Activity No.

5
Capacitive Circuit

Objectives

1. To investigate an AC capacitive circuit.

2. To investigate the impedance of a capacitor and see how this varies with frequency.

Instruments and Materials

Function Generator
Digital Multimeter
Breadboard
100-uF capacitor
Connecting wires

Discussion
Capacitor is another fundamental electrical element having two conducting surfaces
separated by an insulating material and having a capacity to store a charge on its plates. A
measure of capacitor’s ability to store charge is capacitance. Capacitance is measured in Farad
(F).
A perfect capacitor in an AC circuit takes a current that leads the impressed emf by
exactly 90 electrical degrees. Storing and releasing equal amount of electrostatic energy during
successive quarter cycles, the average energy per cycle involved in such a circuit is zero; this
means that the average power delivered to a capacitor is zero.
Capacitive Reactance is the opposition to the flow of charge, which results in the
continuous interchange of energy between the source and the electric field of the capacitor.
The capacitor’s reactance is also called impedance and is measured in ohms.
Figure 5.1 below shows the circuit diagram of a capacitive circuit with corresponding
wave and phasor diagrams showing the phase relationship.

i = ImSin(ωt+π /2) A i e

e = Em Sinωt V

Circuit Diagram I Wave Diagram

Phasor Diagram E Figure 5.1

Procedures

1. Connect the circuit as shown in the wiring diagram of Figure 5.2.

2. Set the frequency of the function generator to 20 Hz.
3. Adjust the output of the generator to give 1 V rms as read on meter.
4. Record the reading of the ammeter in the Table 5.1.
5. Adjust the output of the generator to 2 and 3 V rms then record the respective
reading of the ammeter.
6. Repeat procedures 3 and 4 with frequency of 40, 60, 80 and 100 Hz.
7. Calculate the average impedance for each frequency and record in Table 5.2. Plot a
graph of impedance against frequency with frequency as abcissa and the impedance
as ordinate.

100uF
V

Function Gen 1-3V

Figure 5.2

Table 5.1

Frequency Voltage Current Impedance

Hz V mA
20 1
2
3
40 1
2
3
60 1
2
3
80 1
 2
3
100 1
2
3

Table 5.2

Frequency(Hz) Average Impedance (Ω)

Observations

Conclusion

Test Your Knowledge

1. What allows current to pass in an AC circuit in spite the presence of dielectric in the
capacitor?
2. Why does the current lead the voltage across a capacitor by 90° rather than lag it?
3. Why does the reactance of the capacitor decrease with frequency?
4. A single electrical component is sealed into a “black box” with a pair of terminals
marked “100Ω”. Suggest a laboratory procedure to determine whether the sealed box
contains a resistor, a capacitor or an inductor.
5. At what frequency will a 100 nanofarad capacitor have a reactance of 100 ohms?