Determining Equivalent Capacitance, Total Charge, Energy Stored and Potential Difference

across Each Capacitor

The capacitor is a component which has the ability or “capacity” to store energy in the form of an
electrical charge producing a potential difference (Static Voltage) across its plates, much like a small
𝑨
rechargeable battery. 𝑪 = 𝜺𝟎 (where A is the area and d is the distance) and
𝒅
𝒒
𝑪 = 𝑽 where q is the amount of charge and V is the potential difference.
The Capacitance of a Capacitor is the electrical property of a capacitor and is the measure of a
capacitors ability to store an electrical charge onto its two plates with the unit of capacitance being the
Farad (abbreviated to F) named after the British physicist Michael Faraday.

Capacitance is defined as being that a capacitor has the capacitance of One Farad when a charge of One
Coulomb is stored on the plates by a voltage of One volt. Capacitance, C is always positive and has no
negative units. However, the Farad is a very large unit of measurement to use on its own so sub-
multiples of the Farad are generally used such as micro-farads, nano-farads and pico-farads.
Microfarad (μF) 1μF = 1/1,000,000 = 0.000001 = 10-6 F
Nanofarad (nF) 1nF = 1/1,000,000,000 = 0.000000001 = 10-9 F
Picofarad (pF) 1pF = 1/1,000,000,000,000 = 0.000000000001 = 10-12 F
Capacitors in Parallel Capacitors in Series

The equivalent capacitance for parallel- The equivalent capacitance for series-connected
connected capacitors CT = C1 + C2 + . . + capacitors:
Cn 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
= + + ⋯+
where CT = equivalent capacitance for the 𝑪𝑻 𝑪𝟏 𝑪𝟐 𝑪𝒏
parallel connected circuit (Farad, F, μF) The potential difference:
The potential difference: 𝑽𝑻 = 𝑽𝟏 + 𝑽𝟐 + ⋯ + 𝑽𝒏
𝑽𝑻 = 𝑽𝟏 = 𝑽𝟐 = ⋯ = 𝑽𝒏 The total charge:
The total charge: 𝒒𝑻 = 𝒒𝟏 = 𝒒𝟐 = ⋯ = 𝒒𝒏
𝒒𝑻 = 𝒒𝟏 + 𝒒𝟐 + ⋯ + 𝒒𝒏
ENERGY STORED IN A CAPACITOR
𝟏 𝑸 𝟏
𝑼= 𝐂 𝑽𝟐 , where C = 𝑼 = 𝑸𝑽
𝟐 𝑽 𝟐
Developmental Activity (15min)

Consider two plates separated by d=1.5 cm , where the electric field between them is 100 V/m, and the
charge on the plates is 30.0 mC. What is the capacitance?
Solution: Given:
______________________________________________________________________________
___________
𝑞 𝑞
Substitute to the capacitance formula: 𝐶 = 𝑉 = 𝑬𝑑 = 2.0 x 10-5 F
Consider a capacitor made of two 0.05 m2 plates separated by 0.5 mm. If the capacitance is 3.0 nF, what
is the relative permeability, k, of the material between the plates?
Solution: Given:
______________________________________________________________________________
___________
𝐴 𝐶𝑑
Substitute to the capacitance formula: 𝐶 = 𝑘𝜀0 𝑑  𝑘 = 𝜀 𝐴= 3.4
0

Guided Practice

Find the total capacitance for each connection shown.

𝐶1 = 10.0 𝐹 𝐶2 = 5.0 𝐹 𝑎𝑛𝑑𝐶3 = 4.0 𝐹.

Solution Given: C1 = 10.0 F C2 = 5.0 F C3 = 4.0 F

i) C1,C2, and C3 are in series

1 1 1 1 2 + 4 + 5 11
= + + = =
CT 10.0 𝐹 5.0 𝐹 4.0 𝐹 20 20
CT = 1.8 F
ii) C1,C2, and C3 are in parallel
CT = 10.0 𝐹 + 5.0 𝐹 + 4.0 𝐹 = 19𝐹

iii) First get the total capacitance of C1 and C2 in series.

1 1 1 1+2 3
C
= 10.0 𝐹 + 5.0 𝐹 + 10 + 10 C = 3.3F
This series combination of C1 and C2 is parallel to C3.
Therefore, the total capacitance is CT = 𝐶 + 𝐶3 = 3.3 𝐹 + 4.0 𝐹 = 7.3𝐹

What is the capacitance of the following segment of a circuit if C1=C2=C3=3.0 μF

Solution:
1 1 1
The capacitance of the two in parallel is C23=C2+C3. 𝐶 = 𝐶 + 𝐶
𝑇 1 23
1 1 1 2 1 3 1
𝐶𝑇
= 3.0𝜇𝐹
+ (3.0𝜇𝐹+3.0𝜇𝐹)
= 6.0𝜇𝐹
+ 6.0𝜇𝐹
= 6.0𝜇𝐹
= 2.0𝜇𝐹
𝐶𝑇 = 2.0𝜇𝐹

ii)If a voltage Vab = 6.0V is applied, what is the charge on each capacitor?
Solution: The charge on the first capacitor is the same as the charge on the whole
combination,
 since it is the only thing the left-hand wire is connected to.This charge can be found from
the
𝑄1 = 𝐶𝑎𝑏 𝑉𝑎𝑏 and that 𝐶𝑇 = 𝐶𝑎𝑏 .
There is a charge Q1 on the opposite side of the first capacitor, which must have come
equally from the next capacitors since they are equal to each other. Therefore, Q2=Q3= ½ Q1.
So, 𝑄1 = 𝐶𝑎𝑏 𝑉𝑎𝑏 = (2.0𝜇𝐹)(6𝑉) = 12𝜇𝐶 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑄2 = 𝑄3 = 6.0𝜇𝐶

iii) What is the voltage across each capacitor?

Solution: Use V=Q/C to get V1 = 4.0 V, V2 = V3 = 2.0 V.

A. Energy Stored in a Capacitor

A camera flash unit stores energy in a 150μF capacitor at 200V. How much electric energy
can be stored?
Answer: 3.0J
A capacitor has a charge of 3.0 x 10-9C when the voltage across the capacitor is 12 V. What is
the energy stored in the capacitor?Answer: 18 x 10-9 J

Independent Practice

1. Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor having dimensions, 30cm x 40cm and separated
with a distance d=8mm air gap.

Solution : A=0.3m x 0.40m = 0.12m2

C= (8.85x10-12C2/N.m2) (0.12m2/8 x 10-3m) = 1.33 x10-10 F

2. Calculate the equivalent capacitance between the points a and b.

Solutions:

3. A 1.0 μF capacitor is charged to a pd of 10 V.

a) Calculate the charge on the capacitor1.0 × 10–5 C
b)How much charge flowed through the battery during charging? 1.0 × 10–5 C
c) Calculate the energy stored by the capacitor. 5.0 × 10–5 J