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Physic Experiment 6

This document summarizes the results of a physics experiment measuring the capacitance and time constant of an RC circuit. The experiment discharged a capacitor through a resistor and measured the current over time. Plotting ln(I0/I) vs time yielded a straight line with a gradient equal to -1/RC, allowing calculation of the capacitance (3.37mF) and time constant (20.9s). Sources of error included resistance of wires and devices and reaction time measuring current. Repeating the experiment improved accuracy.

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564 views2 pages

Physic Experiment 6

This document summarizes the results of a physics experiment measuring the capacitance and time constant of an RC circuit. The experiment discharged a capacitor through a resistor and measured the current over time. Plotting ln(I0/I) vs time yielded a straight line with a gradient equal to -1/RC, allowing calculation of the capacitance (3.37mF) and time constant (20.9s). Sources of error included resistance of wires and devices and reaction time measuring current. Repeating the experiment improved accuracy.

Uploaded by

Jason
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STPM Physics Experiment 6 (Second Term)

Title: Capacitance and time constant

Results:

No. Initial Current, I0/mA Resistance, R/Ω


1 0.90 6200
2 0.90 6200
3 0.90 6200
4 0.90 6200
5 0.90 6200
Average 0.90 6200

Current Time, t/s I0/I ln(I0/I)


at time t, 1 2 3 Average
I/mA
0.85 1.27 1.29 1.24 1.27 1.06 0.06
0.80 2.74 2.71 2.74 2.74 1.13 0.12
0.75 4.08 4.00 4.30 4.13 1.20 0.18
0.70 5.20 5.50 5.36 5.35 1.29 0.25
0.65 6.50 6.32 6.35 6.39 1.38 0.32
0.60 8.60 8.57 8.55 8.57 1.50 0.41
0.55 9.98 9.60 9.75 9.78 1.64 0.49
Centroid (5.46 , 0.26)

Calculations:

Since , , ( )

Gradient k for the graph plotted is the reciprocal of the time constant.

∴, and

Based on the graph plotted,

Hence,

While C = capacitance of capacitor in F and R = resistance of resistor in Ω


∴,

Since

While I = current in A and e = Euler’s constant

Discussions:

(a) Precautions
(i) The capacitor is fully discharged before starting the experiment.
(ii) All connections of wire and devices are ensured tight.
(iii) The experiment is carried without necessary delay in the process to
prevent wires from heating up which would increase the resistance of the
circuit, affecting accuracy of the results.
(iv) All devices are checked working fine before beginning the experiment.
(b) Sources of error
(i) Deviance from true value of the results due to the assumption that wires
and circuit elements have zero resistance.
(ii) Use of nominal values of direct current rating instead of measuring the
rating.
(iii) Error due to reaction time for pressing the stopwatch.
(c) Steps to overcome the weakness of the experiment
(i) Repeat the experiment several times and obtain the average values of the
data acquired to increase the accuracy of the results (minimize errors due
to reaction time).
(ii) Use a voltmeter to ensure the voltage supplied by the direct current supply
is 6V.

Conclusion:

For the R-C circuit used in this experiment, the capacitance of the capacitor, C is 3.37mF
while the time constant, is 20.9s. The current I can be expressed as:
.

Note: For the graph, it should be a straight line passing through the origin.

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