Exam-style question
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How does the separation between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor affect its capacitance?.
- A.Capacitance increases with separation
- B.Capacitance decreases with separation
- C.Capacitance remains unchanged
- D.Capacitance becomes negative
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- Capacitance decreases with separation
Explanation
Why this works
As the separation between the plates of a parallel plate capacitor increases, the capacitance decreases. This is because capacitance is inversely proportional to the distance between the plates.
A greater separation means that a higher potential difference is required to store the same amount of charge, leading to a decrease in capacitance. Therefore, the correct answer is that capacitance decreases with separation.
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