GARCIA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

Kalibo, Aklan
Electrical Engineering Department

NOTES IN ENGINEERING COMPETENCE II (ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SUBJECTS)

ELECTROSTATIC FORCE ON CHARGED BODIES

ELECTRIC FIELD INTENSITY
The magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point charges
is directly proportional to the product of the magnitudes of charges
It is the strength of an electric field at any point. It is the force
and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between
experienced by a positive charge Q of one coulomb if placed at that
them.
point. Thus, electric field is force/charge.

Note: The direction of the field is the same as the direction of the force
Like charges repel each other, while unlike charges attract each exerted by +1 C on that point.
other.
kQ V
Q1 Q2 k Q1 Q2 E= → ∨N /C
F= → F= r
2
m
2 2
4 π εo ε r r r
E Q r k
9
1 1 9 N/C or V/m C m 9 x 10
k= = ≅ 9 x 10
4 π ε o ε r 4 π (8.854 x 10 )(1)
−12 Dyne/statC or statV/cm StatC cm 1

F = electrostatic force Note: Electric field is a vector (with direction)

Q1, Q2 = point charges
r = distance between the two charges 1 statvolt (statV) = 300 V
ε o= permittivity of vacuum or air = 8.854 x 10 F/m -12
Problem 4. A point charge, -3 C is placed at the point (0, 2) m while a
ε r= relative permittivity of medium (ε r=1 for air ¿ charge of +2 C is placed at (2, 0) m. Find the electric field at the origin.
k = constant (8.1 kN/C)

Q1 Q2 Problem 5. Three point charges are placed at the three corners of square
F=9 x 10 9 2
→ for mediumother than air ABCD measuring 10 cm each side. A =+4 C, B =-4 C, C =+4 C. Find the
εr r electric field strength at point D.
(3291 kN/C)
Note: Electrostatic force is a vector (with direction)
Problem 6. A point charge, -3 µC is placed at the point (0, 2) m while a
charge of +2 µC is placed at (2, 0) m. Find the electric field at the origin.
(8.1 kN/C)
F Q1, Q2 r k
Newton Coulomb Meter 9
9 x 10 ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
Dyne Statcoulomb Centimeter 1

1 Coulomb (C) = 3 x 109 statcoulomb (statC) The potential at a point lying in an electric field is the amount of
1 Newton = 1 x 105 dynes work needed in bringing a charge of +1C from the arbitrary
1 electron or proton = 1.6 x 10-19 coulomb chosen reference point (usually infinity) to that point without
acceleration.
= 4.8 x 10-10 statcoulomb

kQ V kQ
CHARGE (coul.) MASS (kg.) E= → ;V = ,V
Proton 1.6 x 10-19 1.672 x 10-27 r 2
m r
Electron -1.6 x 10-19 9.107 10-31
V
Thus, E=
r
Problem 1. Point charges of +2, +3, and -4 C are placed at the vertices of
an equilateral triangle of side 10 cm. Calculate the magnitude of the
total force acting on the -4C charge.
(15.7 N)
V Q r k
Problem 2. Two equal charges of 10 C are located 1 m apart on a volt C m 9 x 10
9
horizontal line and another charge of 5 C is placed 1 m below the first
StatV statC cm 1
charge (forming a right triangle). What is the magnitude of the force on
the 5 C? Note: Electrostatic potential is a scalar parameter. The sign of V is the
(0.63 N) same sign as Q.
Problem 3. Three charges are placed at the following points on the x- Problem 7. A square ABCD has each side of 10 cm. Four point charges of
axis: +2 C at x = 0, -3 C at x = 40 cm, -5 C at x = 120 cm. Find the +0.01 µC, -0.02 µC, +0.03 µC, and +0.04 µC are placed at A, B, C and D
force on the -3 C charge. respectively. Find the potential at the center of the square.
(0.5485 N) (7.64 kV)
Page 1 of 12
 Problem 15. A proton is released from rest at a distance of 1 angstrom
Problem 8. Three equal charges of +6 nC are located at the corners of an from another proton. What is the electrostatic energy when the protons
equilateral triangle whose sides are 12 cm long. Find the potential at the have moved infinitely far apart?
center of the base of the triangle. (2.304 x 10-18 J)
(2319.23 V)
ELECTRIC FLUX DENSITY
POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS DUE TO A POINT
CHARGE
The electric flux density at any section in an electric field is the
electric flux crossing normally per unit area of that section. The
The potential difference between two points in an electric field is flux density at point P is,
the amount of work needed to take a charge of +1 C from one of
the points to the other.
Q Q
D= = ; ∅=DA
A 4 π r2
1 1
V AB=V A−V B ;V AB=kQ ( − )
r A rB D = electric flux density, (C/m2)
Q = electric flux or charge, (C)
Problem 9. Two point charges of +4 C and -6 C are separated by a A = normal area to the flux, (m2)
distance of 20 cm in air. How far from the -6 C charge, on the line ∅ = electric flux crossing the area A, (C)
joining the two charges is the electric potential zero? r = distance of point P from the point charge, (m)
(12 cm)
GAUSS THEOREM
Problem 10. Three charges at the corners of a square ABCD, 20 cm on
each side. A=+4 C, B=-4C and C=+4 C. Find the potential at point D.
(232.7 kV) It states that electric flux passing through a closed surface
surrounding a number of charges is equal to the algebraic sum of
Problem 11. What is the potential difference (in statvolt) between the charges inside the closed surface.
positions 1 angstrom and 0.2 angstrom from a proton?
(0.192 statV)
Qnet =Q1 +Q2+ Q3+ …
Problem 12. A 10-pC point charge is placed in free space. What is the
difference in potential between two points on the same line 30 cm and Qnet
10 cm away from this point charge? D= → ∅=DA
(0.6 V) 4 π r2
ELECTROSTATIC ENERGY (W) Note: If the flux is going inward to the spherical surface, then it is
negatively charged. Likewise, if the charge is going outward from the
Note: joule = volt x coulomb surface, the surface is positively charged.

kQ 2 1 1 Problem 16. A sphere of diameter 100 cm is being passed by a uniform

W =VQ ;V = ; W =k Q ( − ) inward electric flux with a density of 4 C/m2, what is the magnitude of
r r A rB
the charge enclosed in the surface of the sphere?
(-12.57 C)
W V Q
Joule Volt coulomb Problem 17. An area of 40.2 m 2 on the surface of a spherical shell of
Erg StatV StatC radius 4 m is crossed by 10 C of flux in inward direction. What point
charge at the origin is indicated?
1 joule (J) = 1 x 107 ergs (-50 C)

Electron-volt (eV) – work done in moving one electron in a field with a RELATION BETWEEN FLUX DENSITY D AND ELECTRIC FIELD E
potential difference of one volt.
Q Q
1 electron-volt (eV) = 1.6 x 10-19 J D= 2
; E=
4π r 4 π ε o εr r2
Note: If a given charge is accelerated, then the charge will acquire a
velocity V and since its moving, then it has kinetic energy KE. D=ε o ε r E
1
K . E .= m v 2 ε o= permittivity of vacuum or air (8.854 x 10-12 F/m)
2
ε r= relative permittivity of material
CHARGE (coul.) MASS (kg.)
-19 Problem 18. A parallel plate capacitor has its plates 0.2 mm apart with a
Proton 1.6 x 10 1.672 x 10-27
solid dielectric between having a dielectric constant of 3.3. The capacitor
Electron -1.6 x 10-19 9.107 10-31
is charged so that its surface charge density is 0.004 C/cm2. Find the
voltage between the plates.
Problem 13. To move a charge particle through an electric potential (274 V)
difference of 0.001 V requires 2 µJ of work. What is the magnitude of the
charge?
RELATION BETWEEN ELECTRIC FIELD, FORCE, VOLTAGE, CHARGE,
(2 x 10-3 C)
DISTANCE, ETC
Problem 14. A proton is accelerated from rest through an electric
potential of 400 kV. What will be its final speed? volt V
Electric Field= ; E=
(8.75 x 106 m/s) meter d

Page 2 of 12
 Force Newton Volt
Electric Field= → =  Capacitance of a multi-plate capacitor with different dielectrics
Charge Coulomb meter
C=¿
F V VQ
= ;F=
Q d d d1, d2, …= thickness of the dielectric medium (m)
ε r 1 , ε r 2 = relative permittivities of the medium
F = force
V = voltage A = cross-sectional area of the plates (m2)
Q = charge
d = distance  Capacitance of an isolated conducting sphere

Problem 19. Two parallel-plates separated by air are charged, in order to C=4 π ε o ε r r
have a pd of 50 V across the plates. Each plate has an area of 0.025 m 2
and is separated 0.5 mm apart. Determine the electric charge on each Note: The capacitance of an isolated sphere is found by assuming that
plate. the missing negative plate is earth.
(22.135 nC)
 Capacitance of a concentric spherical capacitor
Problem 20. At a certain point in a given material, the flux density is 0.08
C/m2 and the electric field intensity is 1.5 x 10 9 V/m. What is the relative r1 r2
permittivity of the material? C=4 π ε o ε r ( )
(6.023) r 2−r 1

CAPACITANCE r1 = inner radius of the sphere (m)

r2 = outer radius of the sphere (m)
Capacitance - is the ability of a capacitor to store electric charges
 Capacitance of a coaxial cable or a cylindrical capacitor
Q
Q=CE ; I = 2 π εo ε r
t C= xL
r2
C = capacitance of the capacitor, in farad (F) ln ( )
Q = charge stored in the capacitor, in coulomb (C)
r1
E = voltage across the capacitor, in volts (V) L = length of capacitor (m)
r1 = radius of the conductor
Note: The reciprocal of capacitance is called elastance. The unit of r2 = outer radius (overall radius of cable)
elastance is called daraf.
Problem 24. A capacitor consisting of two parallel plates 0.5 mm apart in
Problem 21. A 2 µF capacitor is charged by a constant 3 µA charging air and each of effective area 500 cm 2 is connected to a 1000 V battery.
current of 4 seconds. Solve for the voltage across the capacitor. Calculate the charge stored.
(6 V) (0.8854 x 10-6 C)

Problem 22. An uncharged capacitor is charged with a constant current Problem 25. A multi-plate capacitor has 6 plates connected in parallel,
of 2.5 mA. After 15 s, the voltage across the plates is 500 V. Determine interleaved with 5 similar plates. Each plate has an effective area of 120
its capacitance. cm2. The gap between the adjacent plates is 1 mm. The capacitor is
(75 µF) immersed in oil of relative permittivity 5. Calculate the capacitance.
(5.312 nF)
Problem 23. An uncharged capacitor of 0.01 F is charged first by a
current of 2 mA for 30 s and then by a current of 4 mA for another 30 s. Problem 26. Solve the capacitance of a capacitor consisting of two
What is the final voltage of it? similar 10 cm square aluminum plates mounted 1 cm apart in air.
(18 V) (8.854 pF)

CAPACITANCE OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CAPACITORS Problem 27. How many sheets of a dielectric are necessary to make a
condenser having a capacity of 5.5 nF when the sheets are 15 cm x 30 cm
 Capacitance of a parallel-plate capacitor in area and 0.29 cm thick? Use k=8.
(5 sheets)
εo εr A Problem 28. A parallel plate capacitor has plates of area 2 cm 2 spaced by
C=( )
d three layers of different dielectric materials. The relative permittivities
are 2, 4, 6 and thickness of 0.5, 1.5, and 0.3 mm respectively. Calculate
A = cross-sectional area of the plates (m2) the capacitance of this capacitor.
d = distance between plates, (m) (2.623 pF)
ε o= absolute permittivity of free space or air (8.854 x 10-12 F/m)
Problem 29. Determine the radius of an isolated sphere if it has a
ε r= relative permittivity of the dielectric material capacitance of 60 pF.
(0.54 m)

Problem 30. Determine the charge stored in a concentric spherical

 Capacitance of multi-plate capacitor with uniform dielectric capacitor of radii 24 and 25 cm respectively if the potential difference is
150 V and the dielectric is air.
εo εr A (0.10 µC)
C=( )(n−1)
d Problem 31. Solve the capacitance of a coaxial cable 2000 m long, having
2 an inner core diameter of 10 mm and a impregnated paper insulation of
A = cross-sectional area of the plates (m )
thickness 4 mm and a relative permittivity of 5.
d = distance between plates, (m)
(0.95 µF)
n = number of plates
ε r= relative permittivity of the dielectric material
Page 3 of 12
Problem 32. A capacitor is composed of two plates separated by a 3-mm Qt =Q 1+ Q 2+ Q3+ …
of dielectric of permittivity 4. An additional piece of insulation 5 mm thick
is inserted between the plates. If the capacitor has now one-third of its
original capacitance, find the relative permittivity of the dielectric
Et =E1 =E2=E3 =…
material inserted.
(3.33) C t=C 1 +C2 +C 3+ …
Problem 33. A parallel plate capacitor has plates of dimension 2 cm by 3 Problem 40. Two capacitors of 4 µF and 6 µF are connected in series
cm. The plates are separated by 1 mm thickness of paper with a across a voltage of 200 V. The capacitors are disconnected from the
dielectric constant of 3.7. Find the capacitance of the capacitor. supply and are re-connected in parallel with each other. Solve the new
(19.65 pF) potential difference.
(96 V)
Problem 34. A cable 5 km long has an inner core diameter of 1.25 cm an
impregnated paper insulation of thickness 1.25 cm having a relative Problem 41. Three charged capacitors of capacitance 2- µF, 3- µF, and 5-
permittivity of 3.8. Find the capacitance of the cable. µF have voltages across of 20 V, 30 V, and 50 V, respectively. They are
(0.962 F) connected in parallel with terminals of like polarity together. Solve the
voltage across the parallel combination.
Problem 35. Twenty-seven spherical drops, each of radius 3 mm and (38 V)
carrying 0.5 pC of charge are combined to form a single drop. Find the
potential of the bigger drop. Problem 42. Two uncharged capacitors of capacitance 4 µF and 6 µF are
(13.5 V) connected in series across a 250 V DC source. After being fully charged,
the capacitors are disconnected and are reconnected in parallel with
ENERGY STORED IN A CHARGED CAPACITOR each other. What is the final charge stored on the 4-µF capacitor.
(480 µC)
1
W = C E2 ; Q=CE CHARGE DIVISION IN TWO PARALLEL CAPACITORS
2
W = energy stored, in joules (J)
C = capacitance of capacitor, in Farad (F)
E = voltage across the capacitor, in volt (V)
Q1=Qt ( C1
C1 +C 2); Q2=Qt
C2
(
C1 +C 2 )
Q = charged stored, in Coulomb (C)
Problem 43. Two uncharged capacitors, 3-µF and 5-µF are connected in
Problem 36. Find the value of a capacitor with 500 V across it, in which parallel. The combination is charged with 5600 µC. What is the charge
20 J of energy is stored. stored on the 3-µF capacitor?
(160 µF) (2100 µC)

CAPACITOR IN SERIES CAPACITORS IN SERIES-PARALLEL/PARALLEL-SERIES CONNECTION

In a series connected capacitors, the charge stored in each capacitor is Problem 44. Two capacitors in parallel, 2-µF and 4-µF are connected in
the same but potential difference across each are different. series with a 3-µF capacitor. The combination is connected across a 12-V
battery. Find the voltage across the 2-µF capacitor.
(4 V)
Qt =Q 1=Q 2=Q3 =…
Problem 45. Three capacitors are connected as follows: 3 µF and 6 µF are
Et =E1 + E2 + E 3+ … in series and a 4 µF is connected in parallel with the series combination.
Determine total charge stored in the capacitors if connected across a 12-
1 1 1 1 V supply.
= + + +… (72 µC)
C t C 1 C2 C 3
Problem 46. Two capacitors X and Y are connected in series across a 100
V DC supply and it is observed that the pd across Y is 40 V. A third
capacitor Z=2-µF is now connected across X and the pd across Y becomes
90 V. Determine the capacitance of Y. Assume all capacitors are initially
Problem 37. Three capacitors of 2 µF, 3 µF, and 4 µF are connected in uncharged.
series across a 12-V battery. After steady state, determine the voltage (0.24 µF)
across the 2-µF capacitance.
(5.54 V) PRACTICE PROBLEMS

Problem 38. A 600-V DC source is impressed across two capacitors, 15 µF 1. A 2-µF and 3- µF capacitors are connected in series. A potential
and 30 µF in series. How much energy is stored in the 15 µF capacitor? difference of 500 V is applied to the combination. Find the potential
(1.2 J) difference across the 2-µF capacitor.
a. 250 c. 320
VOLTAGE DIVISION IN TWO SERIES CAPACITORS b. 300 d. 280

( C2
) C1
( )
2. A 600-V dc source is impressed across tow capacitors, 15 µF and 30 µF
E1=E t ; E2=Et in series. How much energy is stored in the 15 µF capacitor?
C 1+C 2 C1 +C 2 a. 1.2 J c. 1.8 J
b. 0.6 J d. 2.4 J
Problem 39. Two capacitors namely 20 µF and 40 µF are connected in
series to a source of 24 V. Solve the voltage across the 20 µF capacitor. 3. A capacitor of 20 µF charged to 500 V is connected in parallel with
(16 V) another capacitor of 10 µF capacitance and charged to 200 V. The
common potential is
CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL a. 200 V c. 250 V
b. 400 V d. 300 V
In a parallel-connected capacitors, the potential difference across each
capacitor is the same but charge on each is different. 4. A capacitor of 4 µF is charged to a potential of 400 V and is then
connected in parallel with an uncharged capacitor of 2 µF capacitance.
Page 4 of 12
Calculate the approximate potential difference across the two parallel 18. An 8-µF capacitor is connected in series with a 0.50 MΩ resistance
capacitors. across a 200 V supply. Calculate the pd across the capacitor 4 s after it is
a. 267 V c. 67 V connected to the supply.
b. 600 V d. 400 V a. 138.3 V c. 126.4 V
b. 121.2 V d. 132.6 V
5. A capacitor is connected to a 24 V battery has a charge of 0.004 C. Its
capacitance is ___. 19. A capacitor is charged at a constant current of 2.5 mA. If its emf is
a. 1.6 µF c. 167 µF 500 V at the end of 15 s, calculate the capacitance of the capacitor.
b. 60 µF d. 0.048 µF a. 18.75 µF c. 75 µF
b. 50 µF d. 83.33 µF
6. A mica washer 6 cm in diameter has a thickness of 1 mm. If this is
clamped between two brass plates 6 cm in diameter, what is the 20. Find the radius of an isolated sphere capable of being charged to 1
capacitance of the capacitor so formed in picofarads? Dielectric constant million volt before sparking into the air, given that the breakdown
of mica is 6. voltage of air is 30,000 V/cm.
a. 150 c. 200 a. 0.45 m c. 0.33 m
b. 300 d. 175 b. 0.225 m d. 0.6 m

7. What is the electric field strength at (2, 0) due to a 0.5 µC point charge 21. How much energy is stored in a 50-pF capacitor when it is charged to
located at (0, 0)? a potential difference of 200 V?
a. 1125 N/C c. 1045 N/C a. 2 µJ c. 1 µJ
b. 1280 N/C d. 1218 N/c b. 10 nJ d. 5 nJ

8. Two charges charged with equal but opposite charges experiences a 22. The capacitance between a pair of parallel plates in air is 0.0002 µF.
force of 25 x 105 N when they are placed 2 cm apart in a medium of When the plates are immersed in a certain grade of insulating oil the
relative permittivity 5. Determine the charge on each capacitor. capacitance is raised to 0.00072 µF. What is the dielectric constant of
a. 755 µC c. 625 µC the oil?
b. 665 µC d. 7145 µC a. 0.278 c. 2.5
9. An uncharged 10-µF capacitor carries a current i=sin 2 πt , A at b. 1.44 d. 3.6
time t=0. Calculate the voltage across the capacitor after t=0.25 s
a. 12.5 kV c. 5.77 kV 23. A two-plate, 1.33-nF capacitor measuring 50 cm square each is
b. 15.9 kV d. 23.5 kV separated by two insulations, 3 mm and 4 mm thick placed side by side.
If the dielectric constant of the first is 3, what is the dielectric constant
10. At a certain point in a material, the flux density is 0.08 C/m 2 and the of the second?
electric field intensity is 1.2 x 10 9 V/m. What is the relative permittivity a. 4 c. 6
of the material? b. 3 d. 5
a. 7.53 c. 7.83
b. 7.63 d. 7.73 24. A 0.5 µF capacitor is placed in parallel with a 0.75 µF capacitor and
11. A 10 µF capacitor with air between its plates is connected to a 50 V the group is joined to a 110-V dc source. What charge is taken from the
source and then disconnected. What is the charge on the capacitor and source?
the potential difference? a. 140 µC c. 150 µC
a. 500 µC c. 5 µC b. 132 µC d. 137 µC
b. 0.2 µC d. 20 µC
25. What is the magnitude of an isolated positive charge to give an
12. Two point charges of +24 and -12 stat C respectively are placed 6 cm electric potential of 100 V at 15 cm from the charge?
apart. What is the force on a +3 stat C charge if placed midway between a. 1.33 nC c. 1.54 nC
the two point charges? b. 1.83 nC d. 1.67 nC
a. 16 dynes c. 10 dynes
b. 9 dynes d. 15 dynes 26. A parallel-plate capacitor consists of two square metal plates 0.5 m
each side and separated by 1 cm. A slab of sulfur (k=4) 6 mm thick is
13. Three equal charges of +6 nC are located at the corners of an placed on the lower plate leaving an air gap of 4 mm thick between the
equilateral triangle whose sides are 12 cm long. Find the potential at the sulfur slab and upper plate. Find the capacitance of the capacitor.
center of the base of the triangle. a. 20,452 N c. 24,110 N
a. 2450 V c. 2550 V b. 18,192 N d. 22,381 N
b. 2320 V d. 2280 V
14. What is the force between two positive charges of 100 µC and 200 27. Find the value of the inductor which carries 2 A of current and in
µC, respectively, when they are separated a distance of 3 cm? which 20 J of energy is stored.
a. 2 x 105 N c. 4 x 105 N a. 410 pF c. 422 pF
b. 6 x 105 N d. 8 x 105 N b. 417 pF d. 403 pF
15. A 100 µF capacitor is charged from a 200 V supply. The charged
capacitor is now connected across three uncharged capacitors 28. Three capacitors whose capacitances are 1, 2, and 3 µF are
connected in parallel. The charges on these are now 4000 µC, 5000 µC, connected in parallel. Find the capacitance of the combination.
& 6000µC. What is the voltage across the combination? a. 0.554 µF c. 1/6 µF
a. 2000 V c. 50 V b. 6 µF d. 0.545 µF
b. 5000 V d. 200 V
29. If 300 kJ of work is done in carrying a charge of 3 C from a place
16. A parallel plate air capacitor has plates 1.5 m 2 in area, spaced 0.80 where the potential is -10 V to another place of potential E, calculate the
mm apart. It is charged to 1,200 V potential difference. What energy value of E.
does it contain? a. 80 V c. 100 V
a. 0.012 J c. 0.014 J b. 90 V d. 110 V
b. 0.018 J d. 0.016 J
30. A small sphere is given a charge of +18 µC and a second sphere of
17. An infinite number of charges, each equal to 1 statcoulomb each, are equal diameter given a charge of -3 µC. The two spheres are allowed to
placed along x-axis at x=1 cm, 3 cm, 9 cm, 27 cm, and so on. Solve for touch each other and are spaced 10 cm apart. What force exists
the electric potential at the origin. between them? Assume air as medium.
a. 1 statV c. 1.5 statV a. 51 N c. 53 N
b. 2 statV d. 2.5 statV b. 47 N d. 49 N

Page 5 of 12
31. A constant current of 4 A charges a capacitor. How long will it take to 44. A 5-µF capacitor is charged to a pd of 100 V and then connected to
accumulate at total charge of 8 coulombs on the plate? an uncharged 3 µF capacitor. Calculate the pd across the capacitor.
a. 2 s c. 32 s a. 37.5 V c. 62.5 V
b. 1/2 s d. 8 s b. 45.3 V d. 83.3 V

32. Four point charges, A=+4 µC, B=+4 µC, C=-4 µC and D=-4 µC 45. A certain parallel-plate capacitor consist of two plates, each with
respectively are placed in sequence at the corners of a square 20 cm on area of 200 cm2, separated by a 0.4 cm air gap. If the capacitor is
each side. Find the electric field intensity at the center of the square. connected across a 500-V source, determine the stored energy on it.
a. 1.8 MN/C c. 2.4 MN/C a. 5.25 µJ c. 5.53 µJ
b. 4.3 MN/C d. 5.1 MN/C b. 3.33 µJ d. 3.15 µJ

33. A parallel plate capacitor is made up of 250 plates separated by a 46. A cable 5 km long has an inner core diameter of 1.25 cm, an
dielectric 0.0012 cm thick. The effective size of the plate is 12 cm by 24 impregnated paper insulation of thickness 1.25 cm, having a relative
cm. If the capacitor has a capacitance of 13.22 µF, find the approximate permittivity of 3.8. Find the capacitance of the cable.
dielectric constant. a. 0.96 µF c. 0.83 µF
a. 2.8 c. 3.0 b. 1.21 µF d. 1.58 µF
b. 2.5 d. 2.2
47. Three identical positive point charges are placed along a straight line
34. Three capacitors of capacitance 0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 µF, respectively are 2 m apart. The right end point charge experiences a net force of 1.125 N.
connected in parallel and the group then connected in series. Calculate Approximately how much is the charge of each?
the total capacitance. a. 25 µC c. 20 µC
a. 55.2 nF c. 54.7 nF b. 150 µC d. 100 µC
b. 68.2 nF d. 61.5 nF
48. How much charge is stored in a capacitor consisting of two
35. What is the electric field that acts on the electro in a hydrogen atom concentric spheres of radii 30 and 31 cm if the potential difference is
which is 5.3 x 10-11 m from the proton that is the atom’s nucleus? 500 V? Assume dielectric is air.
a. 4.6 x 1012 V/m c. 3.5 x 1011 V/m a. 517 nC c. 520 nC
b. 5.1 x 1011 V/m d. 4.3 x 1012 V/m b. 524 nC d. 530 nC

36. Two point charges, A=+2C, B=+5 C are placed 2 m apart. A third point 49. Two capacitors are connected in series across a 12 V battery. One
charge, C=+3 C is placed in the line between A and B. How far from B will has a capacitance of 3 µF and the other has a capacitance of 6 µF.
C be placed such that C will be in static equilibrium? Calculate the potential across the 3 µF capacitor.
a. 0.77 m c. 1.1 m a. 4 V c. 8 V
b. 1.23 m d. 1.05 m b. 6 V d. 3 V

37. Two capacitors having a capacitance of 10 µF and 15 µF respectively 50. When a pair of parallel plates is immersed in oil whose dielectric
are connected in parallel and a capacitor of 8 µF is connected in series constant is 3.5 and 1500 V is applied to them, a flux of 0.25 coulomb is
along with the parallel combination. Find the single capacitor that is produced. When the plates are removed from the oil and mica is
equivalent to the above combination? introduced between them, a flux of 0.44 C is produced for the same
a. 6.06 µF c. 3.621 µF applied voltage. Calculate the dielectric constant of mica.
b. 4.51 µF d. 5.15 µF a. 1.99 c. 3.85
b. 6.16 d. 5.68
38. The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor 20 µF in air and 42 µF 51. A capacitor of 0.0005 µF is to be formed from tin foils measuring 3
when Teflon is between its plats. Teflon has a dielectric constant of __. cm x 1.5 cm. The dielectric to be used is 0.5 mm mica film. Determine
a. 0.48 c. 2.1 the number of tin foils required. The relative permittivity of mica is 4.5.
b. 1.4 d. 4.2 a. 14 c. 15
b. 16 d. 17
39. Twenty-seven identical drops of mercury are charged simultaneously
to the same potential of 10 V. Assuming the drops to be spherical, if all 52. The total capacitance of two condensers is 0.03 µF when connected
the charged drops are made to combine to form one large drop, then its in series and 0.16 µF when connected in parallel. One of the condensers
potential is __. has a capacitance of __.
a. 135 V c. 90 V a. 0.15 µF c. 0.10 µF
b. 270 V d. 180 V b. 0.12 µF d. 0.05 µF

40. Three charges +3, -4 and +6 coulombs are placed inside a sphere. 53. What is the total flux passing through a 10 cm x 6 cm surface in a
What is the magnitude and direction of the flux passing through the region where the electric flux density is 2700 µC/m 2?
surface of the sphere? a. 15.4 µC c. 16.2 µC
a. +5 C, going outward c. +5 C, going inward b. 17.1 µC d. 18.3 µC
b. -5 C, going inward d. -5 C, going inward
54. A parallel-plate capacitor with air between its plates has an energy
41. The equivalent capacitance of two 20-µF capacitors in parallel is __. of W when it is charged until a potential difference of V appears across
a. 0.1 µF c. 30 µF its plates. An otherwise capacitor has a material of dielectric constant
b. 10 µF d. 40 µF k=2 between its plates and is also charged to the potential difference V.
The energy of the second capacitor is
42. Two equal point charges Q1= Q2=2 µC are located at x=0; y=0.3 m a. W/2 c. 2W
and x=0, y=-0.3 m, respectively. What is the magnitude of the total b. W d. 4W
electric force that these charges exert on a third point charge Q=4 µC at
x=0.4 m, y=0? 55. A parallel-plate capacitor has plates 5 cm square and 0.1 mm apart.
a. 0.286 N c. 0.572 N Find its capacitance in air.
b. 0.46 N d. 0.12 N a. 221 pF c. 212 pF
b. 132 pF d. 123 pF
43. Three capacitors of capacitance 2 µF, 4 µF, and 6 µF respectively are
connected in series to a 220-V DC source. Find the voltage across the 4 56. A charge of +6 µC experiences a force of 2 mN in the +x direction at a
µF capacitor. certain point in space. Determine the force a -4µC charge would
a. 40 V c. 80 V experience if it were used in place of the +6 µC
b. 120 V d. 60 V a. 1.33 mN c. 0.67 mN
b. 1.5 mN d. 3 mN
Page 6 of 12
 a. 0.675 N c. 0.426 N
57. A hollow sphere has a radius of 10 m and bears a charge of 5 nC. If b. 0.724 N d. 0.595 N
the sphere is isolated, what is the potential at a distance of 50 cm from
the center of the sphere? 70. The plates of a parallel plate capacitor in vacuum are 5 mm apart
a. 82 V c. 90 V and 2 m2 in area. A potential difference of 10 kV is applied across the
b. 45 V d. 98 V capacitor. Compute the charge on each plate.
a. 17.7 µC c. 20.4 µC
58. A condenser is connected for a 0.25 s across a 220 V supply, the b. 28.8 µC d. 83.33 µC
current being steady at 220 mA. Calcualte the capacitance of the
capacitor. 71. Two capacitors in parallel, 2 and 4 µF are connected as a unit, in
a. 200 µF c. 125 µF series with a 3 µF capacitor. The combination is connected across the
b. 250 µF d. 100 µF 12-V battery. Find the potential difference across the 2- µF capacitor.
a. 4 V c. 3 V
59. Three capacitors having capacitances of 5, 8, and 10 µF respectively b. 6 V d. 5 V
are connected in series and to a 120V source. Calculate the voltage
across the 10 µF capacitor. 72. A point charge of 1 nC is placed at a point A in free space. Calculate
a. 56.4 V c. 35.3 V the difference in potential between two points 20 cm and 10 cm away
b. 28.2 V d. 44.2 V from the charge at point A.
a. 20 V c. 50 V
60. A 50 µF capacitor initially undercharged is connected through a 300- b. 45 V d. 60 V
Ω resistor to a 12 V battery. How long after the capacitor is connected to
the battery will it be charged to half its final charge? 73. An air capacitor has the same dimensions as that of a mica capacitor.
a. 15 ms c. 12.2 ms If the capacitance of mica capacitor is 6 times the capacitance of air
b. 34.5 ms d. 10.5 ms capacitor, then relative permittivity of mica is
a. 3 c. 12
61. Determine the resultant force on a 3 µC charge due to -4 µC and 10 b. 6 d. 36
µC charges. All these three point charges are placed on the vertices of
equilateral triangle of side 50 cm. 74. Three point charges are fixed rigidly at the vertices of an isosceles
a. 1.08 N c. 0.432 N triangle ABC whose base AB is 0.4 m and altitude 0.3 m. A= 1 µC, B= -2
b. 0.941 N d. 0.632 N µC and C=+3 µC. A point charge -4 µC is moved to the midpoint of AB,
what is the force acting on this charge?
62. A two-plate ceramic capacitor has an effective plate area of 4 cm 2 a. 2.18 N c. 3.27 N
separated by 0.1 mm of ceramic having a relative permittivity of 100. b. 2.96 N d. 3.92 N
Solve the capacitance of the capacitor.
a. 3380 pf c. 3290 pF 75. A 10-µF capacitor is charged by a constant current source, the
b. 3540 pf d. 3610 pF voltage is increased to 2 V in 5 s. What is the value of the constant
current source?
63. The electric field at a point due to a point charge is 30 N/C and the a. 2 µA c. 10 µA
electric potential at that point is 15 J/C. Calculate the magnitude of the b. 16 µA d. 4 µA
charge.
a. 1.38 nC c. 1.21 nC 76. Three capacitors whose capacitances are 1, 2, and 3 µF are
b. 0.83 nC d. 0.96 nC connected in series. Find the capacitance of the combination.
a. 0.554 µF c. 1/6 µF
64. A coil of 0.48 H carries a current of 5 A. Compute the energy stored b. 6 µF d. 0.545 µF
in it.
a. 2.4 J c. 1.2 J 77. Two capacitors having a capacitance values of 8 and 24 µF
b. 6 J d. 1.152 J respectively are connected in series and to a 120-V DC source. Calculate
the voltage across the 8 µF.
65. Two-parallel plates separated by air are charged, in order to have a a. 30 V c. 45 V
pd of 100 V across the plates. Each plate has an area of 0.05 m 2 and are b. 90 V d. 60 V
separated 0.5 mm apart. Solve the electric charge on each plate.
a. 88.54 µC c. 78.45 µC 78. A 0.001 C charge is separated from a 0.003 C charge by 10 m. If P
b. 90.24 µC d. 83.33 µC denotes the point of zero electric field between the charges, determine
the distance x, from the 0.001 C charge.
66. A 4 µF capacitor is connected in series to a parallel connection of a 5 a. 4.36 m c. 3.66 m
µF and 7 µF capacitors. What is the equivalent capacitance of the b. 3.12 m d. 3.71 m
combination?
a. 3 µF c. 1.686 µF 79. A 16 µF capacitor is charged to 100 V. After being disconnected, it is
b. 2 µF d. 6.916 µF immediately connected in parallel with an uncharged capacitor of 4 µF.
Determine the loss of energy.
67. Two square plates each having sides of 20 cm are separated 0.50 cm. a. 0.010 J c. 0.014 J
Attached to one plate is a dielectric 0.40 cm thick of relative b. 0.012 J d. 0.016 J
permeability 5 and the remaining 0.10 cm is coupled by air. Determine
the capacitance. 80. What is the force on a +50 pC charge that is 5 cm from each of two
a. 1.88 x 10-10 F c. 1.96 x 10-10 F +2 nC charges that are separated by 8 cm?
b. 1.65 x 10-10 F d. 1.72 x 10-10 F a. 0.432 µN c. 0.128 µN
b. 0.336 µN d. 0.281 µN
68. A 2.0 µF capacitor is charged so that it has 100 V across its terminals.
The terminals are suddenly connected through a negligible resistance to 81. One charge +5 µC is placed at x=0, and a second charge +7 µC at
the terminals of a 4.0 µF capacitor having no initial charge. What is the x=100 cm. Where can a third be placed and experience zero net force
final steady state voltage across each capacitor? due to the other two?
a. 36 V c. 56 V a. at x=5.46 cm c. at x=46 cm
b. 33 V d. 45 V b. at x=28 cm d. at x=25.7 cm

69. Three charges are located along a straight line Q 1=+7 µC, Q2=-4 µC 82. Charge one of +4 µC is located at (2, 0, 0). Charge two of -5 µC is
located 40 cm from Q 1 and Q3=+9µC and is located 100 cm from Q 1. located at (0, 2, 0). What is the force between them?
What is the net force on charge Q2? a. 0.0225 N c. 0.067 N

Page 7 of 12
b. 0.0823 N d. 0.055 N a. 96.72 W c. 90.52 W
b. 92.82 W d. 94.32 W
83. Assuming the earth to be an isolated conducting sphere of radius
6400 km, what is the capacitance of earth? 96. A point charge, -3 µC is placed at the point (0, 2) m while a charge +2
a. 506 µF c. 712 µF µC is placed at (2, 0) m. What would be the magnitude of the force
b. 882 µF d. 603 µF experienced by a proton at the origin?
a. 0.0013 pN c. 0.0033 pN
84. A parallel plate capacitor has a capacitance of 10 µF. If the linear b. 0.0027 pN d. 0.0023 pN
dimensions of the plates are doubled and the distance between them is
also doubled. Then new value of capacitance would be __ 97. A waxed paper capacitor has two parallel plates, each of effective
a. 10 µF c. 5 µF area 800 cm2. If the capacitance of the capacitor is 4425 pF determine
b. 20 µF d. 40 µF the effective thickness of the paper if its relative permittivity is 2.5
a. 0.40 mm c. 0.35 mm
85. What is the potential midway between charges +2 µC and +5 µC b. 0.30 mm d. 0.25 mm
which are 6 m apart?
a. 13 kV c. 16 kV 98. A test charge Q=+2 µC is placed halfway between a charge Q 1=+6 µC
b. 19 kV d. 21 kV and a charge Q2=+4 µC, which are 10 cm apart. Find the force on the test
charge.
86. Two capacitors of capacitance 8 µF and 2 µF are connected in series a. 28.8 N c. 12.7 N
across a supply of 100 V. Now if the supply is removed and the b. 14.4 N d. 27.1 N
capacitors are now connected in parallel, what will be the final charge
on the 8 µF capacitor? 99. Three capacitors are connected as follows: 3 µF and 6 µF are in
a. 132 µC c. 128 µC series and a 4 µF is connected in parallel with the series combination.
b. 156 µC d. 196 µC Determine total charge stored in the capacitors if connected across a 12-
V supply.
87. The capacitor has a charge of 500 µC when the potential difference a. 48 µC c. 50 µC
across its plates is 300 V. Find its capacitance. b. 72 µC d. 64 µC
a. 1.45 µF c. 1.67 µF
b. 0.15 µF d. 1.81 µF 100. The relative permittivity of a material is 10. Its absolute permittivity
will be
88. A square ABCD has each side of 1 m. Four point charges of +0.01 µ C, a. 9 x 108 F/m c. 8.854 x 10-11 F/m
-0.02 µC, +0.03 µC, + 0.02 µC are placed at A, B, C, and D respectively. b. 5 x 10-5 F/m d. 9 x 105 F/m
Find the potential at the center of the square.
a. 509.2 V c. 512.4 V 101. A 50 µF capacitor is charged from a 200 V supply. After being
b. 502.8 V d. 516.7 V disconnected it is immediately connected in parallel with a 30 µF
uncharged capacitor. Find the charge stored in the 30 µF capacitor.
89. A 100 µF capacitor is charged from a 200 V supply. The charged a. 3360 µC c. 3750 µC
capacitor is now connected across the three uncharged capacitors b. 6250 µC d. 6640 µC
connected in parallel. The charges on these are 4000 µC, 5000 µC, and
6000 µC. Find the voltage across the combination. 102. A spherical surface is 50 cm in diameter is penetrated by an inward
a. 65 V c. 75 V flux uniformly distributed over the surface, the electric flux density being
b. 50 V d. 60 V 2.5 x 10-7 C/m2. What is the magnitude and sign of the charge enclosed
by this surface?
90. Two capacitors in parallel are connected across a 120-V line. The first a. -0.1692 µC c. +0.1692 µC
capacitor has a charge of 60 µC and the second capacitor has a charge of b. +0.1962 µC d. -0.1962 µC
48 µC. Determine the total capacitance of the circuit.
a. 0.5 µF c. 1.45 µF 103. A potential of 250 V is applied to a 6 µF and a voltage of 500 V is
b. 0.9 µF d. 1.11 µF applied to a 12 µF condenser. The two charged condensers are then
joined in similar polarity (positive to positive, etc). What is the p.d.
91. A 100-µF capacitor is to have an energy content of 50 J to operate a across the parallel combination?
flash lamp. How much charge passes the flash light? a. 416.6 V c. 421.2 V
a. 0.10 C c. 0.30 C b. 412.1 V d. 426.2 V
b. 0.25 C d. 1 C
104. Three capacitors having capacitances of 12, 15, and 18 µF
92. A charge of 1 C flows from a 100-V outlet through a 100 W light bulb respectively are connected in series. If the voltage drop across any one
each second. How much work is done each second by this electrical of them must not exceed 150 V, what is the maximum permissible
source? potential difference of the source?
a. 100 J c. 1000 J a. 370 V c. 400 V
b. 10,000 J d. 1 J b. 320 V d. 350 V

93. Two capacitors of 3 µF and 4 µF are individually charged across a 6-V 105. Two capacitors of capacitance 8 µF and 2 µF are connected in series
battery. After being disconnected from the battery, they are connected across a 100-V dc supply. Now, if the supply voltage is removed and the
together with negative plate of one attached to the positive plate of the capacitors are then connected in parallel, what will be the final charge
other. What is now the voltage across each capacitor? on the 8 µF capacitor?
a. 7 V c. 3 V a. 384 µC c. 256 µC
b. 0.752 V d. 0.857 V b. 512 µC d. 288 µC

94. Assume a point charge of 300 µC at an origin. What is the magnitude 106. Two parallel conducting plates measuring 10 cm x 10 cm, and 5 mm
of the electric field intensity at a point located 2 m in the x-direction, 3 apart are given equal and opposite charges of 0.2 µC. The region
m in y-direction and 4 m in the z-direction from the origin? between the plates is filled with a dielectric of k=5. Compute the voltage
a. 500 kV/m c. 5 kV/m difference between the plates.
b. 93 kV/m d. 9.3 MV/m a. 2850 V c. 2258 V
b. 2490 V d. 2620 V
95. In a transformer, the hysteresis loss was found to be 1600 W when
the maximum density was 1.1 Wb/m 2 and the frequency is 60 Hz. What 107. A parallel plate capacitor has plates of dimensions 2 cm by 3 cm.
will be the loss when the maximum flux density is reduced to 0.9 Wb/m 2 The plates are separated by 1 mm thickness of paper. Find the
and frequency is 50 Hz.
Page 8 of 12
capacitance of the paper capacitor. The dielectric constant of paper is
3.7. 120. Two square parallel plates (4 cm x 4 cm) are separated by a 0.1 cm
a. 11.2 pF c. 16.3 pF thick insulator with dielectric constant of 3.4. The plates are connected
b. 14.7 pF d. 19.6 pF across 200 V. What charge exists on the plates?
a. 9.63 nC c. 6.38 nC
108. A 200-pF capacitor is connected to a 100-V battery. Find the charge b. 4.19 nC d. 3.92 nC
on the capacitor’s plates.
a. 20 µC c. 200 µC 121. A capacitor of 1 µF is charged to a potential of 50 V. It is now
b. 2 µC d. 0.2 µC connected to an uncharged capacitor of capacitance of 4 µF. The
common potential is
109. When a charge of 4 mC is moved between two points in an electric a. 50 V c. 20 V
field, 0.8 J of work is done on the charge. Calculate the p.d. between the b. 15 V d. 10 V
two points.
a. 0.0032 V c. 200 V 122. Four equal point charges of 3 µC each are placed at the corners of a
b. 0.2 V d. 5 V square that is 40 cm on a side. Two diagonally opposite corners are
positive and the other two are negative. Find the force on either
110. The total capacitance of two condensers is 2 µF when connected in negative charge.
series and 9 µF when connected in parallel. Find the capacitance on one a. 0.46 N c. 0.72 N
of the condensers. b. 0.22 N d. 0.58 N
a. 2 µF c. 4 µF
b. 5µF d. 3 µF 123. Three capacitors of 6, 10, and 15 µF are connected in series across
a 200 V supply. How much is the energy stored in the 6 µF capacitor?
111. A variable air capacitor has 11 movable plates and 12 stationary a. 0.50 mH c. 0.60 mH
plates. The area of each plate is 1500 mm 2 and the separation between b. 0.40 mH d. 0.65 mH
opposite plate is 1 mm. Determine the maximum capacitance of this
capacitor. 124. How many electrons must be removed from one plate of a 270 pF
a. 275 pF c. 288 pF capacitor and added to the other to raise the p.d. between the plates to
b. 264 pF d. 292 pF 420 V?
a. 6 x 1011 c. 8 x 1011
11
112. A charged 50 µF capacitor has an energy of 1 J. The voltage across it b. 9 x 10 d. 7 x 1011
is
a. 141 V c. 2 kV 125. What is the electric field intensity at a point with coordinates (0, 3)
b. 200 V d. 40 kV due to a +2 µC charge at (0, 0) and a -5 µC charge at (4, 0)?
a. 1800 N/C c. 1709 N/C
113. A parallel plate capacitor is constructed by cementing using shellac, b. 1590 N/C d. 2000 N/C
sheets of 6 by 8 inches aluminum to a glass plate that is 0.05 in thick. If
150 metal and 149 glass plates are used, calculate the capacitance of the 126. A parallel-plate capacitor has plates of area 2 cm 2 spaced by three
capacitor, assuming a dielectric constant of 6.2 for glass. slabs of different dielectric materials. The relative permittivities are 2, 3,
a. 5 s c. 0.5 s 6 and thickness are 0.4, 0.6, & 1.2 mm respectively. Determine the over-
b. 0.1 s d. 0.01 s all capacitance of the material?
a. 2.95 c. 5.92
114. Two capacitors of 4 µF and 6 µF are connected in series across a b. 9.25 d. 3.95
voltage of 250 V. The capacitors are disconnected from the supply and
are reconnected in parallel with each other. Calculate the new potential 127. The equivalent capacitance of two 20-µF capacitors in series is
difference. a. 0.1 µF c. 30 µF
a. 120 V c. 133 V b. 10 µF d. 40 µF
b. 128 V d. 145 V
128. Two large parallel metal plates (3.0 mm apart) are charged to a p.d.
115. A 12 µF capacitor is required to store 4 J of energy. Find the p.d. to of 12 V. They are now disconnected from the battery and pulled apart to
which the capacitor must be charged. 5 mm. What is now the p.d. between the plates?
a. 756.3 V c. 902.5 V a. 20 V c. 15 V
b. 882.4 V d. 816.5 V b. 30 V d. 25 V

116. A force of 0.032 N is required to move a charge of 42 µC in an 129. The force between two electrons in a vacuum is 1 x 10 -15 N. How far
electric field between two points 25 cm apart. What is the potential apart are the electrons?
difference exists between the two points? a. 4.8 x 10-7 m c. 3.6 x 10-7 m
-7
a. 5.36 µV c. 190 V b. 3.1 x 10 m d. 2.2 x 10-7 m
b. 0.328 mV d. 33.6 V
130. A capacitor of 4 µF capacitance is charged to a pd of 400 V and then
117. An isolated sphere has a capacitance of 50 pF. Calculate the radius connected in parallel with an uncharged capacitor of 2 µF capacitance.
of the sphere. Calculate the pd across the parallel combination.
a. 36 cm c. 45 cm a. 245 V c. 256 V
b. 40 cm d. 50 cm b. 272 V d. 267 V

118. A condenser of 20 µF capacitance that has been charged to a p.d. of 131. A 20 µF capacitor is connected to a 45 V battery through a circuit
110 V has its positive terminal connected to the negative terminal of whose resistance is 2 kΩ. Find the charge stored in 0.01 s after the
another condenser of 15 µF capacitance which has been charged to a connection to the battery is made.
p.d. of 220 V. If their outer terminals are connected, what will be the a. 200 µC c. 180 µC
resulting voltage across the condener? b. 190 µC d. 210 µC
a. 34.6 V c. 28.8 V
b. 38.3 V d. 31.4 V 131. What is the magnitude of a point charge so that the electric field 20
cm away from it has a magnitude of 18 x 106 N/C?
119. A point charge of Q coulombs is at the center of a spherical a. 80 µC c. 90 µC
coordinate system. Find the flux which crosses an area of 4 π m2 on a b. 100 µC d. 110 µC
concentric spherical shell of radius of 3 m.
132. Two point charges, Q 1=50 µC, and Q2=10 µC are located at (-1, 1, -3)
a. 1/3 Q c. 1/9 Q
m and (3, 1, 0) m respectively. Find the force on Q 1.
b. 4/9 Q d. 1/36 Q
Page 9 of 12
a. 1267 pF c. 1210 pF 149. A metal sphere mounted on an insulating rod carries a charge of 6
b. 1020 pF d. 1328 pF nC when its potential is 200 V higher than its surroundings. What is the
capacitance of the capacitor formed by the sphere and its surroundings?
133. Three condensers with capacitances of 10, 20, and 25 µF a. 1.2 µF c. 33.33 µF
respectively are charged in series across 220V mains and then b. 0.3 nF d. 30 pF
disconnected from the mains and each other without loss of charge. If
the condensers are arranged in parallel with their terminals of like sign 150. How far away must an isolated positive point charge of 10 nC be in
together, what will be the final voltage across them? order for it to produce an electric potential of 100 V?
a. 63.2 V c. 70.8 V a. 0.1 m c. 1.2 m
b. 66.3 V d. 83.3 V b. 0.9 m d. 0.6 m

134. A 5 µC point charge is placed at the point x=20 cm, y=30 cm. Find 151. The electric intensity between the parallel plate capacitor is 10 N/C.
the magnitude of the electric field due to it at x=1 m, y=1 m. If an insulating slab of relative permittivity 4 is placed between the
a. 38 kN/C c. 44 kN/C plates, then electric intensity will be
b. 50 kN/C d. 40 kN/C a. 10 N/C c. 2.5 N/C
b. 40 N/C d. 20 N/C
135. Two capacitors of capacitance 4 µF and 6 µF respectively are
connected in series across a pd of 250 V. The capacitors are 152. If the area of a capacitor is increased two times, then their
disconnected from the supply and are re-connected in parallel with each capacitance will
other. Calculate the new charge on the 4-µF capacitor. a. increase two times c. increase four times
a. 720 µC c. 640 µC b. decrease two times d. decrease four times
b. 480 µC d. 560 µC
153. A parallel plate capacitor has a plate area of 20 cm 2 and the plates
136. A capacitor is charged with 10,000 µC. If the energy stored on it is 1 are separated by three dielectric layers each 1 mm thick and of relative
J, find the capacitance. permittivity 2, 4, and 5 respectively. Find the capacitance of the
a. 100 µF c. 200 µF capacitor.
b. 150 µF d. 50 µF a.18.6 pF c. 16.8 pF
b. 17.4 pF d. 14.7 pF
137. The distance between the plates of a parallel capacitor of
capacitance C is doubled and their area is halved. The capacitor now has 154. A capacitor of 2 µF is charged to a p.d. of 150 V and is connected in
a capacitance of parallel with an uncharged capacitor of 4 µF. What is the voltage existing
a. C/4 c. 2C on the combination?
b. C d. 4C a. 75 V c. 60 V
b. 50 V d. 90 V
138. What accelerating voltage is required to accelerate an electron to a
kinetic energy of 5 x 10-15 J. 155. Two point charges of -8 and +4 µC respectively are separated by a
a. 13,200 V c. 19,150 V distance of 50 cm. Find the electric field at a point P on the line between
b. 31,250 V d. 24,900 V the charges 20 cm from the +4 µC charge.
a. 1690 kV/m c. 2020 kV/m
139. A capacitor has two metal plates of area 30 m 2 and separated by a b. 1700 kV/m d. 1750 kV/m
dielectric 2 mm thick and a relative permittivity of 6. If the dielectric field
strength is 500 V/mm, calculate the total charge on each plate. 156. Approximately how many electrons must be added to a spherical
a. 0653 mC c. 0.495 mC conductor of radius 10 cm to produce a field of 0.002 N/C just above the
b. 0.574 mC d. 0.797 mC surface?
a. 10,800 c. 13,900
140. Three capacitors are connected in series across 135 V supply. The b. 21,900 d. 22,800
capacitance of each capacitors are 150, 100, and 75 µF respectively.
Determine the total charge stored in the capacitors. 157. Three capacitors have capacitances of 2, 3, and 4 µF respectively.
a. 3,300 µC c. 9,900 µC Calculate the total capacitance when they are connected in series.
b. 4,500 µC d. 43,875 µC a. 9 µF c. 0.923 µF
b. 0.833 µF d. 24 µF
141. A 65-µF capacitor is to be connected in series with second capacitor
whose voltage drop must not exceed 390 V when 600 V is impressed 158. A 100- µF capacitor is to have an energy content of 50 J to operate
across the combination. What should be the capacitance of the second a flash lamp. What voltage is required to charge the capacitor?
capacitor? a. 707 V c. 100 V
a. 30 µF c. 35 µF b. 50 V d. 1000 V
b. 25 µF d. 20 µF
159. Two capacitors having capacitance of 4 µF and 6 µF are connected
146. A 25 cm long straight conductor carries 100 A and lies in parallel and a capacitor of 8 µF is connected in series along with the
perpendicular to a uniform field of 5000 lines per cm 2. Find the parallel combination. Determine the value of a fourth capacitor to be
mechanical force acting on the conductor. connected across the 8 µF in order to have a total capacitance of 5 µF
a. 10.5 N c. 11.5 N across the entire combination.
b. 9.5 N d. 12.5 N a. 1 µF c. 3 µF
b. 4 µF d. 2 µF
147. A capacitor consists of two similar 10 cm square aluminum plates,
mounted 1 cm apart in air. If the capacitor is given a charge of 500 pC, 160. A parallel plate 100 µF capacitor is charged to 500 V. If the distance
what will be the difference of potential between the plates? between the plates is halved, what will be the new stored energy?
a. 48.2 V c. 51.5 V a. 12.5 J c. 3.125 J
b. 42.6 V d. 56.5 V b. 6.25 J d. 25 J

148. Twenty seven spherical drops, each of radius 3 mm and carrying 10 - 160. Three point charges are placed at the three corners of square ABCD
12
C of charge are combined to form a single drop. Find the potential of measuring 20 cm each side. A=+4 µC, B=-4 µC, C=+4 µC. Find the electric
the bigger drop. field strength at point D.
a. 16 V c. 27 V a. 0.9 MN/C c. 0.186 MN/C
b. 32 V d. 24 V b. 1.11 MN/C d. 0.82 MN/C

Page 10 of 12
161. What capacitance should be connected in series with a 12 µF 174. A parallel plate capacitor has plates of area 2 sq. m spaced by three
capacitor if the equivalent capacitance is to be 4 µF? layers of different dielectric materials. The relative permittivities are 2,
a. 5 µF c. 4 µF 4, 6 and thickness are 0.5, 1.5, and 0.3 mm respectively. Calculate the
b. 6 µF d. 3 µF capacitance of this capacitor.
a. 13.11 nF c. 21.47 nF
162. Two condensers having capacitances of 4 µF and 6 µF are b. 18.36 nF d. 26.23 nF
connected in series across a supply of 120 V. Find the p.d. across the 4
µF capacitor. 175. When two similar charges each 1 C, are placed 1 m apart in air,
a. 72 V c. 48 V then the force of repulsion is
b. 88 V d. 32 V a. 8 x 106 N c. 1 x 106 N
9
b. 9 x 10 N d. 5 x 106 N
163. A parallel plate capacitor has a capacitance of 2 µF in air and 4.6 µF
when it is immersed in benzene. What is the dielectric constant of 176. Three capacitors having a capacitance of 30, 37.5, and 50 F
benzene? respectively are connected in series and to a 600-V DC source. After the
a. 2.3 c. 9.2 capacitors are fully charged, they are carefully disconnected from the
b. 1.32 d. 0.43 source and connected in parallel. Assuming no leakage of charge, find
the voltage across the combination.
164. Find the force between two free electrons spaced 1 angstrom a. 166.7 V c. 163.3 V
apart. b. 172.5 V d. 191.5 V
a. 1.3 nN c. 23 nN
b. 0.16 nN d. 9.81 nN 177. Two condensers of 3 and 5 F respectively are connected in
parallel. The combination is charged with 0.0056 C. What is the charge
165. Calculate the capacitance of a conducting sphere of radius 10 cm on the 3 F condenser in C?
situated in air. a. 0.0021 C c. 0.0041 C
a. 10 pF c. 11 pF b. 0.0035 C d. 0.0015 C
b. 12 pF d. 9 pF
178. The potential at a point due to a charge is 9 V. If the distance is
166. The electric potential at a point in air due to a charge is 9 V. If the increased three times, the potential at that point will be
air is replaced by a medium of relative permittivity 3, then electric a. 27 V c. 3 V
potential at that point will be b. 1 V d. 81 V
a. 27 V c. 3 V
b. 1 V d. 18 V 179. Two capacitors of 6 F and 4 F each are connected in series across
a 50 V DC source. After the capacitors are fully charged, the supply
167. Find the voltage across a 0.01 F capacitor at t=0.25 s if V(0)=0.6V voltage is cut-off and the two capacitors are re-connected in parallel.
and the current through it is 0.2 A. What will be the voltage across the parallel combination?
a. 3.8 V c. 2.4 V a. 20 V c. 24 V
b. 5 V d. 5.6 V b. 16 V d. 12 V

168. A 50 F capacitor is charged from 200 V supply. After being 180. Calculate the capacitance of a cable 5 km long, having an inner core
disconnected, it is immediately connected in parallel with a 30 F diameter of 1 cm and an impregnated paper insulation of thickness 7
capacitor. Find the charge stored on the 30 F capacitor. Assume no mm and relative permittivity 4.
initial charge on the 30 F capacitor. a. 1.14 µF c. 3.22 µF
a. 6250 µC c. 4320 µC b. 2.12 µF d. 1.27 µF
b. 4560 µC d. 3750 µC
181. A 3 C charge and a 5 C charge are 10 m apart. A 7 C charge is placed
169. A condenser of 1-F capacitance is charged to 100 V and then on a line adjoining the two charges, x meters away from the 3 C charge.
disconnected from the power supply. A second but uncharged capacitor If the 7 C charge is in equilibrium, find the value of x.
of 3-F is then connected across the first capacitor. Determine the a. 3.87 m c. 5 m
voltage across the parallel combination. b. 4.36 m d. 6.13 m
a. 40 V c. 35 V
b. 50 V d. 25 V 182. A parallel plate capacitor is made up of 250 plates separated by a
dielectric 0.0012 cm thick. The effective size of the plate is 12 cm by 24
170. Three capacitors have capacitances 0.50, 0.30, and 0.20 F. What is cm. If the capacitor has a capacitance of 13.22 F, find the approximate
their joint capacitance when arranged to give a minimum capacitance? dielectric constant.
a. 1.0 µF c. 0.097 µF a. 2.8 c. 3.0
b. 0.042 µF d. 0.078 µF b. 2.2 d. 2.5

171. A 5 µF capacitor is charged to a potential difference of 800 V and 183. It is found experimentally that an electric field of 3 x 10 6 V/m in air
discharged through a conductor. How much energy is given to the will cause electrical breakdown of the air. What is the greatest charge
conductor during the discharge? that can be placed on a sphere of 1 m diameter?
a. 1.2 J c. 1.6 J a. 1.33 µC c. 166.67 µC
b. 4 mJ d. 160 J b. 83.33 µC d. 333.33 µC

172. A multi-plate capacitor consists of layers of sheets of tin foil and 184. A sphere has a radius of 0.1 m has a charge of 50 nC. Determine the
mica as dielectric. Each sheet of tin foil has an area of 82 cm 2 and each potential at a distance of 1 m from the surface of the sphere. Assume air
mica (permittivity=5) dielectric is 0.2 mm thick. If the capacitance of this is as the medium.
capacitor is 0.33 µF, calculate the number of mica layers in the a. 450 V c. 409 V
capacitor. b. 515 V d. 501 V
a. 182 c. 183
b. 184 d. 185 185. Droplets of 0.02 mm radius carry a charge of 2 x 10- 14 C. If a million
droplets merged to form a single bigger droplet, the potential on the
173. How many sheets of a dielectric are necessary to make a condenser surface of the bigger droplets will nearly be
having a capacity of 0.0055 F when the sheets are 15 x 30 cm in area a. 9 V c. 900 V
and 0.29 cm thick? Use k=8. b. 9,000 V d. 90,000 V
a. 5 c. 7
b. 6 d. 8 186. What is the electric field intensity at a point 30 cm from a charge of
0.1 C?
Page 11 of 12
a. 1 x 1010 N/C c. 3 x 1010 N/C 209. The electric field in the space between the plates of a discharge
b. 2 x 1010 N/C d. 1.5 x 1010 N/C tube is 32.5 kN/C. What is the force of the electric field on a proton in
this field?
187. A 40 F capacitor is charged to store 0.2 J of energy. An uncharged a. 1.64 x 10-26 N c. 5.2 x 10-15 N
-19
60 F capacitor is then connected in parallel with the first one through b. 3.36 x 10 N d. 6.25 x 10-18 N
perfectly conducting leads. What is the final energy of the system?
a. 0.12 J c. 0.032 J 210. Three capacitors A, B, and C are charged as follows: A=10 F, 100 V;
b. 0.08 J d. 0.048 J B=15 F, 150 V; and C=25 F, 200 V. They are connected in parallel with
terminals of like polarity together. What is the voltage across the
188. An uncharged capacitor of 0.01 F is charged first by a current of 2 combination?
mA for 30 s and then by a current of 4 mA for another 30 s. Find the final a. 160 V c. 165 V
voltage on it. b. 155 V d. 170 V
a. 21 V c. 16 V
b. 18 V d. 24 V

189. Twenty seven spherical drops, each of radius 3 mm and carrying 10 - *******END*******
12
C of charge are combined to form a single drop. Find the capacitance
of the bigger drop.
a. 1.2 pF c. 2.4 pF
b. 1.0 pF d. 2.0 pF

199. A series combination of the two capacitors C1=20 F and C2=40 F is

charged by a momentary connection to a source of 50 V. Find the
voltage across V1 across the first capacitor.
a. 33.3 V c. 16.7 V
b. 24.8 V d. 25.2 V

200. A 10-F capacitor with air between its plates is connected to a 50 V

source and then disconnected. The space between the plates of the
charged capacitor is filled with Teflon (relative permittivity=2.1). What is
the potential difference across it now?
a. 25.4 V c. 28.1 V
b. 33.1 V d. 23.8 V

201. What is the potential difference in statvolts between positions 1

angstrom and 0.2 angstrom from a proton?
a. 0.2 statV c. 0.4 statV
b. 0.6 statV d. 0.8 statV

202. Find the capacitance of a parallel combination of one 12 F and

two 6 F capacitors.

203. How many electrons are stored on one of the electrodes of a 75 F

capacitor when it is charged from a 125 V source?
a. 9.37 x 1016 c. 6.25 x 1016
b. 7.27 x 1016 d. 5.88 x 1016

204. Three capacitors of 2, 3, and 4 F are connected in series with a 6 V

battery. When the current stops, determine the voltage across the 4-F
capacitor.
a. 2.61 V c. 1.846 V
b. 1.38 V d. 2.79 V

205. Sixty-four drops of radius r combine to form a bigger drop of radius

R. The ratio of capacitance of bigger to smaller drop is
a. 1:4 c. 4:1
b. 8:1 d. 1:8

206. Four equal charges, +3 C are placed at the four corners of a square
that is 40 cm on a side. Find the force on any one of the charges.
a. 0.83 N c. 0.74 N
b. 0.112 N d. 0.97 N

207. A capacitor of two metal plates of area 30 m 2 are separated by a

dielectric 2 mm thick and relative permittivity 6. If the electric field
strength in the dielectric is 600 V/mm, determine the total charge on
each plate.
a. 0.96 mC c. 0.833 mC
b. 1.24 mC d. 2.17 mC

208. Two point charges 10 cm apart repel a force of 0.001 g on each

other. If the charges are equal, what is the value of each charge in statC?
a. 10.4 c. 9.9
b. 8.59 d. 9.1

Page 12 of 12