Intro to Capacitors

What is inside a capacitor?

• A liquid electrolyte

• A single piece of metal

• Two pieces of conducting material separated by paper

• A vacuum

What is the main use of capacitors?

• To convert AC to DC

• To resist current flow

• To store charge

• To increase voltage

What happens to the pieces of metal in a capacitor when connected to a battery?

• They become magnetized

• They rotate

• They become neutral

• One becomes positively charged and the other negatively charged

Why do capacitors need to have their conducting plates separated?

• To increase voltage

• To prevent the charges from neutralizing each other

• To prevent electrical shocks

• To allow magnetic fields to form

What is the capacitance of a capacitor?

• The voltage across the capacitor

• The resistance it offers to current

• The amount of charge it can store

• The ratio of stored charge to voltage across it

What units are used to measure capacitance?

• Ohms

• Volts

• Farads

• Coulombs

What determines the capacitance of a capacitor?

• The type of conducting material used

• The physical characteristics of the capacitor

• The voltage of the battery

• The type of battery connected to it

What happens when a capacitor is fully charged by a battery?

• The capacitor discharges immediately

• The voltage across the capacitor equals the battery voltage

• The charging process reverses automatically

• The capacitor explodes

Why does a capacitor not change its capacitance when more charge is stored?

• Because the voltage across it decreases

• Because the charge leaks over time

• Because the ratio of charge to voltage remains constant

• Because the physical size of the capacitor increases

What happens to the charges in a capacitor if the battery is removed?

• They convert into energy

• They remain on the pieces of metal

• They dissipate into the air

• They immediately neutralize each other