Capacitors - SAT Subject Test in Physics
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Question
A capacitor with capacitance 
is constructed by putting a thin piece of cardboard between two copper plates, then each plate is connected to a battery. If the copper plates are cut in half then what is the effect on the capacitance of the circuit?
A capacitor with capacitance
Answer
Capacitance of a circuit is defined by the equation:
Where 
is the capacitance, 
is a constant of nature, 
is the area of the capacitor, and 
is the distance between the two plates
Since the metal plates are cut in half, the area is halved. We can substitute 
in for 
The result is that the capacitance is half the original quantity.
Capacitance of a circuit is defined by the equation:
Where
Since the metal plates are cut in half, the area is halved. We can substitute
The result is that the capacitance is half the original quantity.
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