Author Question: A parallel plate capacitor is connected to a battery and charged to voltage V. Leah says that the ... (Read 87 times)

mrsjacobs44 · **on:** Jul 28, 2018

A parallel plate capacitor is connected to a battery and charged to voltage V. Leah says that the charge on the plates will decrease if the distance between the plates is increased while they are still connected to the battery. Gertie says that the charge will remain the same. Which one, if either, is correct, and why?
a. Gertie, because the maximum voltage is determined by the battery.
b. Gertie, because the capacitance of the capacitor does not change. c. Leah, because the capacitance decreases when the plate separation is increased. d. Leah, because the capacitance increases when the plate separation is increased. e. Neither, because the charge increases when the plate separation is increased.

Question 2

A parallel plate capacitor is charged to voltage V and then disconnected from the battery. Leopold says that the voltage will decrease if the plates are pulled apart. Gerhardt says that the voltage will remain the same. Which one, if either, is correct, and why?
a. Gerhardt, because the maximum voltage is determined by the battery.
b. Gerhardt, because the charge per unit area on the plates does not change. c. Leopold, because charge is transferred from one plate to the other when the plates are separated. d. Leopold, because the force each plate exerts on the other decreases when the plates are pulled apart.
e. Neither, because the voltage increases when the plates are pulled apart.