plumiCapacitance: AQA A‑Level Physics questions
Every AQA A-Level Physics exam question on 3.7.4 Capacitance, 2016–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
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Calculations
Q05.1
The whole paper ↗![June 2025 Paper 2, question 05.1: A material used between the plates of a capacitor has a dielectric constant of 7.0 State what is meant by a dielectric constant of 7.0 [1 mark] Figure 3 shows a](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun25-05-1-qp.webp)
Q05.2
The whole paper ↗![June 2025 Paper 2, question 05.2: Determine T using Figure 4. [2 marks] T = s](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun25-05-2-qp.webp)
Q05.3
The whole paper ↗![June 2025 Paper 2, question 05.3: Electronic engineers consider a capacitor to be fully discharged when t = 5T. Calculate = 5 = 0 t T t current when current hen w as a percentage. [2 marks] = 5](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun25-05-3-qp.webp)
Q05.4
The whole paper ↗
Q02.4
The whole paper ↗![June 2025 Paper 3A, question 02.4: It can be shown that T = (R1 + 2R2)C ln2 Determine C and R1. [5 marks] C = F R1 = Ω](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74083a-jun25-02-4-qp.webp)
Q02.5
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Q02.1
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Q02.2
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Q02.3
The whole paper ↗![June 2024 Paper 2, question 02.3: The current I0 at time t = 0 is 3.6 × 10−5 A. Determine the time at which VC is 6.0 V. [3 marks] time = s](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun24-02-3-qp.webp)
Q02.4
The whole paper ↗
![June 2024 Paper 2, question 24: Which is equal to ε0? [1 mark] A the relative permittivity of a vacuum B the charge stored on a capacitor consisting of two parallel plates of area 1 m2 separat](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun24-24-qp.webp)
Q05.1
The whole paper ↗![June 2023 Paper 2, question 05.1: Show that the time taken for the capacitor to charge from 2.0 V to 4.0 V is approximately 0.7R1C. [3 marks]](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun23-05-1-qp.webp)
Q05.2
The whole paper ↗![June 2023 Paper 2, question 05.2: Show that the capacitance of the capacitor is about 1 × 10−4 F. [4 marks]](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun23-05-2-qp.webp)
Q05.3
The whole paper ↗
![June 2023 Paper 2, question 18: A polar molecule is in an external electric field. Which diagram shows the orientation of the polar molecule? [1 mark] A B C D](https://pub-e8a9dbab8e2a4d089f52b2a45e0d0b50.r2.dev/bank/74082-jun23-18-qp.webp)
Q03.3
The whole paper ↗
Q03.4
The whole paper ↗
All 77 questions on Capacitance, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q05.1 (1 mark): A material used between the plates of a capacitor has a dielectric constant of 7.0 State what is meant by a dielectric constant of 7.0 [1 mark] Figure 3 shows a
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q05.2 (2 marks): Determine T using Figure 4. [2 marks] T = s
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q05.3 (2 marks): Electronic engineers consider a capacitor to be fully discharged when t = 5T. Calculate = 5 = 0 t T t current when current hen w as a percentage. [2 marks] = 5
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q05.4 (3 marks): The capacitor is fully discharged and then the switch is moved from position B to position A as shown in Figure 3. Draw, on Figure 5, the variation of the micro
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q17 (1 mark): A parallel-plate capacitor X with the plates separated by air has a capacitance of 100 μF. Another parallel-plate capacitor Y has plates that are double the hei
- June 2025, Paper 2, Q18 (1 mark): A capacitor is initially uncharged and is then charged using a constant current. This is achieved by reducing the resistance of a variable resistor R as the cha
- June 2025, Paper 3A, Q02.4 (5 marks): It can be shown that T = (R1 + 2R2)C ln2 Determine C and R1. [5 marks] C = F R1 = Ω
- June 2025, Paper 3A, Q02.5 (3 marks): The student has access to a range of fixed and variable resistors. The student wants to modify the circuit in Figure 3 so that T can be varied continuously from
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q02.1 (2 marks): The switch is closed at time t = 0 and the potential difference VC across C is recorded at different times t. Figure 2 shows the variation of VC with t. Figure
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q02.2 (2 marks): The potential difference VR across R is also recorded. Figure 3 shows the variation of VR with t between t = 20 s and t = 45 s. Figure 3 The capacitance of C is
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q02.3 (3 marks): The current I0 at time t = 0 is 3.6 × 10−5 A. Determine the time at which VC is 6.0 V. [3 marks] time = s
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q02.4 (2 marks): Figure 4 shows two fully charged parallel-plate capacitors C1 and C2 in a circuit. A dielectric fills the space between the plates of C1 and air fills the space
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q11 (1 mark): An air-filled parallel-plate capacitor and a resistor are connected in series across the terminals of a battery. The plates of the capacitor are then moved furt
- June 2024, Paper 2, Q24 (1 mark): Which is equal to ε0? [1 mark] A the relative permittivity of a vacuum B the charge stored on a capacitor consisting of two parallel plates of area 1 m2 separat
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q05.1 (3 marks): Show that the time taken for the capacitor to charge from 2.0 V to 4.0 V is approximately 0.7R1C. [3 marks]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q05.2 (4 marks): Show that the capacitance of the capacitor is about 1 × 10−4 F. [4 marks]
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q05.3 (3 marks): When the pd reaches 4.0 V the switch is immediately set to discharge the capacitor. When the pd reaches 2.0 V the switch is immediately set to charge the capaci
- June 2023, Paper 2, Q18 (1 mark): A polar molecule is in an external electric field. Which diagram shows the orientation of the polar molecule? [1 mark] A B C D
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q03.3 (3 marks): The sphere acts as a capacitor because it stores charge at an electric potential. Show that the capacitance of the sphere is approximately 1 × 10−11 F. [3 marks
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q03.4 (3 marks): Electrons leak away from the sphere with time and the amount of energy stored by the sphere decreases. At one instant, the magnitude of the electric potential o
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q17 (1 mark): A switch S allows capacitor C to be completely charged by a cell and then completely discharged through an ammeter. The emf of the cell is 4.0 V and it has negl
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q18 (1 mark): A 30 μF capacitor is charged by connecting it to a battery of emf 4.0 V. The initial charge on the capacitor is Q0. The capacitor is then discharged through a 5
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q19 (1 mark): Capacitor X of capacitance C has square plates of side length l and separation d and is made with a dielectric of relative permittivity . Capacitor Y has square
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q20 (1 mark): A parallel plate capacitor is connected across a battery and the energy stored in the capacitor is E. Without disconnecting the battery, the separation of the p
- June 2022, Paper 2, Q21 (1 mark): A fully charged capacitor of capacitance 2.0 mF discharges through a 15 kΩ resistor. What fraction of the stored energy remains after 1.0 minute? [1 mark] A 1 4
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q01.1 (1 mark): Explain what is meant by a dielectric constant of 6.0 [1 mark]
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q01.2 (3 marks): Mica is made up of polar molecules. As the mica is inserted, the capacitance of the capacitor changes. Explain how the polar molecules cause this change in capa
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q01.3 (3 marks): Calculate the difference between the initial energy stored by the capacitor and the energy stored when the mica has been fully inserted. [3 marks] energy differ
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q01.4 (2 marks): Sketch a graph on Figure 2 to show how the capacitance C varies with θ as the spindle is turned through 360°. When θ is 0°, the plates completely overlap. [2 ma
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q01.5 (3 marks): In one situation, the variable capacitor is too large for the available space. The same maximum capacitance is required using plates that have half the diameter
- November 2021, Paper 2, Q20 (1 mark): The capacitor in the circuit is initially uncharged. The switch is closed at time t = 0 Which pair of graphs shows how the potential difference V across the cap
- November 2021, Paper 3A, Q03.4 (1 mark): Show that the time constant for the discharge circuit is about 17 s. [1 mark]
- November 2021, Paper 3A, Q03.5 (4 marks): The student thinks that the time constant of the circuit in Figure 7 is directly proportional to the range of the meter. To test her theory, she repeats the exp
- November 2021, Paper 3A, Q03.6 (4 marks): Suggest two reasons why the student selected the values of V shown in Table 2. Explain each of your answers. [4 marks] 1 2
- November 2021, Paper 3A, Q03.7 (3 marks): Show, using Figure 8, that the resistance of the voltmeter is about 16 kΩ. [3 marks]
- November 2021, Paper 3A, Q03.8 (2 marks): Determine the current in the voltmeter at t = 10 s. [2 marks] current = A
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q04.5 (3 marks): Figure 9 shows the arrangement with the square-wave generator connected to an RC circuit. A capacitor C is placed in series with the resistor R. The oscilloscop
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q04.6 (2 marks): State and explain a change to one control setting on the oscilloscope that would reduce the uncertainty in the value of the time constant. [2 marks]
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q19 (1 mark): An uncharged capacitor is connected to a power supply which supplies a constant current of 10 μA. After 100 ms, the potential difference across the capacitor is
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q20 (1 mark): When a parallel-plate capacitor is connected across a battery, the energy stored in the capacitor is W. The battery remains connected as the distance between th
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q21 (1 mark): A parallel-plate capacitor is made using a sheet of dielectric material between, and in contact with, two plates. The properties of four sheets of dielectric ma
- November 2020, Paper 2, Q22 (1 mark): A 10 μF capacitor stores 4.5 mJ of energy. It then discharges through a 25 Ω resistor. What is the maximum current during the discharge of the capacitor? [1 mar
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q19 (1 mark): A parallel-plate capacitor is made by inserting a sheet of dielectric material between two plates. Both plates are in contact with the sheet. Which relative per
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q20 (1 mark): A 1.0 µF capacitor is charged for 20 s using a constant current of 10 µA. What is the energy transferred to the capacitor? [1 mark] A 5.0 × 10–3 J B 1.0 × 10–2
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q21 (1 mark): A 1.0 µF capacitor initially stores 15 µC of charge. It then discharges through a 25 Ω resistor. What is the maximum current during the discharge of the capacit
- June 2019, Paper 2, Q22 (1 mark): The initial potential difference across a capacitor is V0. The capacitor discharges through a circuit of time constant T. The base of natural logarithms is e. W
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q03.1 (2 marks): State what is meant by a capacitance of 370 µF [2 marks]
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q03.2 (1 mark): The charging of a 370 µF capacitor is investigated using the circuit shown in Figure 4. Both meters in the circuit are ideal. Figure 4 The power supply of emf 9
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q03.3 (2 marks): Identify, with the symbol X on Figure 5, the potential difference (pd) across the capacitor when the switch has been closed for 2.0 s Sketch the graph that show
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q03.4 (1 mark): Calculate the time taken for the charging current to fall to half its initial value. [1 mark] time = s
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q03.5 (3 marks): Calculate the time taken for the charge on the capacitor to reach 3.0 mC [3 marks] time = s
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q23 (1 mark): An air-filled parallel-plate capacitor is charged from a source of emf. The electric field has a strength E between the plates. The capacitor is disconnected fr
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q24 (1 mark): A parallel-plate capacitor has square plates of length l separated by distance d and is filled with a dielectric. A second capacitor has square plates of length
- June 2018, Paper 2, Q25 (1 mark): The graph shows the variation of potential difference (pd) with charge for a capacitor while it is charging. Which statement can be deduced from the graph? [1 m
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q18 (1 mark): A parallel-plate capacitor is fully charged and then disconnected from the power supply. A dielectric is then inserted between the plates. Which row correctly i
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q19 (1 mark): A capacitor of capacitance C has a charge of Q stored on the plates. The potential difference between the plates is doubled. What is the change in the energy st
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q20 (1 mark): A capacitor consists of two parallel square plates of side l separated by distance d. The capacitance of the arrangement is C. What is the capacitance of a capa
- June 2017, Paper 2, Q21 (1 mark): A capacitor of capacitance 120 µF is charged and then discharged through a 20 kΩ resistor. What fraction of the original charge remains on the capacitor 4.8 s a
- June 2017, Paper 3A, Q02.3 (2 marks): Figure 9 shows the signal generator connected in series with a resistor R and a capacitor C. Figure 9 The oscilloscope is connected across the capacitor. The Y-
- June 2017, Paper 3A, Q02.4 (3 marks): A student suggests that setting the time-base to 0.2 ms division–1 might reduce uncertainty in the determination of the time constant. State and explain any pos
- June 2017, Paper 3A, Q02.5 (2 marks): The student connects an identical resistor in parallel with R and uses the oscilloscope to display the waveform across C. Draw on Figure 11 the waveform you exp
- June 2017, Paper 3A, Q02.6 (2 marks): Figure 12a is a graph of voltage against time showing the output of the signal generator. Figure 12b shows the voltage across C during the same time interval. T
- June 2017, Paper 3A, Q02.7 (2 marks): State and explain what changes, if any, the student needs to make to the settings of the oscilloscope so the waveform across R is fully displayed. [2 marks]
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q02.1 (2 marks): Figure 2 shows a capacitor of capacitance 370 pF. It consists of two parallel metal plates of area 250 cm2. A sheet of polythene that has a relative permittivit
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q02.2 (2 marks): Figure 2 shows a capacitor of capacitance 370 pF. It consists of two parallel metal plates of area 250 cm2. A sheet of polythene that has a relative permittivit
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q02.3 (2 marks): Figure 2 shows a capacitor of capacitance 370 pF. It consists of two parallel metal plates of area 250 cm2. A sheet of polythene that has a relative permittivit
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q02.4 (2 marks): Figure 2 shows a capacitor of capacitance 370 pF. It consists of two parallel metal plates of area 250 cm2. A sheet of polythene that has a relative permittivit
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q16 (1 mark): Which of the following statements about a parallel plate capacitor is incorrect? [1 mark] A The capacitance of the capacitor is the amount of charge stored by t
- Specimen, Paper 2, Q17 (1 mark): A voltage sensor and a datalogger are used to record the discharge of a 10 mF capacitor in series with a 500 Ω resistor from an initial pd of 6.0 V. The datalog
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.1 (1 mark): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.2 (1 mark): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.3 (2 marks): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.4 (1 mark): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.5 (3 marks): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.6 (2 marks): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.7: This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
- Specimen, Paper 3A, Q02.8 (4 marks): This question is about capacitor charging and discharging. A student designs an experiment to charge a capacitor using a constant current. Figure 3 shows the ci
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