Capacitor Lab: Basics
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Topics
- Parallel Plate Capacitor
- Capacitance
- RC Circuit
- Circuits
Description
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.
Sample Learning Goals
- Explain the relationships between voltage, charge, stored energy, and capacitance
- Predict how capacitance changes when the plate area or plate separation changes
- Describe how charge drains away from a capacitor into a light bulb
Teacher Tips
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Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ). |
Teacher-Submitted Activities
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Authors | Level | Type | Subject |
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| Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics | Jaya Ramchandani | HS | Other | Physics | ||
| Capacitor Basics | Blessy Mathew | HS MS |
Lab | Physics | ||
| Capacitor Lab | SK Gupta, Chaithra Navada | HS | Lab | Physics | ||
| Capacitors Lab | Arooj Mukarram | HS UG-Intro |
Guided HW Lab |
Physics | ||
| Capacitor Lab | SK Gupta, Chaithra Navada, Vaibhav Gupta | HS | Lab | Physics | ||
| Eletrodinâmica (Atividades) nos OA's do PhET | Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales | Other MS HS |
Guided Other HW Discuss |
Other Mathematics Physics |
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| Atividades sobre Eletricidade nos OA's do PhET | Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales | HS Other MS UG-Intro |
HW Guided Demo Discuss Lab |
Other Earth Science Physics |
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| Capacitores no OA "Capacitores Lab: Basics (HTML5)" | Artur Araújo Cavalcante e Gilvandenys Leite Sales | MS HS Other |
HW Guided Other |
Physics Mathematics Other |
The new HTML5 sims can run on iPads and Chromebooks, as well as PC, Mac, and Linux systems.
iPad:
iOS 11+ Safari
iPad compatible sims
Android:
Not officially supported. If you are using the HTML5 sims on Android, we recommend using the latest version of Google Chrome.
Chromebook:
Latest version of Google Chrome
The HTML5 and Flash PhET sims are supported on all Chromebooks.
Chromebook compatible sims
Windows Systems:
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Google Chrome.
Macintosh Systems:
macOS 10.9.5+, Safari 9+, latest version of Chrome.
Linux Systems:
Not officially supported. Please contact phethelp@colorado.edu with troubleshooting issues.
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
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