Capacitors Review

6V
Remember
Q=VC
Calculate the
charge stored when
A the capacitor is fully
charged here.
200μF
Q The charge
stored is the
area under this
graph

What does
V I
the gradient
of this
graph
represent?

t
t
 Energy Stored
Q=VC implies that graphs of Q against V must be straight line graphs

Q The
gradient
here is C

E =1/2 QV

V
 Energy Stored

V The
gradient
here is 1/C

E =1/2 QV

Q
Charging and discharging with
constant current
 Charging and discharging with
constant
6V
current In these situations
it is possible to use
Q=It to get the
value of the charge
A constant current of
0.5milliamps flows into
this capacitor for 10s
A A)What charge is
stored?
B) What is the
capacitance of the
capacitor

It is possible to charge
or discharge a capacitor V I
keeping the current
constant by using a
variable resistor
Look for the key words constant current in questions t
Charging and discharging with
constant
6V
current In these situations
it is possible to use
Q=It to get the
value of the charge

A
200μF

V What is the
I numerical value of
the area under this
graph?

t
 Charging and discharging with
constant
6V
current

A constant current of 0.4 milliamps The area under

flows for 10s. Calculate V an I/t graph is
I
the charge that
a) the charge stored on the
was stored
capacitor
b) The capacitance of the
t
capacitor
 Charging and discharging with
constant current
An average current
of 3 x 10-4A flows for
5 seconds calculate
the final p.d. across
A the capacitor.
200μF

Alternatively they may give you an average value for the

current when the capacitor charges or discharges.Use
this average value with Q=It to calculate the charge
stored
The effect of a resistance on the
charging and discharging
• Putting a resistor in
series with the
capacitor increases
1.5KΩ
the charging time
• and increases the
6V discharging time.
2 200μF

What is the time constant for this

arrangement?

Time constant = RC
 Exponential decay
Io 1
Charge μC

I   Io
e
I = 0.368Io
A capacitor of 1000μF is in series
with a 1kΩ resistor.
0.368Io It originally has a charge of
0.05C.How long will it take
the charge to fall to
(0.368)2Io a) 0.368 of its value?
(0.368)3Io
b) b) 0.0068C
RC 2RC 3RC
Time s

The time it takes the current to fall by a factor of 1/e is a constant.

That time interval is RC the time constant
Exponential decay of charge through a capacitor in series with a fixed
resistance
t
Q  Qo e CR

Qo

A capacitor and resistor in series has

Charge Coulombs

a time constant of 10s.

The capacitor when fully charged has
a charge of 0.5C.
Calculate the remaining charge 15s
into the discharge.

Time s