Syllabus Edition

First teaching 2014

Last exams 2024

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Capacitance (DP IB Physics: HL)

Exam Questions

3 hours44 questions
1
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1 mark

What is the correct circuit symbol for a capacitor?

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    2
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    1 mark

    The graph shows how the potential difference across a capacitor varies with the charge stored by it.

     

    W-SJi5Gl_10-3-ib-hl-mcqs-easy-q2-question

    Which one of the following statements is incorrect?

    • The charge and potential difference are directly proportional to each other

    • The energy stored in the capacitor is the area under the graph

    • The gradient of the line equals the capacitance

    • The gradient of the line equals the reciprocal of the capacitance

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    3
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    1 mark

    Which row in the table shows the correct units for capacitance, C, charge, q and potential difference, V?

      C q V
    A. C V P
    B. F C V
    C. C C V
    D. F A V

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      4
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      1 mark

      What is the capacitance of a capacitor in a circuit with a time constant of 60 s when it is discharged through a 15 Ω resistor?

      • 1 F

      • 2 F

      • 3 F

      • 4 F

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      5
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      1 mark

      Which statement about the effect of dielectric materials on capacitance is incorrect?

      • The larger the opposing electric field from the polar molecules in the dielectric, the larger the permittivity

      • When the polar molecules in a dielectric align with the applied electric field from the plates they each produce their own electric field 

      • The electric field from the polar molecules opposes the electric field from the plates, reducing the overall electric field

      • The dielectric material is an electrical conductor

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      6
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      1 mark

      A capacitor has a time constant, tau.

      Which definition of tau is incorrect?

      • The time taken for a charging capacitor's potential difference to reach 63% of its maximum value.

      • The time taken for a discharging capacitor's potential difference to decrease to 63% of its original value. 

      • The time taken for a discharging capacitor's potential difference to decrease to its original value multiplied by a factor of 1 over e.

      • The product of the resistance of the resistor and the capacitance of the capacitor.

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      7
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      1 mark

      Which of the following series of graphs shows the correct charging graphs for a capacitor?

       

      11-3-ib-hl-mcqs-easy-q7-qs-3-graphs-per-option

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        8
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        1 mark

        The shaded area on the graph represents the energy stored in a capacitor.

        What quantity is missing on the label of the Y axis?

         11-3-ib-hl-mcqs-easy-q8-qs

        • Energy

        • Charge

        • Voltage

        • Capacitance

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        9
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        1 mark

        A capacitor is discharging. The initial current is given by I0 .

        What is the current when a time has passed equal in length to the time constant?

        • I subscript 0 over 2

        • I subscript 0 e

        • I subscript 0 over e

        • I subscript 0

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        10
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        1 mark

        Which of the following shows the correct discharging graphs for a capacitor?

         11-3-ib-hl-mcqs-easy-q10-qs-3-graphs-per-option

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          1
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          1 mark

          Four capacitors, each one with a capacitance C, are connected such that their combined capacitance is 0.75C. How are they connected?

          11-3-hl-mcq-medium-q1

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            2
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            1 mark

            Energy stored in between the plates of parallel plate capacitor of area A with a permittivity of the dielectric between the plates ε, electric field strength E and separated by distance d is given by

            • 1 half epsilon fraction numerator d over denominator E squared A end fraction

            • 1 half epsilon E squared A over d

            • 1 half epsilon A E squared d

            • 1 half fraction numerator A d over denominator epsilon E squared end fraction

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            3
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            1 mark

            The capacitance of a pixel of a CCD is 6.4 pF. A pulse of light is incident on the pixel and as a result, 106 electrons are ejected from the pixel. The magnitude of the change in potential of the pixel is

            • 4 V

            • 0.4 V

            • 0.25 V

            • 0.025 V

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            4
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            1 mark

            A parallel-plate capacitor is connected to a cell of constant emf. The separation between the plates is doubled without disconnecting the cell. What are the changes in the energy stored in the capacitor, the magnitude of the capacitance of the capacitor and the charge stored on the plates?

              Energy Stored Capacitance Charge
            A. Doubles Halves Halves
            B. Halves Halves Halves
            C. Doubles Doubles Doubles
            D. Halves Halves Doubles

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              5
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              1 mark

              The circuit below shows 4 capacitors each with capacitance 2.0 mF.

              11-3-q5_hl-medium-mcq

              The total energy stored in the circuit is 100 J. What is the value of V?

              • 5.0 kV

              • 5.0 V

              • 0.2 kV

              • 2.0 kV

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              6
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              1 mark

              A capacitor is charged by a constant current of 5.0 μA for 2 minutes. As a result, the potential difference across the capacitor increases by 10 V.

              What is the capacitance of the capacitor?

              • 60 µF

              • 600 µF

              • 10 µC

              • 1 µC

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              7
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              1 mark

              Four capacitors of same capacitance are connected in parallel. When they are connected to a cell, a total charge of 2.4 μC is accumulated on them. After discharging, they are connected in series and then charged by the same cell.

              What is the total charge stored on the capacitors after charging in series?

              • 192 over 5 mC

              • 192 over 5 µC

              • 3 over 20 mC

              • 3 over 20 µC

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              8
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              1 mark

              Three capacitors are connected in series with capacitances 6 µF, 3 µF and 4 µF respectively.

              What is the combined capacitance of these capacitors?

              • 13 µF

              • 4 over 3µF

              • 3 over 4µF

              • 1 over 13µF

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              9
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              1 mark

              Two capacitors of different capacitance are connected in series to a source of emf with negligible internal resistance.

              11-3-hl-mcq-medium-q9

              What is correct about the potential difference across each capacitor and the charge on each capacitor?

                Potential Difference Charge
              A. Depends on the capacitance Depends on the capacitance
              B. Same Same
              C. Same Depends on the capacitance
              D. Depends on the capacitance Same

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                10
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                1 mark

                A capacitor of capacitance C discharges through a resistor of resistance R. The graph shows the variation with time t of the voltage V across the capacitor.

                11-3-hl-mcq-medium-q10-1

                The capacitor is changed to one of value C over 2 and the resistor is changed to one of value R over 2. Which graph shows the variation with t of V when the new combination is discharged?

                11-3-hl-mcq-medium-q10-2

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                  1
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                  1 mark

                  A fully charged capacitor of capacitance C = 1.00 μF is connected in parallel with a resistor with a resistance of R = 2.00 MΩ. The potential difference used to charge the capacitor is then removed. Initial current is denoted as I0 .

                  What length of time does it take for the current to decrease from fraction numerator 7 I subscript 0 over denominator 15 end fraction to I subscript 0 over 15?

                  • ln open parentheses 8 over 15 close parentheses s

                  • ln open parentheses 49 close parentheses s

                  • ln open parentheses 14 close parentheses s

                  • ln open parentheses 1 over 14 close parentheses s

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                  2
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                  1 mark

                  The diagram shows a diode bridge rectification circuit and a load resistor.

                   

                  11-3-ib-hl-mcq-q2_1

                   

                  The input is a sinusoidal signal. Which of the following circuits will produce the smoothest output signal?

                   

                  11-3-ib-hl-mcq-q2_

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                    3
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                    1 mark

                    Three capacitors, each one with a capacitance C, are connected such that their combined capacitance is 1.5C. How are they connected?

                    11-3-ib-hl-mcq-q3

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                      4
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                      1 mark

                      A variable capacitor is being charged, but the dial is accidentally knocked partway through the charging process. 

                      What is the energy stored in this capacitor by the time the accumulated charge reaches 2.0 μC?

                       

                      11-3-ib-hl-mcq-q3_1

                      • 4.25 × 10-3 J

                      • 2.75 × 10-3 J

                      • 2.75 J

                      • 4.25 J

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                      5
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                      1 mark

                      A capacitor with capacitance C discharges through a resistor of resistance R. The graph shows the variation with time of the voltage V across the capacitor. 

                      graph-1

                      The capacitor is now changed to one with a capacitance of 2C and the resistor is changed to one with a value of 2R. Which graph shows the variation of V with t when the new configuration is discharged. 

                       

                      graphs-2

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                        6
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                        1 mark

                        Which of the following can be used as a unit for capacitance? 

                        • A2 s2 kg m–2

                        • A2 s4 kg-1 m–2

                        • A2 kg m

                        • A2 s2 kg-1 m

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                        7
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                        1 mark

                        A parallel–plate capacitor has square plates of length L separated by a distance 3L and is filled with air as its dielectric.

                        A second capacitor has square plates of length 3L separated by distance 6L and is filled with a different dielectric.

                        Both capacitors have the same capacitance.

                        What is the relative permittivity of the dielectric in the second capacitor?

                        • 9 over 2

                        • 2 over 9

                        • 3 over 2

                        • 2 over 3

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                        8
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                        1 mark

                        A capacitor of capacitance stores an amount of energy when the pd across it is V

                        Which line, to D, in the table gives the correct stored energy and pd when the charge is decreased by 60%?

                          Energy Potential difference
                        A. 0.40 0.60
                        B. 0.16 0.60
                        C. 0.40 0.40
                        D. 0.16 0.40

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                          9
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                          1 mark

                          An uncharged 200 nF capacitor is connected to a power supply and becomes fully charged. The potential difference across the capacitor is equal to 9.0 V and the load resistor has a resistance of 2.0 kΩ.

                          A switch is flipped and a highly precise digital data logger begins recording information about the capacitor at the exact moment that the capacitor begins discharging. 

                          Approximately how many additional electrons are left on the negative plate after 0.60 ms have passed?

                          The following table of logarithm approximations may help you answer this question. 

                           

                          x ln(x) to two decimal places
                          1.0 0.00
                          1.5 0.41
                          2.0 0.69
                          2.5 0.92
                          3.0 1.10
                          3.5 1.25
                          4.0 1.39
                          4.5 1.50
                          5.0 1.61
                          5.5 1.70
                          6.0 1.79
                          • 1.5 × 1010 electrons

                          • 5.2 × 1012 electrons

                          • 2.5 × 1012 electrons

                          • 1.5 × 1013 electrons

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                          10
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                          1 mark

                          Switch S in the circuit is held in position 1, so that the capacitor C becomes fully charged to a potential difference V and stores energy E.

                           

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                          The switch is then moved quickly to position 2, allowing C to discharge through the fixed resistor R. It takes 55 ms for the pd across C to fall to V over 2.


                          What period of time must elapse, after the switch has moved to position 2, before C has lost fraction numerator 255 E over denominator 256 end fraction?

                          • 165 ms

                          • 110 ms

                          • 82.5 ms

                          • 220 ms

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