Lesson: Capacitors Physics

Students will be able to

• recall that a capacitor is a circuit component that can store charge,
• understand that a capacitor consists of two plates or sides and, when charged, one side is positively charged and the other side is negatively charged,
• understand that when a capacitor has charge stored in it, there is a potential difference across the capacitor,
• identify and draw the circuit symbol for a capacitor,
• recall that capacitance is measured in farads (F),
• understand how a capacitor can be charged using a simple circuit,
• understand that if the two sides of the capacitor are connected by a circuit with no other sources of potential difference, the capacitor will discharge,
• understand that a capacitor will discharge almost instantaneously if it is connected to a circuit with no resistance,
• use Ohm’s law to work out the potential difference across, the current through, and the resistance of different components in a circuit containing a discharging capacitor the instant the capacitor begins to discharge,
• recognize the shape of the graph of charge over time for a capacitor being charged using a circuit that has resistance.