Name: Sean Lyniel P.

Gomez Date: March 5, 2020

Capacitor Intro Lab- PhET

Note: This lab assumes familiarity with the relationship C=Q/V and investigates physical
factors that affect capacitance.

Directions: Access the PhET “Capacitor Lab” Simulation at

http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/capacitor-lab. On the iMacs you must click “Download Now”
in blue, and then open the downloaded file. (Appears at the bottom of your window in Chrome or
the upper right corner in Safari)

1. Begin by familiarizing yourself with the setup. Start on the Introduction tab and
check all boxes except Electric Field Detector. Move the red voltmeter wire to the
top plate and the black wire to the bottom plate.
2. Increase the battery voltage between 0 and 1.5V. Record observations for changes in
each of the following as you increase the voltage.

a. Capacitance – The capacitance remained constant with the value of

0.89 ×10−13F.

b. Plate charge - The plate charges increased when the battery voltage was
adjusted from 0 to 0. 75 ×10−13C.

c. Stored Energy – Same as the plate charges, the stored energy increased when
the battery voltage was adjusted from 0 to 0. 32× 10−13J.

d. Voltage across plates (Read off of voltmeter) – The voltage was increased
from 0 to 0.85 V.

e. How does the voltage across the plate compare to the battery voltage?
The voltage from the battery is transferred to the plates (capacitors)
meaning the capacitor has higher voltage than the battery.

3. What changes result from giving the battery a negative voltage?

The plate charge and stored energy changed and the electric field lines changed
significantly wherein the top plate becomes negative with positive charge and the
bottom plate becomes the positive from a negative charge.
 4. Remove the voltmeter and add the Electric Field Detector. Check “Show values” on
the detector.
a. What is the electric field outside of the area directly between the plates?
When the voltage of the battery is 1.5 V, the electric field between the plates
is 150 V/m

b. How does the electric field change as you move from the positive to the
negative plate?
The arrows of the electric field lines changes direction because the top plate
becomes the negative while the bottom plate becomes the positive.

5. The above questions should be consistent with what you already know about
capacitors. Summarize the relationships you saw in questions 1-4 below.
(Remember up to this point you have NOT changed the capacitance)

a. Relationship between charge and voltage for constant capacitance

In summary, when the voltage is increased, the charge also increases. Also,
when the voltage is decreased and becomes negative, the charges polarized.

b. Two pieces of evidence for 5a:

- When the voltage is increased from 0 to 0.85 V, the charge also
increased from 0 to 0. 75 ×10−13C.

- By observing the plates in the program (Capacitor Lab), as the

voltage increases the charge of the top plate is positive and the
bottom is negative. When the voltage is decreased, the top plate
becomes negative and the bottom plate becomes positive. The arrow
also changes when the voltage is positive or negative.

Now, you will investigate physical factors that affect the capacitance.

6. There are green sliders for plate area and separation. Predict and then find the
relationship between a change in these values and the capacitance.

Prediction Actual Relationship

Plate Area As the plate area is When the plate area is increased, the
increased, the capacitance capacitance also increases meaning
also increases. Same goes the plate area and capacitance are
for negative. directly proportional.
 Plate When the plate separation is
Separation increased, the capacitance
decreases. Also works vice-
versa.
When the plate separation is
increased, the capacitance will
decrease meaning the plate area and
capacitance are inversely
proportional.

7. Write a proportion (not an equation yet) that reflects the relationships you
discovered in #7.

As the plate area is increased, the capacitance also increases. When the plates are
separated, the capacitance decreases. Plate area and capacitance are directly proportional
while the plate separation and capacitance are inversely proportional.

Finally, we will investigate the effect of a dielectric material. A dielectric material is

some substance that is placed between the two plates.

8. Go to the “Dielectric” tab. Add a capacitance meter, plate charge meter, and
voltmeter to the simulation. Use the green “Offset” slider to move the dielectric
material in between the plates, and increase the battery voltage to +1.5V.

a. List two quantities that increase with the addition of the dielectric
When dielectric is added the capacitance and plate charge increases.

b. What quantity remains the same?

The voltage remains the same even when dielectric is added.

9. Different materials have different effects when used as a dielectric. The degree to
which a material affects (eventually) capacitance is referred to as its dielectric
constant. Use the slider to control the dielectric constant in order to establish the
following relationships for a constant voltage:

a. Dielectric constant and capacitance

As the dielectric constant increases, the capacitance also increases. For paper
having dielectric constant of 3.5 the capacitance is 3 . 10× 10−13F. Wherein
Teflon having dielectric constant of 2.1 has a capacitance of 1 .86 × 10−13F.
 b. Dielectric constant and charge stored
As the constant increases, the charges that are stored also increases. An
example is paper having dielectric constant of 3.5 the top plate charge is
4 .65 × 10−13C or +56. Wherein Teflon having dielectric constant of 2.1 has top
plate charge of 2 .79 ×10−13C or +30.

10. Use your answer to 9a to incorporate the dielectric constant into the proportion you
found in #7. Use a κ (lower case kappa) to represent the dielectric constant.

κA
C=
d

Capacitance is equal to dielectric constant multiplied to the area then divide them to the
distance. Capacitance is directly proportional to dielectric constant and area while d is
inversely proportional to the capacitance.

11. Given the following dielectric constants, which would be (a) the best and (b) the
worst suited to storing the largest possible amount of charge?

The best suited would be pure water (a) and the worst suited would be vacuum (b) in
storing large amount of charge.

κA
The final proportion you should have arrived at is C ∝ . The corresponding equation for
d
κ ϵ0 A
capacitance is C= , where C is capacitance, κ is the dielectric constant, ε 0 is a constant
d
with a value of 8.56x10-12 F/m, A is area of the plates, and d is the distance separating
them.

(a) Use this formula to find the capacitance for a capacitor with a separation of 1mm of
porcelain between the 10cm x 10cm square plates.

GIVEN:

d = 1mm (1x10-3 m)
A = 10cm2 (0.01m2)
κ=6
C= ?

κ ∈0 A
C=
d

F
(6)(8.56 x 1012 )(0.01 m2 )
m
C= −3
(1 x 10 m)

C=5.13 x 10−10 F

[Ans: 5.13x10-10 F]

(b) A 9x10-11 F capacitor is made up of two circular plates (r=5cm) separated by 1.0mm.
Find the necessary dielectric constant for this capacitor.
GIVEN:
C = 9x10-11 F
r = 5cm (A=(3.14)(52) =78.5 m2
d = 1.0 mm (9x10-11 F)
κ ∈0 A
C=
d
Cd
κ=
∈0 A

(9 x 10−1 1 F)(1 x 10−3 m)

κ=
F
( )
8.56 x 10−12 (78.5 m2)
m

κ=1.34
[Ans: 1.34 ]