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In an A.C. circuit having only a capacitor, the current ______.

Asked in GUJCET 2015 · Behaviour of R, L and C separately

Answer: (1) leads the voltage by π/2 in phase

Step-by-step solution

Idea: the charge on the capacitor follows the voltage, q = CV, and the current is the rate of change of that charge.

For V = V₀ sin ω t: I = (dq)/(dt) = C(dV)/(dt) = ω CV₀ cos ω t.

cos ω t = sin (ω t + π/2), so I = (V₀)/(X_C)sin (ω t + π/2) with X_C = 1/(ω C).

So the current leads the voltage by π/2.

Why the other options are wrong

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