Description

This inquiry lab is designed for students to work individually remotely but could also be
used in class with groups.
Explore how a capacitor works! Change the size of the plates and the distance between
them. Change the voltage and see charges build up on the plates. View the electric
field, and measure the voltage. Connect a charged capacitor to a light bulb and observe
a discharging RC circuit.
Learning Goals:

Students will be able to:

 Identify the variables that affect the capacitance and how each affects the
capacitance.
 Determine the relationships between charge, voltage, and stored energy for a
capacitor.
 Relate the design of the capacitor system to its ability to store energy.
 Explain how to use a capacitor to light a bulb.
 Describe what happens as charge drains away from a capacitor into a light bulb

Develop your understanding: Open the Capacitance screen, then explore to develop
your own ideas about how a capacitor is designed.

Step 3: Explore the contents of Capacitor Lab features, then proceed to Lab.

Explain your understanding: Use your own words and captured images from the
simulation to show you can: 
1. Identify what features of a capacitor can be maximized or minimized to make a
capacitor with the greatest capacitance. 

The size of the plates and its distance are the features that can maximixe
and minimize the capacitance of the capacitor. We have observed that upon
manipulating the size of the plates, the bigger the area of the plates the more the
capacitor has the ability to store an electric charge. Furthermore, the closer the
plates to each other the greater the capacitance. In the experiment, the plates
with an area of 400 mm 2 and a distance of 2.0 mm have the greatest capacitance
 wherein it has 1.77 pF. Second to this are the plates that have an area of 100 mm2
with a distance of 2.0 mm (0.44 pF) following are the plates with an area of
400 mm 2 and a distance of 10.0 mm (0.36 pF). However, the plates with an area
of 100 mm2 and a distance of 10.0 mm have the lowest capacitance with 0.09 pF.

a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

The double sided arrows, the button located at the battery and the
capacitance indicator are the features of the simulation that we used to help us
do the experiment. By using the double sided arrows we are able to adjust the
distance between the plates and also we are able to manipulate the size. Using
the button located at the battery, we are able to adjust the voltage with ease.
That aside, using the capacitance indicator which is located at the top
specifically, inside the bar we are able to know the capacitance without hassle.

2. Design experiments to find the relationships between charge, voltage, and

stored energy for a capacitor. Summarize your experimental procedures and
findings.

Using the battery as a source of energy and a wire to connect it to the

plates it creates a system that stores an electric charge. The energy stored in a
capacitor is electrostatic potential energy and is thus related to the charge (q)
and voltage (V) between the capacitor plates. A charged capacitor stores energy
in the electrical field between its plates. As the capacitor is being charged, the
electrical field builds up.

Using the Phet app, first select the voltage by adjusting the button located
at the battery. Here, you can select the voltage you wanted to use (from 1.5 V to
-1.5 V). After that, adjust the plates by moving the double sided arrows. The
arrow at the top of the upper plate is for adjusting the distance between the two
plates while the arrow located to the right side is for altering the size of the
plates. In the experiment, we found out that the higher voltage there are more
electric charges present in the plates. Also, we have observed that the closer the
distance and the bigger the area of the plates the more the capacitor has the
ability to store electric charges thus have greater capacitance. 

a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

 
The double sided arrows, the button located at the battery and the
capacitance indicator are the features of the simulation that we used to help us
do the experiment. By using the double sided arrows we are able to adjust the
distance between the plates and also we are able to manipulate the size. Using
the button located at the battery, we are able to adjust the voltage with ease.
That aside, using the capacitance indicator which is located at the top specifically
inside the bar, we are able to know the capacitance without hassle. In addition,
inside the plates you can see how many the electric charges are stored which is
 also an indicator what size of the plates has the ability to store more electric
charges.
 
3. If you wanted to design a capacitor system to store the greatest energy, what
should you use?
 
Capacitors are simply devices that consist of two conductors carrying equal but
opposite charges. A simple parallel-plate capacitor consists of two equally-sized metal
plates, known as electrodes, separated by an insulator, known as a dielectric, held
parallel to each other. The capacitor is then integrated into an electric circuit. In a simple
direct current circuit, each plate of the capacitor becomes oppositely charged over time
due to the path of the electric current through the circuit. The battery drives charge in
one direction such that one plate becomes positively charged and the other becomes
negatively charged. This creates an electric field due to the buildup of equal and
opposite charges, resulting in a potential difference, or voltage between the plates. Since
the capacitance of the plates is constant, the voltage between the plates increases
proportionally. As the charge on each plate increases, the voltage between the plates
equals the voltage of the battery, at which point current will no longer flow through the
circuit. This charging and discharging effect. Current can resume flowing if an alternate
path is opened so that the capacitors can discharge itself or by using an alternating
current so that the capacitor is periodically charged and discharged. An important
parameter for a capacitor is the capacitance, a measurement of the ability an object has
to store charge. There are two main ways to calculate capacitance, using either the
physical area of the plates or the voltage applied to the plates. Increasing the
capacitance or the voltage or both increases the amount of energy stored in the
capacitor. Alternatively, a dielectric can be added to the capacitor. A dielectric is an
insulator placed between the electrodes. It increases the capacitance of the capacitor
without needing to change its dimensions. This allows the capacitor to store more
energy while still remaining small. So that why, if we wanted to design our own capacitor
system we will use dielectric.
Develop your understanding: Explore the Light Bulb screen to investigate how to
use a capacitor to turn on a light bulb.

Explain your understanding: Use your own words and captured images from the
simulation to show you know how to use a capacitor to light a bulb.
4. What are the required components to use a capacitor to light a bulb and how
does the system operate?

In order to light a bulb using a capacitor, one must ensure that there is a
main supply of voltage and energy such as batteries. The supply’s voltage should
not be equal to zero as this would not charge up the capacitor. The greater the
volts, the more stored energy the capacitor would contain; the longer duration the
bulb would light up before dimming out. Another thing is to secure a switch.
Having a switch in a circuit would be vital as this would help you manipulate the
wires, such as cutting off the connection from the batteries to the capacitor.
Lastly would be the wires, they are the bones and nerves of the circuit where the
charges would flow and transmit energy. So how does this work? As we all know,
capacitors are used for the sole purpose that it can store charges. The bigger the
capacitance of a capacitor, the bigger the stored charge would be. Now if a wire
is connected from a battery to a capacitor, the stored charges from the battery
would apparently flow into the capacitor storing the said capacitor. And as this
charging up is happening, there will be a nonzero current in the circuit, so the
light bulb will light up. This means that the stored charges from the capacitor
would then flow into the light bulb, thus the creation of light beams. However, the
capacitor will eventually be fully charged at which point the potential between its
plates will match the voltage of the battery, and the current in the circuit will drop
to zero. This is when the light bulb would eventually fade and dim out.

5. How would, using a capacitor to light a bulb compare to using just a battery as
shown:

In a circuit without a capacitor, we can observed that the flow of charges

are linear from the batteries into the light bulb. This means that whatever the
voltage of the battery is, that same voltage would be received directly by the light
bulb. It’s because one of the purpose of capacitors is to regulate the amount of
voltage running in the circuit to avoid explosions and power malfunctions.
Moreover, with this kind of set up, we can ensure that as long as the battery has
not been emptied, the bulb would light up indefinitely. However, if the switch is
 turned off, the light bulb would directly shut-off. Compared in using capacitors,
the light bulb in this set-up would cease to light as soon as the switch is turned
off. In real life cases, if there is a power interruption of malfunction, the presence
of capacitors are needed to still continue the flow of charges. Absence of
capacitors would mean total shut-off in the presence of malfunctions and power
interruptions.

a. Use Circuit Construction Kit Intro screen to test your ideas and provide
supporting evidence .
6. Describe what happens as charge drains away from a capacitor into a light bulb.
Include the use of as many tools in the simulation as possible in your
observations.

It was observed that as the charge drains away from a capacitor into a
light bulb, the bulb’s brightness decays until the charges are totally consumed. In
addition, it was observed that the values of both top plate charge and stored
energy of the capacitor also decays until it reaches zero. Meanwhile, the
direction of the electric field between two plates moves radically outward until no
charge is left. And lastly, the capacitance of the capacitor is constant throughout
the whole simulation. With these, we can say that due to the stored charges, the
light bulb was able to shine despite the absence of a main power supply.

a. What features of the simulation did you use to help you?

In the simulation we made use of the plate charge values, bar graph,
electric field, and current direction. Because of these tools, we were able to see
the change in values throughout the simulation. We were able to see the charges
and its flow as we attempt to connect the wires. And because of these, we were
able to infer and deduct information about the simulation.
IV. ACTION

Charisse Felicilda
MINI-TASK 2: Capacitor Laboratory/Simulation Experiment
Instruction: Do a laboratory experiment in Capacitor Basics, and accomplish the
laboratory report. In instance that you can’t do the experiment in the lab, do the
experiment instead in PhET simulation, and accomplish a simulation experiment
report based from the laboratory manual of Fr. Glover and Dr. Sugon.
Processing Questions:
How did you find the mini- task?
I find the mini- task fun and interesting. It’s because I enjoy things that are hands-
on. The simulation provided was easy to understand and its necessary processes
are doable. The whole simulation was easy to interpret and is enjoyable. It was
fun having this experiment and it was interesting as values change when various
factors are manipulated.
How did the lessons help you see the real-world use of the topic?
The lessons helped me see the real world use of the topic in a way that it gave me
knowledge and wisdom on how our light bulbs, switches, and capacitors work snd
function. With this knowledge, it made me appreciate these simple circuits that we
use and see daily in our household. Moreover, it helped me understood the
process on how a light bulb turns on and off and how a capacitor works. Lastly, I
realize that our world revolves around science. As time progresses, technology
also advances, creating new instruments and objects that would improve the
quality of our living.
Glenn Emmanuel Balacuit
MINI-TASK 2: Capacitor Laboratory/Simulation Experiment
Instruction: Do a laboratory experiment in Capacitor Basics, and accomplish the
laboratory report. In instance that you can’t do the experiment in the lab, do the
experiment instead in PhET simulation, and accomplish a simulation experiment
report based from the laboratory manual of Fr. Glover and Dr. Sugon.
Processing Questions:
How did you find the mini- task?
I find the mini- task doable and understandable. With the help of my partner, we
were able to do the task efficiently and accurately. Moreover, the necessary steps
involving the whole simulation was understandable and concise. I had no issues
with the said mini- task because I somewhat enjoyed the whole simulation
experience. Overall, the mini- task was able to help understand more about the
topic and its application in circuits.

How did the lessons help you see the real-world use of the topic?
With the help of these lessons, I was able to realize the importance of the
discussed concepts in our daily life. With this lesson and activities, I was able to
reflect the importance of light bulbs and capacitors in our daily life. Apparently,
light bulbs are very essential to humankind as it lets us see through things despite
the darkness that surrounds us. Meanwhile, capacitors are important during
emergencies and malfunctions. With the help of science around us, I realized that
our lives were made easier and more convenient. As technology advances,
human lives also advances. With the foundation of these concepts, various
devices and instruments emerged and will emerge.