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Capacitance (A-level only)

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Question 39

An aerospace technician is testing a backup capacitor system designed for an emergency landing gear mechanism. The capacitor discharges through an actuator circuit of constant resistance. The technician measures the time t0.5t_{0.5}t0.5​ for the potential difference across the capacitor to fall to half of its initial fully-charged value. Five independent trials of this measurement yield the following results:

18.64 s,18.42 s,18.78 s,18.50 s,18.91 s 18.64\text{ s}, \quad 18.42\text{ s}, \quad 18.78\text{ s}, \quad 18.50\text{ s}, \quad 18.91\text{ s} 18.64 s,18.42 s,18.78 s,18.50 s,18.91 s
a.

Determine the percentage uncertainty in the measurement of t0.5t_{0.5}t0.5​.

[3]
b.

Calculate the time constant τ\tauτ for this discharge circuit.

[3]

Capacitance (A-level only) Questions

  1. A Level
  2. /Physics
  3. /Capacitance (A-level only)