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Fields and their consequences

Quick questions on Capacitance: energy stored and exponential discharge - Edexcel A-Level Physics

4short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.

What is capacitance?
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A larger capacitance stores more charge at a given voltage. Practical capacitors are measured in microfarads or smaller because a farad is enormous. Capacitors in parallel add (C=C1+C2+…C = C_1 + C_2 + \ldots) since they share the same voltage and the charges add; capacitors in series combine reciprocally (1C=1C1+1C2+…\frac{1}{C} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + \ldots) since they carry the same charge and the voltages add.
What is q1?
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Define capacitance. [1 mark]
What is q2?
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A 5050 microfarad capacitor is charged to 2020 V. Find the energy stored. [2 marks]
What is q3?
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A capacitor discharges through a resistor with time constant τ=4.0\tau = 4.0 s. Find the fraction of charge remaining after 4.04.0 s. [2 marks]

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