Physics Lab Report Rubric

Physics Laboratory Report

Title Parallel plate capacitor

Lab number and Title:Lab 205:parallel

plate capacitor

Name:Mohammed El-Naggar Group ID:1

Date of Experiment:3/3/2020 Date of Report Submission: 3/8/2020

Course & Section Number :106 Instructor’s Name: Yunpeng Gao

Partners’ Names: portia and peter

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECTIVES
To understand the principle of a parallel plate capacitor and to measure the
value of its capacitance.
1.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
The Capacitance C of a parallel plate capacitor is given by
(1)C=A/d or C=k
With the permittivity of the material between plates, k a dielectric
constant ,A[m2}area of the plate ,and d[m] the plate separation.
Capacitance is measured in farads[F].For a vacuum(or air) between the
plates, dielectric constant k=1 and
If two capacitors with capacitances C1 snd C2 are connected in series,the
total capacitance Ct of the set can be calculated from the relation 2:
(2) 1/Ct =1/C1 +1/C2
2 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE
Parallel plate capacitor,dielectric(square plate),LCR meter,Calipar,Banana
cables.
Part 1 .Capacitance as a function of plate separation
The experimental parallel plate capacitor to be used has circular plates with
diameter 20cm
2- Measure the capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor for different plate
separations using LCR digital meter.
Leads should be connected to + and –(BK precision) plug-ins
Do not keep anything in close range of capacitor and/or wires during the
measurement. This can add some extra unknown capacitance
 Physics Lab Report Rubric
The select switch should be in C position and the range 2nF or 200pF(1nF=10^(-
9)and 1pF=10
3- measure the capacitance for given plate separations
4-plot a function of C(d)= for d(separation) from 0.00009 to 0.010 with
increment of 0.0001 and add experimental data of Cexp vs Dexp to the plot
5-Define the inverse of the C(d) function as 1/(C(d) . Compute 1/Cexp
values.plot the inverse function of theoretical C(d) as well as the values of
1/Cexp.They should be straight(linear) lines.Calculate slope of 1/Cexp.From
theory the slope should be

Part 2
Capacitor with dielectric
We inserted the dielectric
We measured the thickness of the dielectric plate delta and record the value
We measured the capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor for different plate
separations using LCR digital meter .
The selection switch should be in C(Capacitance) position and the range be in
200 pF.We didn’t keep anything in close range of capacitor and/or wires during
the measurement.This can add some extra unknown capacitance
We Put the data into matrices Dexp and Cexp
We Plot a function Ct(x) for x 0.00009+ to 0.02+ with increment of 0.001
Add your experimental data to the plot of theoretical C(x)
We plotted the inverse of Ct(x) function and the inverse experimental Ctexp
data(1/Ctexp)
We calculated the theoretical values of Ct(x) at all deep. Find differences
between the experimental Ctexp and theoretical Ct(Dexp) at all Dexp ,which are
the error values.
We performed the linear fitting of the experimental data (1/Ctexp) to obtain
dielectric constant

3 RESULTS
3.1 EXPERIMENTAL DATA
 Data should be complete and neatly presented in well-organized tables,
lists or charts.
 Physics Lab Report Rubric
 All data with a value should have a proper unit (SI unit) and variable name
and be expressed n scientific notation.
 If necessary, data should be displayed in a graph. Graphs should have a
title with each axis labeled and the unit indicated.
3.2 CALCULATION
 Calculation with a proper equation must be clear and readable.
 Results from calculation should reflect the significant figures of data
measured in experiment.
 If necessary, results from calculation should be displayed in a graph
and/or summarized in a table.

4 ANALYSIS and DISCUSSION (40 points)

 Clearly explain how the analysis was done (what physics
theory/principles/concepts were used?)
 Show error analysis if applicable.
 Discuss whether your results are reasonable with error analysis and
comparison with any physics principles.
 Discuss if the results met the objectives for the lab.
 Use or cite any reference to support your discussion
 The answer to question (a) page 41
the percent difference is approximately 5%
 The way I did it I took the value m and (subtract it from the theoretical
slope) divided by the actual *100%
The answer to question (b) page 41
There is a difference due to experimental error
The answer to question (a) page 43
Because the dielectric constant turns the epsilon to E
Which is inversely proportional to the k which is constant in the electric field

5 CONCLUSIONS
 Convincingly describe what has been learned from the experiment.
 Comment on whether the experiment raised new questions.
 Suggest changes in experimental design to improve your results.

6 Attachment of Raw Data (5 points)

Physics Lab Report Rubric
Physics Lab Report Rubric