MCAT Physical : MCAT Physical Sciences

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for MCAT Physical

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Example Questions

Example Question #32 : Circuits

A \displaystyle 12V battery is connected in series with a \displaystyle 4000\Omega resistor and a \displaystyle 6mH inductor. What is the current in this circuit after a long period of connection?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 288A

\displaystyle 2kA

\displaystyle 72mA

\displaystyle 3mA

\displaystyle 48kA

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 3mA

Explanation:

Relevant equations: 

\displaystyle V = IR + L\frac{dI}{dt}

When the circuit is first connected, the current increases from zero to its final value. During this time as the current changes, the inductor has a voltage across it. After a long period, the current has built up to its maximum value.

After a long period, \displaystyle \frac{dI}{dt}=0.

\displaystyle V = IR + L\frac{dI}{dt}\rightarrow V=IR

Plugging in our values for voltage and resistance, we can solve for the final current.

\displaystyle I=\frac{V}{R}=\frac{12V}{4000\Omega}=0.003A=3mA

Example Question #33 : Circuits

An circuit contains a \displaystyle 100\Omega resistor, \displaystyle 250nF capacitor, and \displaystyle 40mH inductor in series. If this circuit is connected to an AC generator, what angular frequency would maximize the current flow?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 200\frac{rad}{s}

\displaystyle 10000\frac{rad}{s}

\displaystyle 25\frac{rad}{s}

\displaystyle 1000\frac{rad}{s}

\displaystyle 5\frac{rad}{s}

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 10000\frac{rad}{s}

Explanation:

Relevant equations:

\displaystyle \omega _o = \frac{1}{\sqrt{LC}}

The current is maximized when the power supply frequency, \displaystyle \omega, equals the resonance frequency, \displaystyle \omega _o. Plugging in the given inductance and capacitance yields:

\displaystyle \omega _o = \frac{1}{\sqrt{(40*10^{-3}H)(250*10^{-9}C)}}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{1*10^{-8}}}=\frac{1}{1*10^{-4}}= 10,000 \frac{rad}{s}

Example Question #71 : Electricity And Magnetism

An circuit consists of a \displaystyle 75\mu H inductor, \displaystyle 25nFcapacitor, \displaystyle 400\Omega resistor, and a voltage source with maximum voltage of \displaystyle 200V in series. Approximately what is the rms current in this circuit at resonance?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 7A

\displaystyle 0.5A

\displaystyle 20A

\displaystyle 0.4A

\displaystyle 0.125A

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 7A

Explanation:

Relevant equations:

\displaystyle I_{max}=\frac{V_{max}}{Z}

\displaystyle Z = \sqrt{R^2+(X_L-X_C)}

\displaystyle X_L = X_C at resonance

\displaystyle I_{rms}=\frac{I_{max}}{\sqrt2}

Step 1: Find impedance, \displaystyle Z, at resonance:

\displaystyle Z = \sqrt{R^2+0}=\sqrt{400}=20\Omega

Step 2: Calculate \displaystyle I_{max}, using \displaystyle V_{max}=200V and \displaystyle Z = 20\Omega:

\displaystyle I_{max}=\frac{200V}{20\Omega}=10A

Step 3: Use \displaystyle I_{max}=10A to calculate \displaystyle I_{rms}:

\displaystyle I_{rms}=\frac{10A}{\sqrt2}\approx7A

Example Question #1 : Capacitors And Dielectrics

Capacitors with capacitances of 3 μF, 7 μF and 10 μF are wired in parallel. What is the capacitance of the circuit?

  1. it cannot be determined without knowing the resistance of the circuit
  2. it cannot be determined without knowing the time constant in the circuit
  3. 20 μF
  4. approximately 1.75 μF
  5. none of these is correct
Possible Answers:

4

3

1

5

2

Correct answer:

3

Explanation:

Response 3 is the correct choice.  Electrons will space themselves as far apart as possible, because of charge repulsion; therefore, in a parallel arrangement, they will jump onto each capacitor and “load it up.” The parallel capacitance is calculated by simply adding the individual values. The value would be about 1.75 μF if the three were connected in series, where the formula is \dpi{100} \small \frac{1}{C_{total}}=\frac{1}{C_{1}}+\frac{1}{C_{2}}+\frac{1}{C_{3}}\displaystyle \dpi{100} \small \frac{1}{C_{total}}=\frac{1}{C_{1}}+\frac{1}{C_{2}}+\frac{1}{C_{3}} (reciprocal of total equals sum of reciprocal of each). The time constant of a circuit is given by the formula τ = RC, and it relates to how fast a capacitor can charge to full capacitance.

Example Question #2 : Capacitors And Dielectrics

A \displaystyle 2\mu F and \displaystyle 6\mu F capacitor are connected in series with a 12V battery. What is the maximum charge stored on the \displaystyle 2\mu F capacitor?

Possible Answers:

\displaystyle 13.5 \mu C

\displaystyle 18\mu C

\displaystyle 96 \mu C

\displaystyle 24 \mu C

\displaystyle 4.5 \mu C

Correct answer:

\displaystyle 18\mu C

Explanation:

First find the equivalent capacitance of the two capacitors by adding their inverses.

\displaystyle \frac{1}{C_{eq}}=\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{6} \displaystyle \rightarrow C_{eq} = \frac{6}{4} = 1.5\mu F

Then, we can find the charge stored on this equivalent capacitor.

\displaystyle Q_{eq}=C_{eq}V = 1.5 * 12 = 18\mu C

For capacitors in series the charges on each must be equal, and also equal to the charge on the equivalent capacitor. The answer is \displaystyle 18\mu C.

Example Question #3 : Capacitors And Dielectrics

Batteries and AC current are often used to charge a capacitor. A common example of capacitor use is in computer hard drives, where capacitors are charged in a specific pattern to code information. A simplified circuit with capacitors can be seen below. The capacitance of C1 is 0.5 μF and the capacitances of C2 and C3 are 1 μF each. A 10 V battery with an internal resistance of 1 Ω supplies the circuit.

PretextQuestion_2

How is the charge stored on the capacitor?

Possible Answers:

Unevenly distributed inside the capacitor 

Evenly distributed inside the capacitor 

Unevenly distributed on the capacitor surface

Evenly distributed on the capacitor surface

Correct answer:

Evenly distributed on the capacitor surface

Explanation:

Charge is evenly distributed on the surface of the capacitor. If we think back to electric force, we know that positive charges repel other positive charges and negative charges repel other negative charges; thus, the charges are evenly distributed to minimize the force between them. We can see how this looks in diagrammatic form below.

Charge_dist

Example Question #1 : Capacitors And Dielectrics

Batteries and AC current are often used to charge a capacitor. A common example of capacitor use is in computer hard drives, where capacitors are charged in a specific pattern to code information. A simplified circuit with capacitors can be seen below. The capacitance of C1 is 0.5 μF and the capacitances of C2 and C3 are 1 μF each. A 10 V battery with an internal resistance of 1 Ω supplies the circuit.

PretextQuestion_2

What is the equivalent capacitance of C2 and C3?

Possible Answers:

2μF

0.33μF

3μF

0.5μF

Correct answer:

0.5μF

Explanation:

First, we need to determine how these capacitors are being added. We can see that they are being added in in series. Remember that capacitors in series are added as reciprocals:

 \displaystyle \frac{1}{C_{eq}}=\frac{1}{C_2}+\frac{1}{C_3}=\frac{1}{1\mu F}+\frac{1}{1\mu F}=2\mu F

Ceq = 0.5μF

Example Question #71 : Electricity And Magnetism

Batteries and AC current are often used to charge a capacitor. A common example of capacitor use is in computer hard drives, where capacitors are charged in a specific pattern to code information. A simplified circuit with capacitors can be seen below. The capacitance of C1 is 0.5 μF and the capacitances of C2 and C3 are 1 μF each. A 10 V battery with an internal resistance of 1 Ω supplies the circuit.

PretextQuestion_2

What is the equivalent capacitance of the circuit?

Possible Answers:

2μF

1μF

3μF

4μF

Correct answer:

1μF

Explanation:

First, we need to determine how capacitors C2 and C3 are being added. We can see that they are being added in in series. Remember that capacitors in series are added as reciprocals.

\displaystyle \frac{1}{C_{23}}=\frac{1}{C_2}+\frac{1}{C_3}=\frac{1}{1\mu F}+\frac{1}{1\mu F}=2\mu F

C23 = 0.5μF

Next, we need to determine how we can find the Ceq by simplifying C23 and C1. We can see that Ceq and C1 are in parallel, thus we can directly add the individual capacitances.

Ceq = C23 + C1 = 0.5μF + 0.5μF = 1μF

Example Question #72 : Electricity And Magnetism

Batteries and AC current are often used to charge a capacitor. A common example of capacitor use is in computer hard drives, where capacitors are charged in a specific pattern to code information. A simplified circuit with capacitors can be seen below. The capacitance of C1 is 0.5 μF and the capacitances of C2 and C3 are 1 μF each. A 10 V battery with an internal resistance of 1 Ω supplies the circuit.

PretextQuestion_2

How long does it take to fully charge the capacitors of the circuit?

Possible Answers:

1 * 106

1 * 105s

1 * 103s

1 * 104s

Correct answer:

1 * 106

Explanation:

In order to determine the time, we need to know the total charge stored on the capacitors. Remember that Q = CV, where Q is the total charge, C is the equivalent capacitance, and V is the voltage. We must first find the equivalent capacitance.

C2 and C3 are capacitors in series, while C1 is in parallel.

\displaystyle \frac{1}{C_{23}}=\frac{1}{C_2}+\frac{1}{C_3}=\frac{1}{1\mu F}+\frac{1}{1\mu F}=2\mu F

C23 = 0.5μF

Ceq = C23 + C1 = 0.5μF + 0.5μF = 1μF

Now we can plug in the Ceq and battery voltage to find the charge.

Q = (1μF)(10V) = 10μC

Additionally, we need to know the current the battery can provide (the charge per unit time). Knowing both the total charge and current will allow us to calculate the time. We can use V = IR to determine the current.

I = V/R = 10V/1Ω = 10A = 10C/sec

We can equate charge and current to determine time.

10μC = 10 C/t

t = 10 C/10 μC = 1 * 106s or 11.6days

Example Question #81 : Electricity And Magnetism

Batteries and AC current are often used to charge a capacitor. A common example of capacitor use is in computer hard drives, where capacitors are charged in a specific pattern to code information. A simplified circuit with capacitors can be seen below. The capacitance of C1 is 0.5 μF and the capacitances of C2 and C3 are 1 μF each. A 10 V battery with an internal resistance of 1 Ω supplies the circuit.

PretextQuestion_2

Instead of air, assume that we insert a dielectric material with a dielectric constant k between the capacitor plates. How would the total capacitance of the circuit change?

Possible Answers:

Remain the same

Increase

Decrease

Correct answer:

Increase

Explanation:

In this question, we are asked how the total charge stored on the surface of the capacitors would change if we inserted a dielectric between the parallel plates. As we can see in the equation for capacitance based on physical properties, \displaystyle C=\frac{k\epsilon_0A}{d}, where k is the dielectric constant (k = 1 for air; k > 1 for all dielectric materials), ε0 is the constant of the permeability of free space, A is the area of the plates, and d is the distance between the plates.

If we insert a dielectric material, k > 1, the value of C increases, thus the overall capacitance of the circuit increases.

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