Capacitors

1. A capacitor is charged to a potential difference of 12 V and then connected in

series with a switch, a resistor of resistance 10 kΩ and a sensitive ammeter as
shown below.

The switch is closed and the variation with time t of the current I in the circuit is
shown below.

a) i. State the relationship between the current in a circuit and the charge that
passes a point in the circuit. [1]
 ii The area under the graph above represents charge. Use the graph to
estimate the initial charge stored in the capacitor. [4]

iii Calculate the capacitance of the capacitor. [2]

iv What is the time constant for the discharge circuit? [2]

v If the capacitor had discharged to half of its initial energy, calculate the
potential difference across the capacitor. [3]

A 200 μF capacitor is charged to a potential difference of 15.0 V and a resistor of

resistance 1.2 kΩ.

a Determine the time constant 𝜏 of the circuit. [2]

b Calculate:
i the initial current in the circuit [2]
ii. the current in the circuit after a time equal to 2𝜏 [2]
iii. the p.d. across the capacitor after a time of 100 s. [3]