In: Physics
Part A
What is the equivalent capacitance for the circuit of the figure? (Figure 1)
Express your answer to two significant figures and include the appropriate units.
Part B
How much charge flows through the battery as the capacitors are being charged?
Express your answer to two significant figures and include the appropriate units.
The battery is connected to a series-parallel combination
of capacitors.
The two rightmost parallel capacitances add directly:
Ceq = C1 + C2 = 2 + 1.5 = 3.5 uF
Ceq is in series with the leftmost capacitance of 4 uF. and series capacitances are combined as follows:
Ceq' = 1/(1/C + 1/Ceq) = 1/(1/4 + 1/3.5) = 4*3.5/(4 + 3.5)
Ceq'= 14/7.5 = 1.867 uF
Finally, the charge supplied by the battery is:
Q = Ceq'V = 1.867*12 = 22.4x10^-6 coulombs