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New capacitor problem




I'm trying an experiment of mailing to two groups of which I am a member.
Some of you who are members of both may get two copies. If you are not
members of both and reply without deleting the other one in the "To:"
field, it should bounce. Am I volating any rule of netiquette here? I'd
hate to bring both groups crashing down. :-)

This is not a problem for you folk, but one to try on your *students* to
see whether they grasp the capacitor concept.

1. A capacitor is charged with 6 microcoulomb, and the potental of the
capacitor is measured and found to be 3 volt. What is its capacitance?

2. This same capacitor is now carefully discharged completely. What is its
capacitance now?

You'd be surprised how many students will answer "zero" to part 2. What is
the flaw in their thinking? What is incomplete or incorrect about their
conceptual understanding of capacitance.

-- Donald

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Dr. Donald E. Simanek Office: 717-893-2079
Prof. of Physics Internet: dsimanek@eagle.lhup.edu
Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA. 17745 CIS: 73147,2166
Home page: http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek FAX: 717-893-2047
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