General

Physics 2 12
General Physics 2 – Grade 12
Quarter 3 – Module 7: Dielectric in Capacitors
First Edition, 2020

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 General
Physics 2 12
Quarter 1
Self-Learning Module 7
Dielectric in Capacitors
Introductory Message

For the facilitator:

Welcome to General Physics 2- Grade 12 Self Learning Module on Dielectric in

Capacitors!

This Self Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed, and reviewed by
educators from Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its Officer-In-Charge
Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin in partnership
with the Local Government of Pasig through its mayor, Honorable Victor Ma. Regis
N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum using the
Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) while overcoming their personal,
social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st-century skills especially the 5 Cs namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the learners as
they do the tasks included in the module.
For the learner:

Welcome to the General Physics 2 Self-Learning Module on Dielectric in Capacitors!

The hand is one of the most symbolized parts of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action, and purpose. Through our hands, we may learn, create, and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning material while being an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectation - These are what you will be able to know after completing the
lessons in the module

Pretest - This will measure your prior knowledge and the concepts to be
mastered throughout the lesson.

Recap - This section will measure what learnings and skills that you
understand from the previous lesson.

Lesson - This section will discuss the topic of this module.

Activities - This is a set of activities you will perform.

Wrap Up - This section summarizes the concepts and applications of the

lessons.

Valuing - This part will check the integration of values in the learning
competency.

Posttest - This will measure how much you have learned from the entire
module.
 EXPECTATIONS
This module is about the effects of inserting electric materials on the capacitance,
charge, and electric field of a capacitor; problems involving capacitors and dielectrics,
and differences between conventional current and electron flow.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. define dielectric;
2. describe the effects of inserting electric materials on the capacitance,
charge, and electric field of a capacitor;
3. solve problems involving capacitors and dielectrics in contexts such as but
not limited to charged plates, batteries, and camera flashlamps; and
4. recognize the importance of dielectric to capacitors and circuits.

PRETEST

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet
of paper.

1. Which of the following statements tell about dielectric?

A. A non-insulating material is inserted at two parallel plates inside the
capacitor.
B. An insulating material is inserted at two parallel plates inside the
capacitor.
C. An insulator material that resists the flow of electrons.
D. A conductor material that allows the electrons to flow.
2. What will happen to the capacitance when a dielectric material was inserted
between the two parallel plates of a capacitor?
A. Increases
B. Decreases
C. Remain the same
D. Both a and b
3. Which of the following describes the effects of inserting dielectric to the
charge and electric field of a capacitor?
A. The charges and electric field were both increasing.
B. The charges and electric field were both decreasing.
C. The charges remain the same while the electric field decreases.
D. The charges increase while the electric field remains the same.

4. A charged parallel plate with 6F connected to a battery with 5V. When a

dielectric material was inserted between the parallel plates. What happens to
the stored charges in the capacitor?
A. increases
B. decreases
 C. remain the same
D. both a and b
5. Which of the following tells about the importance of dielectric to capacitors
and other electric appliances?
A. It decreases the ability to stored energy.
B. It causes the breakdown of the medium.
C. Prevents the parallel plates from touching each other.
D. All of the above

RECAP

In your previous lesson, let us recall capacitors and capacitance. Answer the
following questions briefly.

1. What is a capacitor?
2. What is capacitance?
3. How to calculate the capacitance of a network of capacitors in series/parallel?
4. How will you determine the total charge, charge on, the potential difference
across each capacitor in the network given the capacitors connected in
series/parallel?
5. How will you determine the potential energy stored inside the capacitor given
the geometry and the potential difference across the capacitor?

LESSON

From your previous lessons, it says that capacitor is the electronic component
to stored electrical energy. But, do we know what is inside of it? Look at the picture
below and label the parts inside a capacitor. Write your answers on a sheet of paper.

Fig. 1 Capacitors Fig. 2 What inside the Capacitor?

If your answers are the following: 1. negative charge connection; 2. positive

charge connection; 3. dielectric; 4. metal plate; 5. aluminum; and 6. plastic
insulation, you are CORRECT. Those are materials inside the capacitors. Among the
6 parts inside the capacitors mentioned above, which is not common to you? Yes,
that is DIELECTRIC. Is it having two electric since prefix di- means “two”, “twice”,
and “double”? Let’s find out what is DIELECTRIC, its function, effects on
capacitance, charge and electric field of a capacitor, and importance to capacitors
and circuits.

What is DIELECTRIC? In many capacitors, there is an insulating material

inserted between the parallel metal plates (positive and negative metal plates) inside
the capacitor. This insulating material is called DIELECTRIC. It is used to avoid
touching between the parallel plates.

What is the role of inserting a dielectric between two parallel plates to the
capacitance, charges, and electric field? When the dielectric was inserted the
capacitance C, increases. It can be summarized through the following equations:
C =κeC0 Equation 1

C =κe€0 A Equation 2
d

where C is the capacitance between two parallel plates, C0 is the capacitance

without dielectric material or in a vacuum, the permittivity of in a vacuum and
with a value of 8.85 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝑪𝟐⁄𝑵𝒎𝟐, A is the area of parallel plates, d is the distance
between the parallel plates, and κe is called the dielectric constant.

Let’s try this example. A layer of porcelain is 80mm long, 20mm wide, and 0.7 µm
thick. Calculate its capacitance with r=6.
Given:

The permittivity of free space/vacuum 𝜀0 = 8.85 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝑪𝟐 ⁄𝑵𝒎𝟐 or F𝑚−

d= 0.7 µm or 0.7 x 10−6 𝑚

Area= l x b x h

=8.85 × 𝟏𝟎−𝟏𝟐 𝑪𝟐 ⁄𝑵𝒎𝟐 or F𝑚− 10−12 x 6 x 80 x 20 x

C = 1.21 X 1𝑂 −7 F

Looking at the table below shows some dielectric materials with their dielectric
constant. It tells also that all dielectric materials have κe>1 and every dielectric
material has a characteristic dielectric strength which is the maximum value of an
electric field before breakdown occurs and charges begin to flow.

Material κe Dielectric strength

{𝟏𝟎𝟔 𝑽/𝒎}
Air 1.00059 3
Paper 3.7 16
Glass 4-6 9
Water 80 -
 Table 1 Dielectric materials with their dielectric constant

Dielectric constant κe is a measure of the dielectric response to an external

electric field. There are two types of dielectrics. The first type is polar dielectrics,
which are dielectrics that have permanent electric dipole moments. An example of
this type of dielectric is water. 𝐸0

Fig. 3 Orientation of polar molecules when ( a.) E= 0 (b.) E to the right and (c.) 𝐸0 > 0.

As shown in Figure 3, the orientation of polar molecules is random in the absence of

an external field. When an external electric field E is present, a torque is set up and
causes the molecules to align with E0. However, the alignment is not complete due
to random thermal motion. The aligned molecules then generate an electric field that
is opposite to the applied field but smaller in magnitude. The second type of
dielectrics is the non-polar dielectrics, which are dielectrics that do not possess
permanent electric dipole moment. Electric dipole moments can be induced by
placing the materials in an externally applied electric field. When capacitance
increases causing an excess negative charge near the surface of the dielectric at the
positive plate and an excess positive charge near the surface of the dielectric at the
negative plate. When the dielectric material was inserted between the parallel plates,
the electric field decreases while the charges remain the same.

The figure below is an example of a circuit with a dielectric inserted between

two parallel plates. When the dielectric material was broken the charge started to
flow. There are two types of electron flow. One is conventional current flow, in
which the charges flow from the positive to the negative terminal of the source and
electron flow is the charges flow from the negative to the positive terminal of the
source.
 Fig. 4 Charging two parallel plates with dielectric

A capacitor is used in a camera flashlamp. A battery is used to charge the

capacitor, and this stored charge is then released when the shutter-release button is
pressed to take a picture. One advantage of using a discharging capacitor instead of
a battery to power a flash is that with a capacitor, the stored charge can be delivered
to a flash tube much faster, illuminating the subject at the instant more light is
needed.

Fig. 5 Capacitor in a camera flashlamp

To further understand the lesson, answer the following activities.

ACTIVITIES

A. Activity 1 – Let’s do this!

When a dielectric material was inserted between parallel plates, what
happened to the following. Just write increase, decrease and remain the same.

1. Capacitance= __________________________
2. Electric field =__________________________
3. Charges =__________________________

B. Activity 2 – Let’s solve it!

Solve and answer the following problems using the concepts of dielectric
in capacitors.
1. A charged parallel plate with 15F connected to a battery with 9V. When a
dielectric material was inserted between the parallel plates. What happens
to the stored charges in the capacitor?
2. Find the capacitance of a layer of 𝐴|2 𝑂3 that is 0.5 m thick and 2000 m𝑚2
of square area ( r= 8.854 x 10−12 F𝑚−1 ).
3. Activity 3 –Let’s value it!
Look around inside your house. Give atleast 5 examples of
appliances/devices using a capacitor.
Answers:
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________
4. _______________________
5. _______________________

WRAP-UP

To summarize, make a graphic organizer using the 3-2-1 strategy shown

below. Do this in a long bond paper.

3-2-1
3 Things I learned:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_____
2 Things I Found Interesting:
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
___
1 Question I have:
________________________________________________________________________________

VALUING

During this COVID-19 pandemic, how will you design your ideal capacitor
which is possible to solve on country’s problem regarding the energy crisis? Draw it
and write a description about your Own-Designed-Capacitor (ODC): Pandemic
Edition.
 POSTTEST

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following describes a dielectric in a capacitor?

A. An insulating parallel plate material inside the capacitor.
B. A conducting parallel plate material inside the capacitor.
C. An inserted another capacitor inside a capacitor.
D. An inserted metal inside a capacitor.
2. How is the capacitance affected when inserted a dielectric material in a
capacitor?
A. The capacitance remains the same.
B. The capacitance increases.
C. The capacitance decreases.
D. The capacitance increases and decreases.
3. What will happen to the charges and electric field when a inserted a
dielectric material in a capacitor?
A. The charges and electric field increase.
B. The charges and electric field decrease.
C. The charges remain the same and the electric field decreases.
D. The charges increases and the electric field remain the same.
4. A charged parallel plate with 12F connected to a battery with 6V. When a
dielectric material was inserted between the parallel plates. What happens to
the stored charges in the capacitor?
A. remain the same
B. increases
C. decreases
D. zero
5. What is the role of dielectric in a capacitor?
A. To decrease the capacitance.
B. To increase the electric field.
C. To avoid touching two parallel plates.
D. To have a conducting material between the two parallel plates.
KEY TO CORRECTION
EXPECTATIONS
 REFERENCES
Bernido, Christopher C. and Bernido, M. Victoria C. Physics Essentials Portfolio:
Learning Physics as One Nation. Fund for Assistance to Private Education, 2008.

De Luna, Marie Josephine M. et al. Exploring Science and Technology: Physics. Anvil
Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Hewitt, Paul G. Conceptual Physics. 9th ed. San Francisco: Addison Wesley, 2002.

Santos, Gil Nonato C., and Ocampo, Jorge P. e-Physics: The Next Generation.1st
edition. Rex Book store, Inc., 2003.

Silverio, Angelina A. Exploring Life Through Science Series: General Physics 1 Phoenix
Publishing House, Inc., 2017.

Padua, Alicia L. and Crisostomo, Ricardo M. Exploring Practical and Explorational

Physics: Modular Approach. 2nd edition Vibal Publishing House, Inc.

http://camerarepair.blogspot.com/2007/11/important-warning-camera-flash.html

https://www.peakpx.com/458269/capacitor-lot
http://roleofelectricalengineering.blogspot.com/2015/09/what-is-inside-capacitor-how-it-
is.html