AP Physics E&M

RC Circuits Lab - Virtual

Purpose
The goal of these experiments is for the student to develop an understanding of how charge and
voltage on a capacitor change and how current changes with time when a capacitor is charging
and discharging.

Circuit Construction
Circuit construction will be completed using the Phet simulator found here:

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/circuit-construction-kit-ac

Background Information:

The rate of charging or discharging is characterized by the ​RC ​time constant ​τ​given

by ​τ = ​RC 
Assuming initially (at ​t ​= 0) the capacitor is uncharged, during charging, the charge on the capacitor
changes with time as

The voltage between the plates of the capacitor is then

Here, is the voltage equal to the EMF of the battery, and ​; the charge
established on the plates of the capacitor when it is fully charged by the battery.

Source: ​http://hyperphysics.phyastr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/capchg.html

During discharging, the charge on the capacitor changes with time as

The voltage between the plates of the capacitor is then

Source: ​http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/capdis.html#c2

Since the voltage depends on time exponentially, the linear relationship can be produced by taking a
natural logarithm of the both sides of charging or discharging equation (as long as the exponent is isolated
first).

Then, the time constant of the RC circuit can be obtained experimentally by plotting v​ s
time

for the charging process, or v​ s time for the discharging process, performing linear regression
(drawing the best-fit line), and using the slope of best-fit line to calculate the time constant.

What is the relationship of the slope of best-fit line and the time constant? It will be the same for either
charging or discharging process.
Procedure

1. The charging-discharging capacitor circuit is

shown:

Note that when switch is position ​a​, the capacitor is

charging by the battery, and when the switch is the
position ​b​, the battery is no longer included in the
circuit,
and the capacitor will discharge.
Construct this circuit using the elements of the circuit
in
the simulator file:

10 V battery; 25-Ω resistor; 0.2 Farad capacitor

There is no three-way switch in the simulator, so use two switches and an extra wire instead. When switch
a c​ losed and switch ​b ​is open, the circuit should have the battery, capacitor and resistor in series. When
switch ​b ​is closed and switch ​a i​ s open, the circuit should have capacitor and resistor in series, with battery
excluded.

SUBMIT: ​Screenshot of your circuit.

2. Connect the voltage chart and current chart to the capacitor and practice charging and discharging the
capacitor by closing and opening the switches. Observe how the voltage and current vary with
time and make sure the graphs are consistent with theoretical expectations.

SUBMIT: ​Screenshot of graphs of voltage and current vs. time for charging and discharging. This will be
four plots.

3. Discharge the capacitor fully by right-clicking on it or clicking on “reset all dynamics” button.
Remove the voltage and current charts and connect the voltmeter instead. Pay attention to the
polarity so that your measured voltage is positive. Place a stopwatch in the corner of the screen.

4. Open switch ​b ​and close switch ​a.​ Press “play” to start the charging process, pausing about every 10
seconds to take measurements of time and voltage. Take 6 to 8 measurements and record your
results in Table 1.

SUBMIT: ​Table 1.
t V

0 0 0
 10 8.56 -1.94

20 9.79 -3.86

30 9.97 -5.81

40 9.99 -7.82
6

50 9.99 -9.21
9

60 10 undefined

5. Wait a few minutes until the capacitor is fully charged (the voltage is close to 10 V and stops
changing). Reset the stopwatch. Open switch ​a ​and close switch ​b​. Press “play” to start the
discharging process and similarly take 6 to 8 measurements of time and voltage. Record your
results in Table 2.

Submit: ​Table 2.
t V

0 10 0

10 1.414 -1.96

20 0.259 -3.65

30 0.036 -5.63

40 0.005 -7.6

50 0.001 -9.21

60 0 undefined

6.
 Use the best-fit line (also called trendline) to fit the data to the linear model.

Submit: ​Screenshots of your graphs. They should contain:

∙ ​Labeled axes and units

∙ ​Data points and best-fit line (remember that the best-fit line does not necessarily go through all
the points, but approximates the trend)
∙ ​Equation of the best-fit line

Equation: y = -0.181x
 y=-0.185x

7. Determine the slope of each of the best-fit line and find the experimental values of the time constant
using the relationship found in the ​DISCUSSION​. Compare these to the theoretical value of the time
constant for this circuit by finding percent error, and comment on the results.

Submit:
∙ ​Slope for each best-fit line
∙ ​Experimental values of each time constant
∙ ​% error of time constant
∙ ​Comments on results

The slope from the first graph is -0.181 and the slope from the second graph is -0.185. To find the
experimental time constant, we use the relationship of the natural logarithm with time. By using the
given formulas relating voltage and time, we find that the time constant = -t/ln(1-V/Vmax) for charging
the capacitor and -t/ln(V/Vmax) for the discharge of the capacitor. Therefore, we have to take the
negative reciprocal of each of the slopes. The negative reciprocal of the first slope is approximately 5.52
and the second negative reciprocal is 5.4. The theoretical value of the time constant is equal to the
Resistance of the resistor multiplied by the capacitance of the capacitor = 5. The % error of the first slope
is about 10% and the second slope’s % error is about 8%. These results aren’t the best, but they are
decent. The errors could have been due to not stopping the stopwatch exactly after 10 seconds each time
and this could translate into my best line of fit.