College Physics II Capacitors – PhET Lab EPCC Capacitors Objective: This lab will demonstrate the basic physical properties of capacitors through a PhET simulation. Note: Measurements must be in MKS...

lab


College Physics II Capacitors – PhET Lab EPCC Capacitors Objective: This lab will demonstrate the basic physical properties of capacitors through a PhET simulation. Note: Measurements must be in MKS units. Access the PhET lab through this link: https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/capacitor-lab-basics/latest/capacitor-lab-basics_en.html Plate Separation: Select the capacitance simulation (see figure 1). Adjust the simulation settings according to figure 2. Complete the circuit (figure 3), and set the battery to maximum voltage release (figure 4). Record the capacitance, top plate charge, and stored energy in table 1. Next increase the plate separation by 1.0 mm while holding the plate area constant; record your findings in table 1. Repeat the process by incrementing the plate separation distance by 1.0 mm till you reach 8.0 mm of plate separation. Record your findings in table 1 for each increment. P late Area : Return to your original settings by hitting the reset button (refer to figure 2), or by manually setting the simulation according to that stated in figure 2. Setting the battery to maximum voltage release, record the capacitance, top plate charge, and stored energy in table 2. Keeping the plate separation distance constant at 6.0 mm, increment the plate area by 100 mm2 till you reach 300 mm2. Record your findings in table 2 at each increment. Figure 1: Simulation options: Capacitance (left) and light-bulb (right) simulations. Figure 2: Capacitance simulation: Initial settings for the lab. To reset the simulation, click on the reset button (bottom right orange button). Select all settings options from each menu Plate separation: 6.0 mm Plate area: 200 mm2 https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/capacitor-lab-basics/latest/capacitor-lab-basics_en.html College Physics II Capacitors – PhET Lab EPCC Table 1. Simulation with constant plate area of 200 mm2 Plate distance (mm) Capacitance (F) Top plate charge ( C ) Stored Energy (J) Table 2. Simulation with constant plate distance at 6 mm Plate area (mm2) Capacitance (F) Top plate charge ( C ) Stored Energy (J) Measuring Voltage: Place the voltmeter close to the capacitor, and connect the red/orange lead wire above and the black lead wire below the capacitor (see figure 5). Record the voltage of the battery and across the capacitor in table 3. Figure 4: Maximize battery to 1.5 Volts. Figure 3: Circuit open (a); circuit closed (b). (a) (b) Figure 5: Measuring voltage: Place the red wire above the top plate, the other below the bottom plate. College Physics II Capacitors – PhET Lab EPCC Table 3. Voltages Voltage across battery Voltage across capacitor Questions (Answer concisely within 3 sentences): 1. What pattern did you notice when you increased the distance between the plates? Based on what physical characteristic/principle is this possible? 2. What pattern did you notice when you increased the area? Based on what physical characteristic/principle is this possible? 3. How and why does the electric field change? 4. Why are the voltages across the battery and capacitor the same?