PSI Physics Capacitors

Multiple Choice Questions

Questions 1-2 relate to the five incomplete circuits below composed of resistors R, all of
equal resistance, and capacitors C, all of equal capacitance. A battery that can be
used to complete any of the circuits is available.

1) Into which circuit should the battery be connected to obtain the greatest steady power
dissipation?

(A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D (E) E

A) Correct. In this circuit, the voltage will remain constant to the value of the battery, as
the circuit is in parallel. As well, the total resistance will be the smallest, with each
resistor being in parallel to each other, causing the net resistance to be very small.
Because of these two factors, the power dissipation will be the greatest.

B) Incorrect. In this circuit, once the battery is connected, the flow of current will only
 flow to the capacitor, which cause the power at the beginning to be equal to zero.

C) Incorrect. This circuit is in series to the battery, meaning the values of resistance will
be higher, meaning less power is produced.

D) Incorrect. Here, the net resistance in the beginning is equivalent to 2R, which is
greater than A. Because the battery of each of this circuits are the same, the power
dissipated in this one will be less.

E) Incorrect. Here, the net resistance in the beginning is equivalent to 3R, which is
greater than A. Because the battery of each of this circuits are the same, the power
dissipated in this one will be less.

2) Which circuit will retain more stored energy if the battery is connected to it and then
disconnected?

(A) A (B) B (C) C (D) D (E) E

A) Incorrect. Without a capacitor, no energy will be stored in this circuit once the battery
is disconnected.

B) Incorrect. In this situation, the capacitor will discharge through the top branch of the
circuit.

C) Incorrect. Without a capacitor, no energy will be stored in this circuit once the battery
is disconnected.

D) Incorrect. In this situation, the capacitor will discharge through the resistor connected
in parallel.

E) Correct. This circuit is in series and open, meaning the charge will be the same
throughout, which means the capacitor will store the most energy.
3) Two capacitors are connected in parallel as shown above. A voltage V is applied to
the pair. What is the ratio of charge stored on C1 to the charge stored on C2, when
C1 = 4C2? (A) 1/4 (B) 2/4 (C) 4/1 (D) 4/2 (E) 1/2

A) Incorrect. Solve for each of the capacitor's charges, and the ratio will be 4/1

B) Incorrect. Solve for each of the capacitor's charges, and the ratio will be 4/1

C) Correct. Since the two capacitors are in parallel, the voltage between the two will
be the same. Since they have different capacitance, solve for each for each of their
charges and compare.

D) Incorrect. Solve for each of the capacitor's charges, and the ratio will be 4/1

E) Incorrect. Solve for each of the capacitor's charges, and the ratio will be 4/1

Questions 4-5 refer to the circuit shown below

4) The equivalent capacitance for this network is: (A) 1.5 uF (B) 2 uF (C) 4
uF (D) 10 uF (E) 12 uF

A) Incorrect. After solving, you should get a total of 4 uF.

 B) Incorrect. After solving, you should get a total of 4 uF.

C) Correct. First, redraw the circuit to understand where the capacitors are in parallel
and in series.

D) Incorrect. After solving, you should get a total of 4 uF.

E) Incorrect. After solving, you should get a total of 4 uF.

5) The charge stored in the circuit is:

(A) 12 µC (B) 18 µC (C) 24 µC (D) 48 µC (E) 64 µC

A) Incorrect. After solving for the equivalent capacitance, you solve get 48 µC of
charge in this circuit.

B) Incorrect. After solving for the equivalent capacitance, you solve get 48 µC of
charge in this circuit.
 C) Incorrect. After solving for the equivalent capacitance, you solve get 48 µC of
charge in this circuit.

D) Correct.

E) Incorrect. After solving for the equivalent capacitance, you solve get 48 µC of
charge in this circuit.

6) The distance and area of a capacitor is tripled. By which factor does the capacitance
change?

(A) It triples. (B) It increases by a factor of nine. (C) It decreases by a factor of

nine.

(D) It is cut into a third. (E) It doesn’t change.

A) Incorrect. The capacitor is both directly proportional to the area, and inversely
proportional to the distance between plates, which means the value of capacitance
will not change.

B) Incorrect. The capacitor is both directly proportional to the area, and inversely
proportional to the distance between plates, which means the value of capacitance
will not change.

C) Incorrect. The capacitor is both directly proportional to the area, and inversely
proportional to the distance between plates, which means the value of capacitance
will not change.

D) Incorrect. The capacitor is both directly proportional to the area, and inversely
proportional to the distance between plates, which means the value of capacitance
will not change.

E) Correct. The capacitor is both directly proportional to the area, and inversely
proportional to the distance between plates, so if both values are tripled, the
capacitor will not change.

7) The distance between plates of a capacitor is tripled. By which factor does the
capacitance change?
(A) It triples. (B) It increases by a factor of nine. (C) It decreases by a factor of
nine.

(D) It is cut into a third. (E) It doesn’t change

A) Incorrect. The capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between plates,

so the value of the capacitance will be cut in third.

B) Incorrect. The capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between plates,

so the value of the capacitance will be cut in third.

C) Incorrect. The capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between plates,

so the value of the capacitance will be cut in third.

D) Correct. The capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between plates,

which means the value of capacitance will decrease if the distance increases.

E) Incorrect. The capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between plates,

so the value of the capacitance will be cut in third.

Questions 8-9

Three capacitors with an equal capacitance C are connected to a battery V.

8) What is the net capacitance of the circuit?

(A) 3C (B) 2C (C) 3/2 C (D) 2/3 C (E) 1/1 C

A) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, you should get 2/3 C.
 B) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, you should get 2/3 C.

C) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, you should get 2/3 C.

D) Correct. Looking at the two capacitors in parallel, the combined value of

capacitance will equal 2C, as capacitance in parallel is .

Then, solve for the net capacitance, which will equal 2/3 C, as capacitance in series

is equal to .

E) Incorrect. There are multiple capacitors in this circuit, and the net capacitance will
not equal 1 C.

9) What is the net charge stored in the circuit?

(A) CV (B) 3CV/2 (C) 2CV/3 (D) CV/3 (E) CV/2

A) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, solve for the net charge, which is

2CV/3.

B) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, solve for the net charge, which is

2CV/3.

C) Correct. After solving for the net capacitance, you can then solve for the net
charge, which will equal 2CV/3

D) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, solve for the net charge, which is

2CV/3.

E) Incorrect. After solving for the net capacitance, solve for the net charge, which is

2CV/3.

Questions 10-11
10) In the circuit shown above, what is the net capacitance?

(A) 3.5 μF (B) 5 μF (C) 2 μF (D) 3 μF (E) 8 μF

A) Correct. First, solve for the two capacitors in series, which is 28 μF. Then, you can
solve for the net capacitance of 3.5μF.

B) Incorrect.

C) Incorrect.

D) Incorrect.

E) Incorrect.
11) What is the charge of the 8μF capacitor?

(A) 10 μC (B) 30 μC (C) 8 μC (D) 50 μC (E) 64 μC

A. A) Incorrect. By using the net capacitance solved in number 10, solve for the
net charge. Then, solve for the voltage of the two parallel capacitors, and with
that, solve for the charge of the 8μF capacitor, which equals 30 μC

B. B) Correct.

C) Incorrect. By using the net capacitance solved in number 10, solve for the net
charge. Then, solve for the voltage of the two parallel capacitors, and with that, solve
for the charge of the 8μF capacitor, which equals 30 μC

D) Incorrect. By using the net capacitance solved in number 10, solve for the net
charge. Then, solve for the voltage of the two parallel capacitors, and with that, solve
for the charge of the 8μF capacitor, which equals 30 μC

E) Incorrect. By using the net capacitance solved in number 10, solve for the net
charge. Then, solve for the voltage of the two parallel capacitors, and with that, solve
for the charge of the 8μF capacitor, which equals 30 μC

12) A capacitor which has a charge Q, area A, and distance D, is suddenly filled with a
new dielectric material with a permittivity value 4 times stronger than before. What
happens to the capacitance of the charge?

(A) It doubles (B) It's cut in half (C) It does not change

(D) Its cut in fourth (E) it quadruples

A) Incorrect. The value of capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric used, and
will increase by a factor of 4.

B) Incorrect. The value of capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric used, and
 the new capacitance will not decrease in value.

C) Incorrect. The value of capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric used,

which means the value of capacitance will change.

D) Incorrect. The value of capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric used, and
will increase by a factor of four if the permittivity value is 4 times stronger.

E) Correct. The value of capacitance is directly proportional to the dielectric used, and
will increase by a factor of four if the permittivity value is 4 times stronger.

Questions 13-14

13) In the circuit above, all three capacitors have the same capacitance C. If the value
of C3 doubled, what would be the new net capacitance?
(A) C (B) 2 C (C) 2/3 C (D) 4/3 C (E) 3 C

A) Correct. After doubling C3, the new capacitance will be C.

B) Incorrect. After doubling C3, the net capacitance will equal C.

C) Incorrect. After doubling C3, the net capacitance will equal C.

D) Incorrect. After doubling C3, the net capacitance will equal C.

E) Incorrect. After doubling C3, the net capacitance will equal C.

14) What is the new net charge?

(A) 2CV (B) CV (C) CV/2 (D) CV/4 (E) 2CV/3

A) Incorrect.

B) Correct. Using the new value for the capacitance, the new charge will be equal to
CV.

C) Incorrect.

D) Incorrect.

E) Incorrect.