BVM GLOBAL BOLLINENI HILLSIDE SENIOR

SECONDARY SCHOOL
Nookampalayam, Chennai – 600131.

CHARGING & DISCHARGING OF CAPACITOR

Project submitted to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)

in partial fulfillment for the requirement of All India Senior School
Certificate Examination (SSCE) 2023-2024, Department of Physics.

Guided by Submitted by
Mr.N.Srinivas Abhinavan OS
XII A
 BVM GLOBAL BOLLINENI HILLSIDE SENIOR
SECONDARY SCHOOL
Nookampalayam, Chennai – 600131.

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified to be the bonafide record of the project work done by

….............................................ABHINAVAN OS.................................................

(Reg no.........................) of Class ..........XII..A............. in senior physics

laboratory during the year 2023-2024.

Date: Teacher in charge

Submitted for Senior Secondary Practical Examination in Physics at BVM

Global Bollineni Hillside Senior Secondary School held on
_____________________.

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Date: Signature of the Principal

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is customary for me to acknowledge the contributions and suggestions received

from various sources.

First of all, I would like to thank God almighty for giving me wisdom and

knowledge to showcase my talent.

I am very thankful to my Principal Mrs. Rohini Mahajan for giving me this golden

opportunity to do this wonderful project.

I wish to acknowledge the tremendous amount of help received from my Physics

Teacher Mr.N.Srinivas without whose help and encouragement it would not have

been possible to complete this project.

I wish to express my gratitude to all the non-teaching staffs who helped me to

complete this project.

Whatever words I choose cannot sufficiently express my deep sense of gratitude

towards my Parents for their constant understanding, assistance, inspiration and

moral support in completing this project.

I would also like to acknowledge my thanks to my friends for their support and

timely help.

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 INDEX

S. No. Title Page No.

1 Front page i

2 Bonafide ii

3 Acknowledgments iii

4 Index iv

5 Introduction 1

6 Experiment 3

7 Aim 4

8 Apparatus Required 4

9 Circuit Diagram 11

10 Model Graph 12

11 Procedure 14

12 Observation Table 17

13 Conclusion 19

14 Precautions 19

15 Sources of Error 19

16 Applications 20

17 Bibliography 21

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 INTRODUCTION

What is a capacitor?

A capacitor is an electrical device that can store energy in the form of an electric charge. It
consists of two electrical conductors that are separated by a distance. Capacitors store energy
by holding apart pairs of opposite charges. Capacitance is the effect of the capacitor.
Capacitance (C) is defined as the ratio of electric charge (Q) to the voltage (V) and it is
expressed as:

𝐶 = 𝑄/𝑉

Types of capacitor:

Capacitors are categorised into two mechanical groups. Fixed Capacitors consist of fixed
capacitance value and variable capacitance with variable capacitance value.

● Ceramic Capacitors

● Film Capacitors

● Power Film Capacitors

● Electrolytic Capacitors

● Ceramic capacitors

● Film capacitors

● Paper Capacitors

● Electrolytic capacitors

Charging of capacitors:

When a voltage is applied on a capacitor it puts a charge in the capacitor. This charge gets
accumulated between the metal plates of the capacitor. The accumulation of charge results in
a buildup of potential difference across the capacitor plates. So, there is a voltage built across
1
the capacitor. When the capacitor voltage equals the applied voltage, there is no more charging.
The charge remains in the capacitor, with or without the applied voltage connected.

Discharging of capacitors:

The capacitor discharges when a conducting path is provided across the plates, without any
applied voltage. Then the capacitor can serve as a voltage source, temporarily, to produce
discharge current in the discharge path. The capacitor discharge continues until the capacitor
voltage drops to zero or is equal to the applied voltage.

2
EXPERIMENT

3
Aim:

To analyse the change in potential difference across capacitor during charging and
discharging using a multimeter in an electric circuit.

Apparatus Required:

To analyse the change in potential difference across capacitor during charging and
discharging using a multimeter in an electric circuit.

1. Multimeter

4
2. Capacitor

5
3. Battery Eliminator

6
4. Resistors

7
5. Connecting Wires

8
6. Breadboard

9
7. LED Bulb

10
Circuit Diagram:

Charging:

Discharging:

11
Model Graph:

During the charging of a capacitor, the voltage across the capacitor measured with a
voltmeter will increase exponentially with time.

𝑇
−𝜏
𝑄= 𝑄′ (1 − 𝑒 )

12
 During the discharging of a capacitor, the voltage across the capacitor measured with a
voltmeter will decrease exponentially with time.

𝑇
′ −
𝑄 = 𝑄 (𝑒 𝜏 )

13
Procedure:

1. Place the empty breadboard.

2. Connect the battery eliminator.

3. Connect the resistor, capacitor, LED in series and multimeter in parallel to capacitor (set
to potential difference mode).

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4. Turn on the switch on battery eliminator.

5. Check the reading on multimeter every 5 seconds and note it down.

6. Repeat this several times and note down the readings.

15
16
Observation Table:

Charging:

S. No. Time Interval (s) Potential Difference (V)

1. 5 2.73

2. 10 4.54

3. 15 5.61

4. 20 6.85

5. 25 7.32

Time vs Potential Difference

8
Potential Difference (V)

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25
Time (s)

17
Discharging:

S. No. Time Interval (s) Potential Difference (V)

1. 30 5.73

2. 60 4.21

3. 90 3.38

4. 120 2.76

5. 150 2.23

6. 180 1.65

9 Time vs Potential Difference

8
Potential Difference (V)

7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Time (s)

18
Conclusion:

The potential difference across the capacitor during charging gradually increases till it
reaches a maximum value i.e., the emf of the cell 9 V.
The potential difference across the capacitor during discharging gradually decreases from
the maximum value, i.e., the emf of the cell 9 V to 0 V.

Precautions:

● Ensure that the connections are made properly.

● Make sure that all the circuit elements are proper and working.

Sources of Error:

● The wires may not be of uniform thickness.

● Readings might differ due to internal resistance of appliances.

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Applications:

Capacitor has plenty of uses in daily life. In domestic as well as commercial appliances like
as batteries, fans, cameras, coolers, electronic chargers, LED lights, audio equipment, etc, the
capacitor is needed. Also, the capacitor is widely used in computers in cases of an emergency
shutdown of the system. In the power system, capacitor banks are widely used for regulating
voltage and improving the quality of the power supply. In audio equipment and gadgets such
as loudspeakers, microphones, woofers, tweeters, etc., capacitors are inbuilt to filter and
manipulate signals. Also, in electronics and telecommunication devices (such as television
receivers, transmitter circuits, and radio), it is widely used.

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Bibliography:

Internet:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor

2. https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/capacitor/cap_1.html

3. https://www.cmm.gov.mo/eng/exhibition/secondfloor/moreinfo/2_3_5_Charging
Capacitor.html

Books:

1. Physics NCERT textbook

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