EXPERIMENT : CAPACITOR IN

AN AC CIRCUIT
ABSTRACT
The objective for this experiment is to determine the capacitance of the
capacitor. In order to find the capacitance of the capacitor, we set up a circuit
that contain a multimeter(ammeter), a Cathode Ray Oscilloscope, a 4.7μF
capacitor, connecting wires and connected to AC power supply. From the graph
Voltage(V) versus Current(I) that we plotted using the data from our experiment,
we can see that the voltage, V is directly proportional to the current, I. The
capacitive reactant that we gained from the gradient of the graph is 625.64Ω.
The capacitance of the capacitor that we calculate form the equation
1
𝑋𝑐 = is 4.2μF . Lastly, the percentage error for this experiment is 10.64%.
2𝜋𝑓𝑐
 OBJECTIVE
To determine the capacitive reactance, Xc of the capacitor.
INTRODUCTION
A capacitor is an electronic device constructed using two plates of electrically
conductive material separated by a non-conductive material, or insulator. It is
used in electrical applications and circuits using A/C (alternating current) and
D/C (direct current) to achieve certain results based on the capacitor's ability to
store and discharge current. There are two types of capacitor which are
polarized and non-polarized. Polarized capacitors, known as electrolytic
capacitors, must strictly conform to polarity and voltage. Meanwhile non-
polarized capacitors only have voltage rating limitations.
Capacitance is the ratio of the magnitude of the charge on
either metal plates to the magnitude of the potential
differences between the metal plates. Meanwhile
Capacitive reactance is the impeding effect of a capacitor
on the current in an AC circuit. The unit of capacitive
reactance is ohm (Ω)
THEORY
In a circuit consisting of a capacitor connected to an AC generator or a purely resistive circuit,
the voltage in the circuit is sinusoidal and time-dependent.
An oscilloscope’s primary function is to provide a graph of a signal’s voltage over time.
1. VERTICAL – Controls the vertical alignment of the traces as well as which traces are shown,
their scale, which one is the selected one, etc. Note that only the currently selected trace
will be affected by the controls in this group.
2. HORIZONTAL – Controls the time scale and position. Note that all traces are affected
simultaneously by these controls.
As for the graph, the peak-peak voltage is twice the value of peak voltage (amplitude).
Referring to oscilloscope,
Peak-peak Voltage, Vpp (V) = Signal Length, L (cm) x Y scale (volt/div)
The impeding effect of a capacitor on the current in an AC circuit is expressed
in terms of a factor called the capacitive reactance. The unit is ohm (Ω) and
can be expressed as
METHODOLOGY
 The apparatus were set up as shown in Figure below. Then, the power supply was turned on
and been set up to 2V AC. After that, we switched on the oscilloscope. We waited for a few
seconds until the sinusoidal trace is displayed on the screen. Next, after a few seconds we set off
the TIME/DIV knob. Then, we adjusted the Y scale of CH2Y to 5 volt/div and turned on the VAR
knob to the maximum. After that, we measured the signal length, L on the screen and calculate the
value peak-peak voltage, Vpp. The values that we gained, we recorded them in Table . Lastly, we
repeated the experiment for step 5-6 by adjusting the voltage reading of power supply to 4V,
6V, 8V and 10V AC. Finally, we calculated the peak voltage Vp and Vrms for each voltage
setting and completed all data in Table .
DATA & ANALYSIS
 DATA:

AC Peak to peak Peak voltage,

Signal length, L (V) 𝑉𝑝
voltage voltage, Current, I (A) 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝑉 =
(cm) 𝑣𝑝𝑝 2
supply (V) Vpp(V) 𝑣𝑝 =
2

2 1.40 7.00 3.7 × 10-3 3.50 2.47

4 2.60 13.00 6.9 × 10-3 6.50 4.60

6 3.80 19.00 10.3 × 10-3 9.50 6.72

8 5.20 26.00 14.0 × 10-3 13.00 9.19

10 6.60 33.00 18.5 × 10-3 16.50 11.68

ANALYSIS:
CALCULATION:
Measured value capacitance of capacitor:
1
=𝑋𝐶 =
2𝜋𝑓𝐶
1
=𝐶 =
2𝜋𝑓𝑋𝐶
1
=𝐶 =
2𝜋(60𝐻𝑧)(625.64𝛺)
= 4.2 × 10-6 µF
Calculation of Percentage Error

Theoretical Value of Capacitance : 4.7μF

Measured value – Actual value x 100 %

Actual value
= 4.2μF – 4.7μF x 100%
4.7μF
= 10.64%
DISCUSSION
In this experiment, we measured and took the data of signal length, L(cm), peak to peak
voltage, Vpp(V) and current, I(A). We obtained the value of capacitive reactance Xc
1
based on the formula stated in the introduction which is 𝑋𝐶 = where f is 60 Hertz
2𝜋𝑓𝐶
𝑉𝑝𝑝
and C is 4.7 µF. By using the formula we can calculate the Vrms.
2/ 2

By using this data, we plotted the graph of Vrms against current, I to determine the
gradient which is capacitive reactance, Xc. The linear equation for this graph is V = IXc.
From the gradient we can get the value of capacitance of the capacitor, C which is 4.2
µF. From this value, we can see that there is slightly percentage error in this experiment.
The percentage error for this experiment is 10.64%.
The possible source errors in this experiment is the systematic error which is due
to the instrument that we used. As example while taking the current reading,it
might be not so accurate. Other than that, parallax error also can be occur due
to our eyes while taking the reading. This error can be fixed by make sure eyes
are perpendicular to the screen when measure peak to peak voltage appeared
on the screen. The connecting wires also should be connected tightly to prevent
leakage of current. Last but not least, the value of percentage error in this
experiment is 10.68%.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can determine the capacitance of capacitor by using the formula
1 1
𝑋𝐶 = . We rearrange the formula to 𝐶 = and calculate the capacitance
2𝜋𝑓𝐶 2𝜋𝑓𝑋𝐶
value. The frequency, f is given which is 60 Hz and the capacitive reactant, Xc was
gained from the gradient of the graph between Voltage, Vrms against Current, I. The
value of capacitive reactance is 625.64Ω. The capacitance value that obtained from
this experiment was 4.2 µF. The theoretical value for the capacitance value is 4.7 µF.
The linear relationship between the voltage, Vrms and the current, I is directly
proportional. We can concluded that the percentage error for this experiment is
10.64%.