Physics 112 HW16

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Due Wednesday, 22 October 2014

RC01. Consider the circuit at right. The capacitor is initially charged
so that the voltage across it is 10 V. The switch is closed at t = 0s.
Calculate what R must be so that the capacitor is 90% discharged
(10% of the original charge is left) in
a) 10 ms,
b) 10 s, and
c) 10,000 s.

RC02. In the circuit at right, the battery is ideal (no internal resistance) and
the capacitor is initially uncharged. Calculate the value of C if the
capacitor is 50% charged up
a) 10 ms,
b) 1 s, and
c) 100 s after closing the switch.
RC03. In the circuit at right, the capacitors are initially
uncharged. How long after the switch is closed does the
current go down to 20% of its original value? Your answer
will be in terms of R and C.

C = 1 F

100

10V
(ideal)

R
R

V
(ideal)

C
C

RC04. Initially, the capacitor in the circuit at right is uncharged and

switch in position 2
the switch is in position 2. The switch is put into position 1 so switch in position 1
that the capacitor begins to charge. After the switch has been in
position 1 for 10.0 ms, the switch is moved back to position 2 so
15.0 F
that the capacitor begins to discharge.
18.0 V
a) Compute the charge on the capacitor just before the switch is
(ideal)
thrown from position 1 to position 2.
b) Compute the voltages across the resistor and across the
980
capacitor at the instant described in part (a).
c) Compute the voltages across the resistor and across the capacitor just after the switch is thrown
from position 1 to position 2.
d) Compute the charge on the capacitor 10.0 ms after the switch is thrown from position 1 to
position 2.
RC05. (Toughie?) Consider the circuit at right. This convention is
V = 18.0 V
often used in circuit diagrams. The battery (or other power supply)
is not shown explicitly. It is understood that the point at the top,
labeled 18.0 V, is connected to the positive terminal of a 18.0 V
battery having negligible internal resistance, and that the ground
6.00
symbol at the bottom is connected to the negative terminal of the
a
battery. The circuit is completed through the battery, even though it
is not shown on the diagram.
3.00 F
a) What is the potential of point a with respect to point b when
the switch is open? (The circuit has been like this for a long
time.)
b) Which point, a or b, is at the higher potential?
c) What is the final potential of point b with respect to ground when the switch is closed?
d) How much does the charge on each capacitor change long after the switch is closed?
RC06. (Toughie?) In the circuit shown at right, the capacitor is
originally uncharged with the switch open. At t = 0 the switch is
closed.

(over)

6.00 F
b
3.00

C
V
(ideal)

R1

R2

a)
b)
c)
d)

What is the current supplied by the battery just after the switch is closed?
What is the current a long time after the switch is closed?
Derive an expression for the current through the battery for any time after the switch is closed.
After a long time t the switch is opened. How long does it take for the charge on the capacitor to
decrease to 10 percent of its value at t = t if R1 = R2 = 5 k and C = 1.0 F?

(over)