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JEE Advanced 2023 Paper 1 · Physics · Capacitors · medium

A capacitor C1=2 muF is charged to 100 V and a capacitor C2=4 muF is charged to 60 V. They are then joined with the positive plate of one connected…

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A capacitor C1=2 μFC_1=2\ \mu\mathrm{F} is charged to 100 V100\ \mathrm{V} and a capacitor C2=4 μFC_2=4\ \mu\mathrm{F} is charged to 60 V60\ \mathrm{V}. They are then joined with the positive plate of one connected to the negative plate of the other. After charge flow stops, the pair is isolated and a dielectric of constant 33 completely fills the space between the plates of C1C_1 (with the two capacitors still connected as before). The energy stored in the combination is then
  1. A. 80 μJ80\ \mu\mathrm{J}
  2. B. 133 μJ133\ \mu\mathrm{J}
  3. C. 222 μJ222\ \mu\mathrm{J}
  4. D. 9680 μJ9680\ \mu\mathrm{J}
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Answer: (A) 80 μJ80\ \mu\mathrm{J}

Before joining, q1=2×100=200 μCq_1=2\times100=200\ \mu\mathrm{C} and q2=4×60=240 μCq_2=4\times60=240\ \mu\mathrm{C}. Joining unlike plates makes the charges partly cancel, so the net charge on the connected pair of plates is q=240−200=40 μCq=240-200=40\ \mu\mathrm{C}. After charge flow stops the capacitors are in parallel with total capacitance 6 μF6\ \mu\mathrm{F} and potential difference 40/6=6.67 V40/6=6.67\ \mathrm{V}. With the pair isolated the net charge stays 40 μC40\ \mu\mathrm{C}. Filling C1C_1 with the dielectric makes C1′=6 μFC_1'=6\ \mu\mathrm{F}, so the parallel capacitance becomes 10 μF10\ \mu\mathrm{F} and V=4 VV=4\ \mathrm{V}. The energy is U=q22C=(40)22×10=80 μJU=\dfrac{q^2}{2C}=\dfrac{(40)^2}{2\times10}=80\ \mu\mathrm{J}. The wrong choices are: 133 μJ133\ \mu\mathrm{J} (forgetting the dielectric), 222 μJ222\ \mu\mathrm{J} (keeping the voltage instead of the charge fixed) and 9680 μJ9680\ \mu\mathrm{J} (adding the charges as if the like plates had been joined).
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