RAS1203B

PHY150
EXPERIMENT 2 : CAPACITORS

1. FARID HAFIZUDDIN BIN ISMAIL 2017403828

2. MUHAMMAD AMIR HAMZAH BIN RAMLAN 2017441538

3. MUHAMMAD FIRDAUS BIN ABDUL HADI 2017265954

4. MOHAMMAD ASYIF ALI BIN AKHTAR ALI 2017287074

5. NUR AZMI BIN NORKHIRIRI 2017802498

DATE OF EXPERIMENT: 8 OCTOBER 2018

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 22 OCTOBER 2018
LECTURER: MR ABDUL HALIM YUSOF
OBJECTIVE
To determine the time and the capacitance of capacitors in R-C circuit.

PROCEDURE

1. Switch S is connected with the circuit as shown in figure. Points X and Y are connected
to the connecting wires with crocodile clips, and they are means for connection to the
resistor-pack for selections of R, where R is the effective resistance across X and Y.

mA

2. From the resistor-pack, R is decreased in stage by proper selection of combination of resistors

until the current reading Io in the miliammeter is 1.0 mA or about 1.0 mA . R is started with
6600Ω and switch S is closed. Value of Io and the corresponding resistance Ro is recorded.
3. Switch S and the short circuit of the terminals of the capacitor with short connecting wire is
opened to fully discharge it.
4. When the capacitor is charged until reading of miliammeter shows Io, the switch is closed again.
5. Switch S and the stopwatch is opened and started simultaneously, and the reading of the
miliammeter is observed. The stopwatch is stopped when the current reaches a certain value of
I. The time t and the corresponding value of I of the ammeter are recorded.
6. Step 4 and 5 are repeated to obtain a new set of I and t.
𝐼𝑜 𝐼𝑜
All readings are recorded and I, t, 𝐼 , and ln( 𝐼 ) are tabulated.
7. Now, a capacitor, C2 is added to the circuit as in figure. The value of R, the total resistance across
X and Y is to be fixed at Ro .
 s
mA

C1 C2

+ x

_ y

To resistor-pack

6v d.c

supply

8. Steps 3 ,4 ,5 and 6 are repeated to obtain millimeter reading I’ for the corresponding time t’
𝐼𝑜 𝐼𝑜
All readings are recorded and I, t, , and ln( ) are tabulated.
𝐼 𝐼
Results
Single Capacitor

Current: I Time: T (s) I0 /I ln(I0 /I)

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial Average

0.9 0.95 1.18 1.33 1.15 1.18 0.17

0.8 1.45 1.38 1.46 1.43 1.33 0.29

0.7 1.78 1.83 1.74 1.78 1.54 0.42

0.6 2.38 2.53 2.63 2.51 1.77 0.57

0.5 3.71 3.81 3.88 3.80 2.13 0.76

0.4 4.75 4.73 4.66 4.71 2.66 0.98

Double Capacitor

Current: I Time: T (s) I0 /I ln(I0 /I)

1st Trial 2nd Trial 3rd Trial Average

0.80 1.70 1.35 1.53 1.53 1.23 0.25

0.70 2.58 2.46 2.55 2.53 1.47 0.38

0.60 3.22 3.48 3.15 3.28 1.71 0.54

0.50 4.21 4.18 4.26 4.23 2.05 0.72

0.40 5.35 5.63 5.18 5.39 2.57 0.94

0.30 8.88 8.82 8.85 8.85 3.42 1.23

Graph : Current vs Time (Double Capacitor)

Chart Title
10

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9

Time: T (s)
Graph: Current vs Time (Single Capacitor)

Chart Title
5

4.5

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

Time: T (s)
Graph: I0 /I vs ln(I0 /I)(Single Capacitor)

Chart Title
1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

Time: T (s)
Graph: I0 /I vs ln(I0 /I)(Double Capacitor)

Chart Title
1.4

1.2

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4

Time: T (s)
DISCUSSION

There are several errors from this experiment.

The systematic error in this experiment. The first one is that the capacitor might be leaking
some current due to it being old or inactive for a long time. The random errors of this
experiment is that the timing of data. For example, when the current reading reach the wanted
reading, the stopwatch is stopped a bit late than the correct timing making the time taken a bit
longer than expected. In order to improve this , the researcher should be more careful and alert
when timing the data. There is also parallex error in this experiment. When initiating the
experiment, the ammeter reading didn’t stay fix at wanted number but it keep decreasing and
increasing making it hard to take the data.

CONCLUSION
In this experiment, we’re carry out an experiment in testing charging and discharging of the
capacitors with resistor and power supply. The function of a capacitor is to obtain, hold, and
store charge, especially in the case of short. The test is carry out by measuring the average time
taken for the capacitor to fully discharge after its fully charged. From the data being collected,
we plot a graph and found that capacitance of the capacitor is directly proportional to the time
constant.