Find Excess Charge on Capacitor 2 Given 10V Battery & 5x20µF Capacitors

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a circuit problem involving a 10 V battery and five capacitors, each with a capacitance of 20 µF. The original poster seeks to determine the excess charge on capacitor 2, while exploring the relationships between the capacitors in series and parallel configurations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate the equivalent capacitances and charge using series and parallel combinations. Some participants question the voltage across specific capacitors and suggest verifying the calculations for voltage distribution. Others explore relationships between charge and capacitance to derive potential values.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, with some providing guidance on checking voltage values and relationships between charges. There is a mix of interpretations regarding the calculations, and while one participant claims to have found a correct result, there is no explicit consensus on the accuracy of the methods used.

Contextual Notes

There is a mention of potential confusion regarding the voltage distribution across the capacitors, particularly concerning capacitor 5. The original poster's calculations are noted to potentially contain errors, and participants are encouraged to clarify their reasoning without providing direct solutions.

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In the figure attached, the battery has a potential difference of 10 V and the five capacitors each have a capacitance of 20 µF. What is the excess charge on capacitor 2?

I go inside out from the capacitors in series [tex]C_2[/tex] and [tex]C_3[/tex]. My notation simply denotes the equivalent resistance depending on the type of connection (series/parallel).

[tex]C_{S1}= \left( \frac{1}{C_2} + \frac{1}{C_3} \right) ^{-1}[/tex]

[tex]C_{P1}= C_{S1} + C_4[/tex]

[tex]C_{S2}= \left( \frac{1}{C_{P1}} + \frac{1}{C_5} \right) ^{-1}[/tex]

[tex]C_{P2}= C_{S2} + C_1[/tex]

It also follows that

[tex]Q_2 = Q_3 = Q_{S1}[/tex]

[tex]V_4 = V_{S1}[/tex]

[tex]Q_5 = Q_{P1} = Q_{S2}[/tex]

[tex]V_1 = V_{S2}[/tex]

So, I get

[tex]Q_2 = Q_{S1} = V_{S1} C_{S1} = 1.0\bar{6} \times 10^{-4} \mbox{ C}[/tex]

which is wrong! Could anybody please help me find the mistake?

Any help is highly appreciated.
 

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How did you get Vs1? It isn't 10V, because some of the voltage goes to C5,
if you correctly found the Vs1 and just didn't show the work then it looks right to me.
I would find the Qs2 = Qp1 and then find how much Q goes to the different parts of p1 - how much of Qp1 goes to C4 and how much goes to s1.
 
I think I finally have it! I worked backwards from the desired result and used some relationships to guide me through.
[tex]Q_2 = V_2 C_2 = Q_{S1} = V_{P1} C_{S1} = \frac{Q_{S2}}{C_{P1}} C_{S1} = \frac{VC_{S2}}{C_{P1}} C_{S1} = 4 \times 10^{-5} \mathrm{ C}[/tex]
Is this correct?
Thank you
 
I've just tried that result in my online homework page, and it works!
 

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