📘 Class 12 Physics Worksheet – Electrostatic Capacitance
Chapter: Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance
Total Marks: 50
Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
General Instructions:
All questions are compulsory.
Internal choice is provided wherever applicable.
Use appropriate SI units and show working for numericals.
🧠 Section A: One-mark Questions (5 × 1 = 5 marks)
(Very Short Answer / Conceptual Questions)
1. Define capacitance of a capacitor.
2. What happens to the capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor if the distance between the
plates is doubled?
3. What is the effect on the potential energy of a capacitor if the dielectric constant is
increased?
4. What is the SI unit of permittivity of free space (ε₀)?
5. Can a system of capacitors have a net capacitance less than the smallest individual
capacitor? Justify.
🔍 Section B: Two-mark Questions (4 × 2 = 8 marks)
(Application / Reasoning)
6. A capacitor of 10 μF is connected to a 12 V battery. Calculate the energy stored.
7. Define dielectric constant. How does it affect the capacitance of a capacitor?
8. Draw the equipotential surfaces for a system of two like charges.
9. A capacitor is charged and then disconnected from the battery. A dielectric is now
inserted between its plates. What happens to:
(a) Capacitance,
(b) Charge,
(c) Potential,
(d) Energy?
🧠 Section C: Three-mark Questions (5 × 3 = 15 marks)
(Numerical / Conceptual Reasoning)
10. Derive an expression for the energy stored in a capacitor.
11. Calculate the equivalent capacitance between A and B for the given combination:
Capacitors of 4 µF, 6 µF and 12 µF connected in series.
12. A parallel plate capacitor has plate area 0.2 m² and separation 1 mm. It is charged to a
potential of 1000 V. Find the charge stored and the electric field. (ε₀ = 8.85 × 10⁻¹²
C²/N·m²)
13. A dielectric slab of dielectric constant 5 is introduced between the plates of a parallel
plate capacitor, completely filling the space. Calculate the new capacitance if original
was 4 μF.
14. Explain the principle of a capacitor. Draw a labeled diagram of a parallel plate capacitor
and show how the field is confined between the plates.
🧠 Section D: Five-mark Questions (2 × 5 = 10 marks)
(Case-based / Long Answer)
15. Case Study (Competency Based) (5 marks)
An air capacitor is used in a circuit and then replaced with a dielectric of constant K = 3. The
battery remains connected during the process.
Answer the following:
(a) What happens to the capacitance and why?
(b) What happens to the charge and voltage across the capacitor?
(c) How does the energy stored in the capacitor change?
(d) Draw a labeled diagram showing the capacitor before and after dielectric insertion.
(e) Explain any one real-life application of dielectrics in capacitors.
📚 Section E: Assertion-Reason Questions (3 × 2 = 6 marks)
Choose the correct option:
(A) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true but R is false.
(D) A is false but R is true.
16.
Assertion (A): Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor increases when a dielectric is inserted.
Reason (R): Dielectric reduces the effective electric field between the plates.
17.
Assertion (A): Energy stored in a capacitor increases when the battery is removed and a
dielectric is inserted.
Reason (R): In absence of battery, charge remains constant and potential decreases.
18.
Assertion (A): Capacitance depends on the shape and size of plates and nature of dielectric.
Reason (R): Capacitance is inversely proportional to the separation between the plates.
