. and this will
create E Field between the plates.
This circular terminal is (More discussion about electron
the POSITIVE terminal flow in the next modules)
(electron EXIT) of the
battery

What happen when you attach the capacitor on a battery? In the picture, the battery is 9V it
means that the potential difference between the negative terminal and the positive terminal is 9.
This also tells us that in the negative side the potential is zero volts, and on the positive one is 9
volts. SO.. if you connect the uncharged capacitor in the battery.. ELECTRIC FIELD will be
generated inside the capacitor because the plate that is connected to the negative terminal gains
extra electrons with MAXIMUM 9 VOLT potential, while the plate that connects to the positive
terminal loswill have the zero volt potential. Leaving the capacitor with a potential difference
of 9V, same as the battery (Note: This is true if the capacitor is IDEAL, it means it doesn’t have
internal resistance)
 [You will learn more about batteries when we talk about electric current in the next modules]

5. Charges are always on the inside surfaces, because (+) attracts (–) . The outside surfaces
remain uncharged.

6. "Charge Q on a capacitor" always means +Q on one plate, –Q on the other plate. Capacitors
are charged by transferring (–) charge from one plate to the other. Taking (–) charge off a plate
leaves behind an equal-sized (+) charge

7. The charges make an E-field, which means a voltage difference between the plates. The
"voltage V on a capacitor" always means the voltage difference ΔV between the plates.

8. if you double the charge Q, the V (=ΔV) is guaranteed to double.

Question 1.1 Capacitor is used to store charge and battery also stores charge. Is a household battery a
capacitor? Explain.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
III. Capacitance: A new concept
Capacitance C of a capacitor: C = Q/V
It is a measure of capacitors ability to store energy.
If we double the charge Q, the voltage V doubles, but the ratio Q/V remains constant. [Remember: Q
means +Q and –Q , V means ΔV.]
units [C] = coulomb / volt = farad (F)
Big capacitance (1F) ⇒ can store a big Q with a small V
–9
Small capacitance (nF = 10 F) ⇒ small Q stored with a big V

ε ("epsilon-naught") is the same constant that appeared in Gauss's Law.

o

Notice that the capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor depends only on the size and shape of the two
metal parts. This turns out to true of all capacitors. The capacitance of two pieces of metal depends solely
on their geometry.
Note that this formula means C increases as d decreases. Why? If Q is kept fixed, we have the same
magnitude E-field (because same charge density σ = Q/A creates the E = σ/ε0 ). Smaller d and same-sized
E means smaller voltage V = E d. Same Q and smaller V means bigger C = Q/V
Effects of Dielectric on a capacitor:
When dielectric is inserted the capacitance is increased by a factor of k.

𝑘𝜀0 𝐴
𝐶=
𝑑

Material Dielectric Constant

Vacuum 1 The table at the left shows the dielectric constants k of
Glass 5-10 different materials at 20 degree Celsius.
Mica 3-6 The dielectric constant k is the relative permittivity of a
Mylar 3.1 dielectric material. It is an important parameter in
characterizing capacitors. It is unfortunate that the same
Neoprene 6.70
symbol k is often used for Coulomb's constant, so one must
Plexiglas 3.40 be careful of this possible confusion. It is more typical of
Polyethylene 2.25 physics texts to use the form 1/4πε0 for Coulomb's
Polyvinyl chloride 3.18 constant. (Reference Sears, Zemansky,Young Table 27-1)
Teflon 2.1 K of vacuum is 1, while k of air is 1.00059. Which is
Germanium 16 approximately equivalent to 1. So.. if you encounter books
that says that a capacitor is separated by air, you can just
Strontiun titanate 310
use k=1.
173 perp
Titanium dioxide (rutile)
86 para
Water 80.4 If you want to increase the capacitance:
Glycerin 42.5
1. Increase the plate’s area
Liquid ammonia(-78°C 25 2. Decrease the separation distance
Benzene 2.284 3. Insert a dielectric
Air(1 atm) 1.00059
Air(100 atm) 1.0548
Note: Some say increase the charge Q to increase C, but
if you increase charge Q, V also increases .. and since
C=Q/V nothing will happen. So..the increase of
capacitance depends solely on the geometry of the
capacitor itself.
 Stored Energy on a capacitor:

Other derivations:

U = ½ CV2 U= ½ Q2/C

Whats More?
1. The plates of a parallel plate capacitor have an area of 0.4 m2 and are 3 mm apart in air. What is the
capacitance?
Identify: Find the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor.
Set-Up: The capacitor has 2 metal plates of with areas 0.4 m2 each. So we have A=0.4 m2, the separation
distance d=0.003 m (Always convert to SI unit), our dielectric is air, so k=1.
Execute:
C = Q/V = kε0 (A/d) = (1)(8.85x10-12) [(0.4) /0.003 ] = 1/18nF
Evaluate: The capacitance is 1/18nF. As we can see, we always see capacitance in small quantities, like
nano farad.
2. An ideal parallel-plate capacitor consists of two parallel plates of area A separated by a distance d.
This capacitor is connected to a battery that maintains a constant potential difference across the plates.
If the separation between the plates is now doubled, the amount of electrical energy stored on the
capacitor will
…
Identify: What will happen to the energy stored in the capacitor if capacitor has charge Q and a
constant potential difference V? (since it is connected at the battery the whole time, potential
difference between the plates will be the same as the battery)
Set-Up: We know that the capacitance of a capacitor decreases if the separation distance d increases,
given C= kε0 (A/d). if you double d.. then C= kε0 (A/2d) so.. the new C is half of the original value.
So we plug it in the equation of calculating energy U.

Execute: U = ½ CV2 = ½ (C/2)V2, therefore U will be cut into half.

 Evaluate: The amount of electrical energy stored will be cut into half if the separation distance d is
doubled given the potential difference between the plates are constant.
3. An ideal parallel-plate capacitor consists of two parallel plates of area A separated by a distance
d. This capacitor is connected to a battery and charged until its plates carry charges +Q and -Q,
and the battery is then disconnected. If the separation between the plates is now doubled, the
electrical energy stored in the capacitor will..

Identify: What will happen to the energy stored in the capacitor if capacitor has charge Q and a
potential difference V? (take note that the battery is not connected when the separation between
the plates was doubled… so it means that the potential difference between the plates also
CHANGES as the plates are moving, it is not constant.)

Set-Up: The plates has charged Q and as the separation distance increases, the strength of the E
field between the plate will also change since E=V/r (in a uniform E Field). If r is doubled then V
will also be doubled. Now, we plug it in the equation of calculating energy U.

Execute: U=1/2 QV, Q is constant in this case but the V is doubled. Then.. U=1/2 Q(2V) then
U=QV, so.. the electric energy stored doubles.

What I have learned?

The learners…
1. Deduce the effects of simple capacitors (e.g. parallel-plate, spherical, cylindrical) on the
capacitance, charge, and potential difference when the size, potential difference, or charge is
changed.

What I Can Do?

PHET Simulation Activity: (This activity was developed by Trish Loeblein of University of Colorado
Boulder) Download the program at this link (please make sure you have JAVA installed):
https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/capacitor-lab-basics

Capacitor Lab: Basics: Inquiry into Capacitor Design

(This lesson is designed for a student working remotely.)
This lab uses the Capacitor Lab: Basics simulation from PhET Interactive Simulations at University of
Colorado Boulder, under the CC-BY 4.0 license.
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/capacitor-lab-basics/latest/capacitor-lab-basics_en.html

Learning Goals:
Students will be able to:
● Identify the variables that affect the capacitance and how each affects the capacitance.
● Determine the relationships between charge, voltage, and stored energy for a capacitor.
● Relate the design of the capacitor system to its ability to store energy.
● Explain how to use a capacitor to light a bulb.
● Describe what happens as charge drains away from a capacitor into a light bulb

Develop your understanding: Open the Capacitance screen, then explore to develop your own ideas
about how a capacitor is designed.
Explain your understanding: Use your own words and captured images from the simulation to show
you can:
1. Identify what features of a capacitor can be maximized or minimized to make a capacitor with the
greatest capacitance.

a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

2. Design experiments to find the relationships between charge, voltage, and stored energy for a
capacitor. Summarize your experimental procedures and findings.

a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

3. If you wanted to design a capacitor system to store the greatest energy, what would you use?

Develop your understanding: Explore the

Light Bulb screen to investigate how to use a
capacitor to turn on a light bulb.

Explain your understanding: Use your own

words and captured images from the simulation
to show you know how to use a capacitor to
light a bulb.

4. What are the required components to use a capacitor to light a bulb and how does the
system operate?

5. How would using a capacitor to light a bulb compare to using just a battery as
shown:

6. Describe what happens as charge drains away from a capacitor into a light bulb.
Include the use of as many tools in the simulation as possible in your observations.
 a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

7. Research to find a practical application where the energy stored in a capacitor is used. (cite
references)

Assessment:
11. Shown in the figure is a uniform electric field between a parallel plate capacitor, directed toward
the right. Which statement about this situation is correct?

a. The potential at point A,B and C is the same

b. The potential at point A and B are the same, potential at C is higher than the potential at
point A.
c. The potential at point A and B are the same, potential at C is lower than the potential at
point A.
d. The potential at point A is highest, the potential at point B is the second highest and the
potential at point C is the lowest.
12. The quantity with the SI unit of C2 S2 / (kg m2) is a/an..
a. Electric potential difference
b. Dielectric constant
c. Electric field strength
d. Capacitance
e. Electric potential energy
13. If the E field between an air-filled parallel plate capacitor is weakened by removing some
charges from the plates, what will happen to the capacitance of the capacitor?
a. Increases
b. Decreases
c. Does not change
d. More information needed
14. Two ideal parallel plate capacitors A and B are identical in every way except that capacitor B has
twice the plate area of capacitor A. If capacitor A has capacitance C, what would be the
capacitance of B?
a. C/2
b. C
 c. 2C
d. 4C
15. An ideal parallel plate with an area A and separated with distance r has a capacitance of C. if the
area is doubled and the distance r is halved, what is the new capacitance?
a. C/4
b. C/2
c. 2C
d. 4C
16. A parallel plate capacitor was fully charged by a battery and then removed from it. The plates are
then slowly pulled apart. What happens to the potential difference?
a. Increases
b. Decreases
c. Remains constant
d. More information needed
17. A parallel plate capacitor are attached to a battery as its plates are moved apart. What happens to
the amount of charge in the process?
a. Must increase
b. Must decrease
c. Must remain constant
d. More information needed
18. When a capacitor carries a charge of 10 µC on each plates, the potential difference across the
plates is 25 volts. Which of the following statement is true?
a. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the capacitance of the capacitor will
also double.
b. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the potential difference across the plates
will also double.
c. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the capacitance of the capacitor will not
change.
d. If we double the charges on the plates to ±20 μC, the potential difference across the plates
will decrease by a factor of two.
19. If you want to increase the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor, which of the following will
you consider? (choose all applicable)
a. a decrease in the plate area and an increase in the plate separation
b. a decrease in the potential difference between the plates
c. an increase in the potential difference between the plates
d. an increase in the plate area and a decrease in the plate separation
e. an increase in the charge on the plates
20. When a dielectric material was inserted between the plates of the parallel plate capacitor, the
capacitance increases by a factor of 4. What is the dielectric constant of the material inserted?
a. 0.4
b. 0.25
c. 2
d. 4
e. None of the choices.
21. A parallel plate capacitor is connected to a battery that maintains a constant potential difference
across the plates. A dielectric is inserted between the plates and completely fills it. What changes
could happen? (Choose all applicable)
 a. Only the charge on the plates of the capacitor would change.
b. Only the capacitance would change.
c. Both the charge on the plates of the capacitor and its capacitance would change.
d. The potential difference across the plates would increase.
e. Nothing would change.
22. What happens to the electric field between a parallel plate capacitor as the dielectric field is
inserted? Given the parallel plate capacitor has a fixed value of charge on its plates.
a. There is no change in the field.
b. The field becomes stronger.
c. The field becomes weaker.
d. The field reduces to zero.
13-15. Explain what a capacitor is and its importance/where it is used?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________.
A. Reflection:
Write your personal insights about the lesson using the prompts below.
I understand that _____________.
I realize that __________________.

Reflective Journal Rubric

Evidence of 5 3 2 Score
Thoughtfulness
Focuses reflections on
the topics, activities or 15%
tasks presented in the
activity.
Supports reflections 25%
with examples based
on a personal account
or real-life experience.
Reveals feelings 5%
(negative or positive)
towards the topic or
work with explanation.
Relates current 10%
insights with the
past/present/
Future applications
Relates lessons
learned with what one
already knows/to a
real-life situation.
Encompasses all 15%
topics discussed or
assigned as coverage
of reflection
Presents no idea that is 15%
questionable.
Others (Pls. specify)
 Submitted on Time 10%
Final Mark 100%

Final Mark 100%

Additional Activities
Watch the following videos: Module 3: Playlist
Different types of capacitor; Effects of inserting dielectric(5:21)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kfLDH1UbNo

Layden Jar works in the same principle as the capacitor..

DIY Layden Jar using plastic bottle and aluminum foil:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spuXN0ccRQ8

How Layden Jar works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2EWeOVCO5o

References:
o University Physics 14th ed., Young and Freedman
o Openstax AP Physics
o PHET Simulation University of Colorado Boulder
o M Dubson PHY 102 Lecture Notes, University of Colorado.

Discussion Forum: Can I use the capacitor as a replacement for battery? Why? (Please provide thorough
explanation).