Problems

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SSM

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WWW Worked-out solution is at

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ILW

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Module 25-1 Capacitance

1 The two metal objects in Fig. 25-24 have net charges of
#70 pC and $70 pC, which result in a 20 V potential difference
between them. (a) What is the capacitance of the system? (b) If the
charges are changed to #200 pC and $200 pC, what does the capacitance become? (c) What does the potential difference become?

Module 25-2 Calculating the Capacitance

3 SSM A parallel-plate capacitor has circular plates of 8.20 cm
radius and 1.30 mm separation. (a) Calculate the capacitance.
(b) Find the charge for a potential difference of 120 V.
4 The plates of a spherical capacitor have radii 38.0 mm and
40.0 mm. (a) Calculate the capacitance. (b) What must be the plate
area of a parallel-plate capacitor with the same plate separation
and capacitance?
5 What is the capacitance of a drop that results when two
mercury spheres, each of radius R " 2.00 mm, merge?

Figure 25-24 Problem 1.

S

2 The capacitor in Fig. 25-25 has a

capacitance of 25 mF and is initially
+
C
uncharged. The battery provides a
potential difference of 120 V. After
switch S is closed, how much charge
will pass through it?
Figure 25-25 Problem 2.

6 You have two flat metal plates, each of area 1.00 m2, with
which to construct a parallel-plate capacitor. (a) If the capacitance of the device is to be 1.00 F, what must be the separation
between the plates? (b) Could this capacitor actually be
constructed?
7 If an uncharged parallel-plate capacitor (capacitance C) is
connected to a battery, one plate becomes negatively charged as

740

CHAPTE R 25 CAPACITANCE

electrons move to the plate face (area d (pm)

A). In Fig. 25-26, the depth d from which
the electrons come in the plate in a par- ds
ticular capacitor is plotted against a
range of values for the potential difference V of the battery. The density of conduction electrons in the copper plates is
8.49 " 10 28 electrons/m3. The vertical
Vs
0
scale is set by ds ! 1.00 pm, and the horiV (V)
zontal scale is set by Vs ! 20.0 V. What is
Figure 25-26 Problem 7.
the ratio C/A?
Module 25-3 Capacitors in Parallel and in Series
8 How many 1.00 mF capacitors must be connected in parallel to
store a charge of 1.00 C with a potential of 110 V across the
capacitors?
9 Each of the uncharged capacitors in Fig. 25-27 has a capacitance
of 25.0 mF. A potential difference
of V ! 4200 V is established when
the switch is closed. How many
coulombs of charge then pass
through meter A?

capacitor drops to 35 V, what is the capacitance of this second

capacitor?
14
In Fig. 25-30, the battery has
a potential difference of V ! 10.0 V
and the five capacitors each have a
capacitance of 10.0 mF. What is
the charge on (a) capacitor 1 and
(b) capacitor 2?

C2

C1
+

15
In Fig. 25-31, a 20.0 V batFigure 25-30 Problem 14.
tery is connected across capacitors
of capacitances C1 ! C6 ! 3.00 mF
and C3 ! C5 ! 2.00C2 ! 2.00C4 ! 4.00 mF. What are (a) the equivalent capacitance Ceq of the capacitors and (b) the charge stored by
Ceq? What are (c) V1 and (d) q1 of capacitor 1, (e) V2 and (f) q2 of
capacitor 2, and (g) V3 and (h) q3 of capacitor 3?

A
C

C5

C4

C3

+
V

Figure 25-27 Problem 9.

10 In Fig. 25-28, find the equivalent capacitance of the combination. Assume that C1 is 10.0 mF, C2
is 5.00 mF, and C3 is 4.00 mF.

C6

C2

C1

Figure 25-31 Problem 15.

C3

V
C2

Figure 25-28 Problems 10 and 34.

11 ILW In Fig. 25-29, find the equivalent capacitance of the
combination. Assume that C1 ! 10.0 mF, C2 ! 5.00 mF, and C3 !
4.00 mF.
C2
C1

V
C3

Figure 25-29 Problems 11, 17, and 38.

12 Two parallel-plate capacitors, 6.0 mF each, are connected in
parallel to a 10 V battery. One of the capacitors is then squeezed so
that its plate separation is 50.0% of its initial value. Because of the
squeezing, (a) how much additional charge is transferred to the capacitors by the battery and (b) what is the increase in the total
charge stored on the capacitors?
13 SSM ILW A 100 pF capacitor is charged to a potential difference of 50 V, and the charging battery is disconnected. The
capacitor is then connected in parallel with a second (initially
uncharged) capacitor. If the potential difference across the first

16 Plot 1 in Fig. 25-32a gives the charge q that can be stored

on capacitor 1 versus the electric potential V set up across it. The
vertical scale is set by qs ! 16.0 mC, and the horizontal scale is set
by Vs ! 2.0 V. Plots 2 and 3 are similar plots for capacitors 2 and
3, respectively. Figure 25-32b shows a circuit with those three
capacitors and a 6.0 V battery. What is the charge stored on
capacitor 2 in that circuit?
qs

1
2

q ( C)

C1

3
0
V (V)

C1

C2

C3

Vs

(a)

(b)

Figure 25-32 Problem 16.

17
In Fig. 25-29, a potential difference of V ! 100.0 V is applied across a capacitor arrangement with capacitances C1 ! 10.0 mF,
C2 ! 5.00 mF, and C3 ! 4.00 mF. If capacitor 3 undergoes electrical
breakdown so that it becomes equivalent to conducting wire, what
is the increase in (a) the charge on capacitor 1 and (b) the potential
difference across capacitor 1?
18 Figure 25-33 shows a circuit section of four air-filled capacitors
that is connected to a larger circuit.The graph below the section shows
the electric potential V(x) as a function of position x along the lower
part of the section, through capacitor 4. Similarly, the graph above the
section shows the electric potential V(x) as a function of position x
along the upper part of the section, through capacitors 1, 2, and 3.

741

PROB LE M S

2V

5V

V (V)

Figure 25-33
Problem 18.

12
x

19
In Fig. 25-34, the battery has potential difference V ! 9.0
V, C2 ! 3.0 mF, C4 ! 4.0 mF, and all the capacitors are initially uncharged. When switch S is closed, a total charge of 12 mC passes
through point a and a total charge of 8.0 mC passes through point
b. What are (a) C1 and (b) C3?
S
V

C1

C2

b
C3

C4

Figure 25-34 Problem 19.

20 Figure 25-35 shows a
variable air gap capacitor for
manual tuning. Alternate plates
A
are connected together; one
group of plates is fixed in posid
tion, and the other group is
A
capable of rotation. Consider a
capacitor of n ! 8 plates of alFigure 25-35 Problem 20.
ternating polarity, each plate
having area A ! 1.25 cm2 and
separated from adjacent plates by distance d ! 3.40 mm. What is the
maximum capacitance of the device?

23 The capacitors in Fig. 25-38 are iniS

a
C2
tially uncharged. The capacitances are
C1
c
V
C1 ! 4.0 mF, C2 ! 8.0 mF, and C3 ! 12 mF,
C3
b
and the batterys potential difference is
d
V ! 12 V. When switch S is closed, how
many electrons travel through (a) point a, Figure 25-38 Problem 23.
(b) point b, (c) point c, and (d) point d? In
the figure, do the electrons travel up or down through (e) point b and
(f) point c?
24
Figure 25-39 represents two air-filled cylindrical capacitors
connected in series across a battery with potential V ! 10 V.
Capacitor 1 has an inner plate radius of 5.0 mm, an outer plate radius
of 1.5 cm, and a length of 5.0 cm. Capacitor 2 has an inner plate radius
of 2.5 mm, an outer plate radius of 1.0 cm, and a length of 9.0 cm.The
outer plate of capacitor 2 is a conducting
P
organic membrane that can be stretched,
C1
and the capacitor can be inflated to inV
crease the plate separation. If the outer
C2
plate radius is increased to 2.5 cm by inflation, (a) how many electrons move
Figure 25-39 Problem 24.
through point P and (b) do they move toward or away from the battery?
25
In Fig. 25-40, two parallel-plate
C1
C2
capacitors (with air between the plates)
are connected to a battery. Capacitor 1
has a plate area of 1.5 cm2 and an electric
Figure 25-40
field (between its plates) of magnitude
Problem 25.
2000 V/m. Capacitor 2 has a plate area of
0.70 cm2 and an electric field of magnitude 1500 V/m. What is the
total charge on the two capacitors?
26
Capacitor 3 in Fig. 25-41a is a variable capacitor (its
capacitance C3 can be varied). Figure 25-41b gives the electric potential V1 across capacitor 1 versus C3. The horizontal scale is set by
C3s = 12.0 mF. Electric potential V1 approaches an asymptote of
10 V as C3 : ". What are (a) the electric potential V across the
battery, (b) C1, and (c) C2?
10
8

C1
V1 (V)

Capacitor 3 has a capacitance of 0.80 mF. What are the capacitances of (a) capacitor 1 and (b) capacitor 2?

V
C2

C3

S1
21 SSM WWW In Fig. 25-36, the
capacitances are C1 ! 1.0 mF and + + + +

C
C2
C2 ! 3.0 mF, and both capacitors are 1
++ ++
S2
charged to a potential difference of
b
V ! 100 V but with opposite polarFigure 25-36 Problem 21.
ity as shown. Switches S1 and S2 are
now closed. (a) What is now the potential difference between points a and b? What now is the charge
on capacitor (b) 1 and (c) 2?

22 In Fig. 25-37, V ! 10 V, C1 ! 10
S
mF, and C2 ! C3 ! 20 mF. Switch S is
first thrown to the left side until capacC1
C2
C3
itor 1 reaches equilibrium. Then the V
switch is thrown to the right. When
equilibrium is again reached, how
Figure 25-37 Problem 22.
much charge is on capacitor 1?

6
4
2
0

C 3s

C 3 ( F)

(a)

(b)

Figure 25-41 Problem 26.

27
Figure 25-42 shows a 12.0 V
battery and four uncharged capacitors of capacitances C1 ! 1.00 mF,
C2 ! 2.00 mF, C3 ! 3.00 mF, and C4 !
4.00 mF. If only switch S1 is closed,
what is the charge on (a) capacitor 1,
(b) capacitor 2, (c) capacitor 3, and
(d) capacitor 4? If both switches are
closed, what is the charge on (e) capacitor 1, (f) capacitor 2, (g) capacitor
3, and (h) capacitor 4?

C1

C3

S2
C2
+
B

C4
S1

Figure 25-42 Problem 27.

742

CHAPTE R 25 CAPACITANCE

28
Figure 25-43 displays a 12.0
V battery and 3 uncharged capaciS
C2
tors of capacitances C1 ! 4.00 mF, +
V
0
C2 ! 6.00 mF, and C3 ! 3.00 mF. The
C1
C3
switch is thrown to the left side until
capacitor 1 is fully charged. Then the
switch is thrown to the right. What is
Figure 25-43 Problem 28.
the final charge on (a) capacitor 1,
(b) capacitor 2, and (c) capacitor 3?
Module 25-4 Energy Stored in an Electric Field
29 What capacitance is required to store an energy of 10 kW "h
at a potential difference of 1000 V?
30 How much energy is stored in 1.00 m3 of air due to the fair
weather electric field of magnitude 150 V/m?
31 SSM A 2.0 mF capacitor and a 4.0 mF capacitor are connected
in parallel across a 300 V potential difference. Calculate the total
energy stored in the capacitors.
32 A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor having area 40 cm2 and
plate spacing 1.0 mm is charged to a potential difference of 600 V.
Find (a) the capacitance, (b) the magnitude of the charge on each
plate, (c) the stored energy, (d) the electric field between the
plates, and (e) the energy density between the plates.
33 A charged isolated metal sphere of diameter 10 cm has a potential of 8000 V relative to V ! 0 at infinity. Calculate the energy
density in the electric field near the surface of the sphere.
34 In Fig. 25-28, a potential difference V ! 100 V is applied
across a capacitor arrangement with capacitances C1 ! 10.0 mF,
C2 ! 5.00 mF, and C3 ! 4.00 mF. What are (a) charge q3, (b) potential difference V3, and (c) stored energy U3 for capacitor 3, (d) q1,
(e) V1, and (f) U1 for capacitor 1, and (g) q2, (h) V2, and (i) U2 for
capacitor 2?
35 Assume that a stationary electron is a point of charge. What
is the energy density u of its electric field at radial distances (a) r !
1.00 mm, (b) r ! 1.00 mm, (c) r ! 1.00 nm, and (d) r ! 1.00 pm?
(e) What is u in the limit as r : 0?
Venting port

36
As a safety engineer,
you must evaluate the practice of
+
storing flammable conducting liq- ++
+ h

uids in nonconducting containers. + + + + + + + + +

The company supplying a certain
r
liquid has been using a squat, cylindrical plastic container of radius
Figure 25-44 Problem 36.
r ! 0.20 m and filling it to height
h ! 10 cm, which is not the containers full interior height (Fig. 25-44). Your investigation reveals
that during handling at the company, the exterior surface of the
container commonly acquires a negative charge density of magnitude 2.0 mC/m2 (approximately uniform). Because the liquid is a
conducting material, the charge on the container induces charge
separation within the liquid. (a) How much negative charge is
induced in the center of the liquids bulk? (b) Assume the capacitance of the central portion of the liquid relative to ground is
35 pF. What is the potential energy associated with the negative
charge in that effective capacitor? (c) If a spark occurs between
the ground and the central portion of the liquid (through the venting port), the potential energy can be fed into the spark. The minimum spark energy needed to ignite the liquid is 10 mJ. In this
situation, can a spark ignite the liquid?

37 SSM ILW WWW The parallel plates in a capacitor, with a

plate area of 8.50 cm2 and an air-filled separation of 3.00 mm, are
charged by a 6.00 V battery. They are then disconnected from the
battery and pulled apart (without discharge) to a separation of
8.00 mm. Neglecting fringing, find (a) the potential difference between the plates, (b) the initial stored energy, (c) the final stored
energy, and (d) the work required to separate the plates.
38 In Fig. 25-29, a potential difference V ! 100 V is applied
across a capacitor arrangement with capacitances C1 ! 10.0 mF,
C2 ! 5.00 mF, and C3 ! 15.0 mF. What are (a) charge q3, (b) potential difference V3, and (c) stored energy U3 for capacitor 3, (d) q1,
(e) V1, and (f) U1 for capacitor 1, and (g) q2, (h) V2, and (i) U2 for
capacitor 2?
A

39
In Fig. 25-45, C1 ! 10.0
C1
C2
C3
mF, C2 ! 20.0 mF, and C3 !
Figure 25-45 Problem 39.
25.0 mF. If no capacitor can
withstand a potential difference of more than 100 V without failure, what are (a) the magnitude of the maximum potential difference that can exist between
points A and B and (b) the maximum energy that can be stored in
the three-capacitor arrangement?
Module 25-5 Capacitor with a Dielectric
40 An air-filled parallel-plate capacitor has a capacitance of
1.3 pF. The separation of the plates is doubled, and wax is inserted
between them. The new capacitance is 2.6 pF. Find the dielectric
constant of the wax.
41 SSM A coaxial cable used in a transmission line has an inner
radius of 0.10 mm and an outer radius of 0.60 mm. Calculate the
capacitance per meter for the cable. Assume that the space
between the conductors is filled with polystyrene.
42 A parallel-plate air-filled capacitor has a capacitance of
50 pF. (a) If each of its plates has an area of 0.35 m2, what is the
separation? (b) If the region between the plates is now filled with
material having k ! 5.6, what is the capacitance?
43 Given a 7.4 pF air-filled capacitor, you are asked to convert it to
a capacitor that can store up to 7.4 mJ with a maximum potential difference of 652 V. Which dielectric in Table 25-1 should you use to fill
the gap in the capacitor if you do not allow for a margin of error?
44 You are asked to construct a capacitor having a capacitance
near 1 nF and a breakdown potential in excess of 10 000 V. You
think of using the sides of a tall Pyrex drinking glass as a dielectric,
lining the inside and outside curved surfaces with aluminum foil to
act as the plates. The glass is 15 cm tall with an inner radius of
3.6 cm and an outer radius of 3.8 cm. What are the (a) capacitance
and (b) breakdown potential of this capacitor?
45 A certain parallel-plate capacitor is filled with a dielectric
for which k ! 5.5. The area of each plate is 0.034 m2, and the plates
are separated by 2.0 mm. The capacitor will fail (short out and burn
up) if the electric field between the plates exceeds 200 kN/C. What
is the maximum energy that can be stored in the capacitor?
46 In Fig. 25-46, how much charge is
stored on the parallel-plate capacitors
by the 12.0 V battery? One is filled
C1 C2
with air, and the other is filled with a di- V
electric for which k ! 3.00; both capacitors have a plate area of 5.00 # 10$3 m2
and a plate separation of 2.00 mm.
Figure 25-46 Problem 46.

743

PROB LE M S

47 SSM ILW A certain substance has a dielectric constant of

2.8 and a dielectric strength of 18 MV/m. If it is used as the dielectric material in a parallel-plate capacitor, what minimum area
should the plates of the capacitor have to obtain a capacitance of
7.0 " 10#2 mF and to ensure that the capacitor will be able to withstand a potential difference of 4.0 kV?
48 Figure 25-47 shows a parallelplate capacitor with a plate area A
! 5.56 cm2 and separation d ! 5.56
mm. The left half of the gap is filled
with material of dielectric constant
k1 ! 7.00; the right half is filled with
material of dielectric constant k2 !
12.0. What is the capacitance?

A/2

material. (b) Determine the magnitude of the charge induced on

each dielectric surface.

A/2

Additional Problems
56 In Fig. 25-50, the battery potential
difference V is 10.0 V and each of the seven
capacitors has capacitance 10.0 mF. What is the
charge on (a) capacitor 1 and (b) capacitor 2?

Figure 25-47 Problem 48.

49 Figure 25-48 shows a parallel-plate capacitor with a plate area A ! 7.89 cm2 and
plate separation d ! 4.62 mm. The top half of
the gap is filled with material of dielectric
constant k1 ! 11.0; the bottom half is filled
with material of dielectric constant k2 ! 12.0.
What is the capacitance?

2
1

Figure 25-48
Problem 49.

50
Figure 25-49 shows a parallelplate capacitor of plate area A ! 10.5
A/2
A/2
cm2 and plate separation 2d ! 7.12 mm.
The left half of the gap is filled with ma2
d
1
terial of dielectric constant k1 ! 21.0; 2d
3
d
the top of the right half is filled with material of dielectric constant k2 ! 42.0;
the bottom of the right half is filled
with material of dielectric constant k3 !
Figure 25-49 Problem 50.
58.0.What is the capacitance?
Module 25-6 Dielectrics and Gauss Law
51 SSM WWW A parallel-plate capacitor has a capacitance of
100 pF, a plate area of 100 cm2, and a mica dielectric (k ! 5.4)
completely filling the space between the plates. At 50 V potential
difference, calculate (a) the electric field magnitude E in the mica,
(b) the magnitude of the free charge on the plates, and (c) the magnitude of the induced surface charge on the mica.
52 For the arrangement of Fig. 25-17, suppose that the battery
remains connected while the dielectric slab is being introduced.
Calculate (a) the capacitance, (b) the charge on the capacitor
plates, (c) the electric field in the gap, and (d) the electric field in
the slab, after the slab is in place.
53 A parallel-plate capacitor has plates of area 0.12 m2 and a
separation of 1.2 cm. A battery charges the plates to a potential difference of 120 V and is then disconnected. A dielectric slab of thickness 4.0 mm and dielectric constant 4.8 is then placed symmetrically
between the plates. (a) What is the capacitance before the slab is inserted? (b) What is the capacitance with the slab in place? What is
the free charge q (c) before and (d) after the slab is inserted? What is
the magnitude of the electric field (e) in the space between the
plates and dielectric and (f) in the dielectric itself? (g) With the slab
in place, what is the potential difference across the plates? (h) How
much external work is involved in inserting the slab?
54 Two parallel plates of area 100 cm2 are given charges of
equal magnitudes 8.9 " 10#7 C but opposite signs. The electric
field within the dielectric material filling the space between the
plates is 1.4 " 106 V/m. (a) Calculate the dielectric constant of the

55 The space between two concentric conducting spherical shells

of radii b ! 1.70 cm and a ! 1.20 cm is filled with
a substance of dielectric constant k ! 23.5. A
potential difference V ! 73.0 V is applied across
the inner and outer shells. Determine (a) the caC1
pacitance of the device, (b) the free charge q on
+
the inner shell, and (c) the charge q$ induced
V
along the surface of the inner shell.
C2

Figure 25-50
Problem 56.

57 SSM In Fig. 25-51, V ! 9.0 V, C1 ! C2 ! 30

mF, and C3 ! C4 ! 15 mF. What is the charge on capacitor 4?
C1
V

C2

C4
C3

Figure 25-51 Problem 57.

C

58 (a) If C ! 50 mF in Fig. 25-52, what A

is the equivalent capacitance between
points A and B? (Hint: First imagine
2C
that a battery is connected between
those two points.) (b) Repeat for points
B
A and D.
59 In Fig. 25-53, V ! 12 V, C1 ! C4 !
2.0 mF, C2 ! 4.0 mF, and C3 ! 1.0 mF.
What is the charge on capacitor 4?

4C
D
6C

Figure 25-52 Problem 58.

60
The chocolate crumb mystery.
C1
C2
This story begins with Problem 60 in
Chapter 23. As part of the investigation V
of the biscuit factory explosion, the electric potentials of the workers were
C3
C4
measured as they emptied sacks of
chocolate crumb powder into the loading bin, stirring up a cloud of the powder Figure 25-53 Problem 59.
around themselves. Each worker had an
electric potential of about 7.0 kV relative to the ground, which was
taken as zero potential. (a) Assuming that each worker was effectively a capacitor with a typical capacitance of 200 pF, find the energy
stored in that effective capacitor. If a single spark between the
worker and any conducting object connected to the ground neutralized the worker, that energy would be transferred to the spark.
According to measurements, a spark that could ignite a cloud of
chocolate crumb powder, and thus set off an explosion, had to have
an energy of at least 150 mJ. (b) Could a spark from a worker have
set off an explosion in the cloud of
powder in the loading bin? (The
story continues with Problem 60 in
P
S
C1
Chapter 26.)
C2
C4
V
61 Figure 25-54 shows capacitor
1 (C1 ! 8.00 mF), capacitor 2 (C2
! 6.00 mF), and capacitor 3 (C3 !

C3

Figure 25-54 Problem 61.

744

CHAPTE R 25 CAPACITANCE

8.00 mF) connected to a 12.0 V battery. When switch S is closed so as

to connect uncharged capacitor 4 (C4 ! 6.00 mF), (a) how much
charge passes through point P from the battery and (b) how much
charge shows up on capacitor 4? (c) Explain the discrepancy in
those two results.
62 Two air-filled, parallel-plate capacitors are to be connected to a
10 V battery, first individually, then in series, and then in parallel. In
those arrangements, the energy stored in the capacitors turns out to
be, listed least to greatest: 75 mJ, 100 mJ, 300 mJ, and 400 mJ. Of the
two capacitors, what is the (a) smaller and (b) greater capacitance?
63 Two parallel-plate capacitors, 6.0 mF each, are connected
in series to a 10 V battery. One of the capacitors is then squeezed
so that its plate separation is halved. Because of the squeezing,
(a) how much additional charge is transferred to the capacitors by
the battery and (b) what is the increase in the total charge stored
on the capacitors (the charge on the positive plate of one capacitor
plus the charge on the positive plate of the other capacitor)?
64
In Fig. 25-55, V ! 12 V, C1!
C5 ! C6 ! 6.0 mF, and C2 ! C3 ! C4!
4.0 mF. What are (a) the net charge
stored on the capacitors and (b) the
V
charge on capacitor 4?
65 SSM In Fig. 25-56, the parallel-plate
capacitor of plate area 2.00 # 10"2 m2
is filled with two dielectric slabs, each
with thickness 2.00 mm. One slab has dielectric constant 3.00, and the other,
4.00. How much charge does the 7.00 V
battery store on the capacitor?
66 A cylindrical capacitor has radii a
and b as in Fig. 25-6. Show that half the
stored electric potential energy lies
within a cylinder whose radius is
r ! 1ab.

C1
C2

C5

C3

C4

C6

Figure 25-55 Problem 64.

Figure 25-56
Problem 65.

67 A capacitor of capacitance C1 !
6.00 mF is connected in series with a capacitor of capacitance C2 !
4.00 mF, and a potential difference of 200 V is applied across the
pair. (a) Calculate the equivalent capacitance. What are (b) charge
q1 and (c) potential difference V1 on capacitor 1 and (d) q2 and (e)
V2 on capacitor 2?
68 Repeat Problem 67 for the same two capacitors but with them
now connected in parallel.

69 A certain capacitor is charged to a potential difference V. If

you wish to increase its stored energy by 10%, by what percentage
should you increase V?
70 A slab of copper of thickness
b ! 2.00 mm is thrust into a paralleld
plate capacitor of plate area A ! 2.40 b
cm2 and plate separation d ! 5.00
mm, as shown in Fig. 25-57; the slab is
exactly halfway between the plates.
Figure 25-57
(a) What is the capacitance after the
Problems 70 and 71.
slab is introduced? (b) If a charge
q ! 3.40 mC is maintained on the
plates, what is the ratio of the stored energy before to that after the
slab is inserted? (c) How much work is done on the slab as it is inserted? (d) Is the slab sucked in or must it be pushed in?

71 Repeat Problem 70, assuming that a potential difference V !

85.0 V, rather than the charge, is held constant.
72 A potential difference of 300 V is applied to a series
connection of two capacitors of capacitances C1 ! 2.00 mF and
C2 ! 8.00 mF. What are (a) charge q1 and (b) potential difference
V1 on capacitor 1 and (c) q2 and (d) V2 on capacitor 2? The charged
capacitors are then disconnected from each other and from the
battery. Then the capacitors are reconnected with plates of the
same signs wired together (the battery is not used). What now are
(e) q1, (f) V1, (g) q2, and (h) V2? Suppose, instead, the capacitors
charged in part (a) are reconnected with plates of opposite signs
wired together. What now are (i) q1, (j) V1, (k) q2, and (l) V2?
73 Figure 25-58 shows a fourcapacitor arrangement that is connected to a larger circuit at points A
and B. The capacitances are C1 !
10 mF and C2 ! C3 ! C4 ! 20 mF.
The charge on capacitor 1 is 30 mC.
What is the magnitude of the potential difference VA " VB?

C1

C3

B
C2

C4

Figure 25-58 Problem 73.

74 You have two plates of copper, a sheet of mica (thickness !

0.10 mm, k ! 5.4), a sheet of glass (thickness ! 2.0 mm, k ! 7.0),
and a slab of paraffin (thickness ! 1.0 cm, k ! 2.0). To make a
parallel-plate capacitor with the largest C, which sheet should you
place between the copper plates?
75 A capacitor of unknown capacitance C is charged to 100 V and
connected across an initially uncharged 60 mF capacitor. If the final
potential difference across the 60 mF capacitor is 40 V, what is C?
76 A 10 V battery is connected to a series of n capacitors, each of
capacitance 2.0 mF. If the total stored energy is 25 mJ, what is n?
77 SSM In Fig. 25-59, two parallelplate capacitors A and B are con+

nected in parallel across a 600 V

B
A
battery. Each plate has area 80.0 cm2;
the plate separations are 3.00 mm.
Figure 25-59 Problem 77.
Capacitor A is filled with air; capacitor B is filled with a dielectric of dielectric constant k ! 2.60.
Find the magnitude of the electric field within (a) the dielectric of
capacitor B and (b) the air of capacitor A. What are the free charge
densities s on the higher-potential plate of (c) capacitor A and
(d) capacitor B? (e) What is the induced charge density s$ on the
top surface of the dielectric?
78 You have many 2.0 mF capacitors, each capable of withstanding 200 V without undergoing electrical breakdown (in which
they conduct charge instead of storing it). How would you assemble a combination having an equivalent capacitance of (a) 0.40 mF
and (b) 1.2 mF, each combination capable of withstanding 1000 V?
79 A parallel-plate capacitor has charge q and plate area A.
(a) By finding the work needed to increase the plate separation
from x to x % dx, determine the force between the plates. (Hint:
See Eq. 8-22.) (b) Then show that the force per unit area (the electrostatic stress) acting on either plate is equal to the energy density
0E2/2 between the plates.
80 A capacitor is charged until its stored energy is 4.00 J. A second capacitor is then connected to it in parallel. (a) If the charge
distributes equally, what is the total energy stored in the electric
fields? (b) Where did the missing energy go?