Back to 8.4 Capacitor with a Dielectric

8.4 Exercise 9

Avg difficulty 2.5

A parallel-plate capacitor with only air between its plates is charged by connecting the capacitor to a battery. The capacitor is then disconnected from the battery, without any of the charge leaving the plates. (a) A voltmeter reads 45.0 V when placed across the capacitor. When a dielectric is inserted between the plates, completely filling the space, the voltmeter reads 11.5 V. What is the dielectric constant of the material? (b) What will the voltmeter read if the dielectric is now pulled away out so it fills only one-third of the space between the plates?

OpenStax University Physics Volume 2, 8.4 Capacitor with a Dielectric, exercise 9

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Adapted from University Physics Volume 2 © 2016 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: University Physics Volume 2. Imported at revision db44eb9.