PSet 3: Capacitors and RC circuits

The last three pages have space for your responses.

Goal: To observe how capacitors respond to direct current (DC) voltage inputs and an alternating current (AC)
voltage square wave input.

Visual Overview

1 2
meet the capacitor plot &analyze

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Tc

4 3
record frequency response apply an AC input

5 6
change conditions &obse ve completion

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""'Learning objectives
• Recognize that a capacitor stores charge;
• Graph the voltage change across and current through a capacitor as it charges;
• Use Wave generation function to produce a square-wave AC signal;
• Compare the measured V(t) with the theoretical capacitor response;
• Calculate the approximate time constant, t, of an RC circuit;
• Plot the voltage drop across a capacitor with changes in the square-wave input frequency

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1. Meet the capacitor

A capacitor is a device that stores energy in the form of electric charge. First, you'll build a circuit that looks like
a voltage divider with a capacitor substituted for the bottom resistor. In this circuit, R = 100 kn and the C=10 µF.
You will see what happens to Vout when you put voltage in and then "drain" it by connecting Vin to ground.

Build the circuit below, using a wire

+SV

This squiggly line Is a

long-ish loose wire that
you11 use to manually
switch to O Volts.
100 KO

Va\Al
C1oµF

1
Set up your O-scope to measure the ~V across the capacitor.

~ Think: Where should the II and II probes connect?

Prepare the scope settings to monitor what happens over time when you switch from SV to OV input. It will take
about 5-10 seconds.

First, set to single sweep (ml rather than repeat (I). The data will fill a single buffer.

Note: The memory buffer is fixed in size, so you should decrease the sampling rate (fewer samples/second) to
accommodate 10 seconds of data collection.

Decrease < )
sampling
rate

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A
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IRIGGCR

CHl
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--.-
A

. V
.~-. ·o, 5< Os
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5s 10s .~-.
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Start the scope(~) and by hand,

quickly move the wire at m to ground ( . ) . Watch the voltage across the capacitor change with time. We
call this behavior "discharging." Record your observations on the PSet worksheet (page 10}

(II Think: What is physically happening during the dis- charging?

Next, you will record the change in Ll V,ap during charging. If your capacitor has fully discharged, channel 1 should
indicate Vaut=O.

Now we are going to monitor what happens when you connect Vin to 5 V.

Start the scope (single) sweep and plug the Vin wire to the +5 V rail of your breadboard. Save this plot. [g;J
Now going to take some measurements off of this plot using the scope tools.

2. Plot & analyze

t
The plot of Vout = V(t) is theorized to adhere to V(t) = V(oo) • (1- e-;) (p. 35, text 1). In this section, you will
use the Scope tools to determine the value of V(oo) and t. Then you'll plot the measured V(t) with the
t
theoretical V(t) = V(oo) • (1 - e-;),

We don't have t = oo, but we have a large enough t that we can approximate, Vout ::::: V (oo).

Determine V(oo) from your experimental data, using the scope measuring tools.

1
In the text, V(oo) = 1 and T = 1.

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 V
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a
H

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.i I·
_t_
-.-
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~ Think: How can you tell if t (time) is large enough that V(t) ➔ V( 00 )?

(Hint: What should happen to the exponential term when t gets really large?)

Now we need to use the same tool to find the value of r. What is V00 in your case? Using this value, you can
-t
determine ·rfrom V(t) = V(oo) • (1 - e-;"). 4-'K:JI · { ) - e-'.) " l-t1J I • ( I" €..)
~ Think: When t = t, what will be Vout for your circuit?
6
~ Record your measured values of V(oo) and r on the PSet worksheet (p. 10).

Plot and compare the measured Vout and theoretical V(t) for the charging capacitor.

Your theoretical charging curve is likely to fit well to the experimental dat~, although the voltage might be off a
bit due to the internal impedance of the O-scope.

Here is a tiny, unreadable graph to illustrate that the theory'*', fits to the blue line of measured data. This graph
does not follow best practices of data presentation, by the way.

f. 8

I I t t t I I I t tf

As a reminder, here is the circuit before you began charging the capacitor:

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 ~~ 10/JF
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From our text, we know that the equation for the current through the capacitor is lcap(t) = C • dv,
dt
where Vis
the voltage drop across the capacitor. In our case, V = Vout - 0 V = Vout·

fi As always, the units of measure are important. 1 Amp = 1 Farad Volt/second

~ Think: What is the equation for current through the resistor, !resistor?

On the same graph, plot the currents through the resistor and capacitor. Use Vmeasured(t) for the resistor and
Vtheory(t) for the capacitor.

Please return the 10 uF capacitors to their proper bins.

3. Apply an AC input

Now we are going to see how capacitors respond to voltages that alternate in time (Alternating Current, or AC
inputs). As a comparison, let's first build a voltage divider circuit and test Vout with an AC Vin,

WCI\
R-C

Use WG (Wave Generator) as the Vin,

Use scope channel m to monitor Vin,

Use scope channel I to monitor the voltage dropped across the bottom of the resistor.

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(rt Think: What should you connect I and fl to?

,•, 1.•

Set up the wave generator to get the following signal (at WG on the O-scope):

Sd'I. S•¼ Sylt\1t1t1r'j ur

1. ,J... I k ,, "dk'fl( C'(cCc.''

Oi••TLn_lL
.. T'____..
~ ,e.,..o s T cv,1.1s/s.,
lO c-yt.'4J/S•c. s lO \It~
10 M•

Run with continuous cycling m). You should see the voltage response of several cycles. If not, let's
troubleshoot:

(rt Think: Are the voltage signals off screen (y axis)? What time scale (x axis) will display your square wave?

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When you have several cycles in the display, sketch and label the V,n and Vour signals on the worksheet.
... n

' .
You can use groups of header pins
for mechanical stability and to
connect multiple probes to the same
point in a circuit.
Here is a tip on using groups of header pins for stability.

Now, replace the bottom resistor with the capacitor as shown here in this RC circuit:

....,_....__ C,~ 1..

ltdL

r ......... oht-t
O,l14F

Apply the same WG signal and sketch the response on your worksheet.

fi If the signal Is scrolling by on the screen, you can fix the data to the t=O point by specifying the trigger
conditions.

Trigger conditions: This will set a "trigger'' to the O point on the time axis.

These are the conditions to set:

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~ Think: What data source (Channel 1/Channel 2)?

What condition (rising/falling?)

What voltage level of the condition?

4n

V
. . . . . . . . . . .
AVGlo, 1uUS/s
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4. Record the frequency response

Increase the frequency of the input wave and monitor the qualita~ive changes in Vout• Note that as you increase
the frequency, you'll also have to increase your sampling rate. In your worksheet, sketch the response at 10 Hz,
1 kHz, 10 kHz and 100 kHz.

....
-

DTtme \)

Position: fos II
Bae: j1 ma/div II
a
Comment in the worksheet on the ways the capacitor response to frequency changes is similar to or different
from the response you got from Part I. ~

Change the Vin to 2 V. Observe the change in Vout for Vin frequencies (10 Hz to 100 kHz). What is the difference
in Vout compared to Vin is 1 V. Record your observations on the worksheet. ~

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5. Change the conditions & observe

Now we are going to see the effect of changing the reference point for the RC circuit (i.e., the leg of the
capacitor). Let's get ready by putting a jumper wire in the circuit as shown to the right.

Repeat the sweep of frequencies {10 Hz to 100 kHz) for the four voltage references (OV, 2.SV, 3.3V or SV)
record your observations.
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~" :"..n.rtrL t.... •· ,,,.,e 1w ft09CJU~-.O ,_,.,'-'S
SV
1,.f"

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PSet 3 Worksheet

1. Meet the capacitor

Sketch what you observed of Vout(t) upon moving the Vin= +5 V to O V. In this rough sketch, label the
axes, and the V(t = Os) and V(t = 9s) second values.

t
The theoretical discharging curve for an RC circuit is V(t) = V(O) • e-Rc. How did your observed V(t)
deviate from this idealized exponential decay and why?

2. Plot and Analyze

V(oo)mmured = L/ •2.S / Volts approximate fmeasured = J.. 04 qq sec

Compute RC for your circuit, ____ sec

RC= _ _1,

Theoretically, RC= r. Compare the RC for your circuit to the experimental r

/JJCJ~'r\r:.1,I < -c ~(ZR-'7,~M

Include the following plots for the charging capacitor

1. V(t) for the charging capacitor with V(t)theory,

2. l(t) for the resistor with l(t) for the capacitor
 3. Apply an AC Signal

Sketch and label a cycle for the voltage divider. I Sketch and label a cycle for the RC circuit.
Ch1
. Ct,.1 -
ChZ

.
-
0 -

1j~
4. Record the frequency response

Sketch and label of a cycle of the Vin and Vout for the RC circuit at these frequencies:

I 10 Hz 11 kHz I 10 kHz I 100 kHz

What trends do you notice in the Vout as the frequency is swept from 10 Hz to 100 kHz?

hat trends do you notice in the Vout for the same 10 Hz to 100 kHz sweep for V,n=2.0 V?

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 S. Change the conditions and observe

How does the reference voltage (OV, 2.SV, 3.3V or SV) affect Vout?

Vovr u~t 9~ ~ w/ th ~~ ~ 1,..,+

-f:L :J,~{ &~ ef- d,,2 ~ 1 ~

This RC circuit is considered a filter for the input signal. Would you call it a high(frequency)-pass or a low
(frequency)-pass filter? Why?

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