Capacitors and are connected in series

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Fields and their consequences · Fields and their consequences

Problem

Capacitors

C_1=2\,\mu\text{F}

and

C_2=3\,\mu\text{F}

are connected in series. Their combination is connected in parallel with a capacitor

C_3=6\,\mu\text{F}

. The resulting network is then connected in series with a capacitor

C_4=8\,\mu\text{F}

to an ideal

20\,\text{V}

battery. (i) Draw the successive equivalent circuits and calculate the net capacitance of the entire arrangement. (ii) Determine the charge supplied by the battery and the potential difference across each major section of the circuit at every reduction step used in part (i). (iii) Find the potential difference across, and the charge stored on, each of the four capacitors

C_1,\;C_2,\;C_3

and

C_4

. (iv) Calculate the total energy stored in the complete network when fully charged.

Related theory

Energy Stored in Capacitors
Capacitance
Capacitor combinations
Combination of capacitors
Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance

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