Question

If the area of the plates of a parallel plate capacitor is halved and the separation between the plates tripled, while the charge on the capacitor remains constant, then by what factor does the energy stored in the capacitor change? decreases by a factor of 2/3 increases by a factor of 6 decreases by a factor of 1/6 increases by a factor of 3/2 increases by a factor of 2

Answer 1

Answer 2

ANSWER :

Energy stored in the capacitor space is directly proportional to area of plates (A)  and distance between plates (d) .

Hence,

 New energy / Old energy 

= New A / Old A * New d / Old d

= 1/2 * 3

= 3/2

=> New energy = 3/2 * Old energy.

So, energy increases by a factor of 3/2 (ANSWER).

Answer 3

ANSWER :

Energy stored in the capacitor space is directly proportional to area of plates (A)  and inversely to distance between plates (d) .

Hence,

 New energy / Old energy 

= New A / Old A * New d / Old d

= (1/2) / 3

= 1/6 

So, energy decreases by a factor of 1/6 (ANSWER).