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To increase the charge on the plates of a capacitor means ______.

Asked in GUJCET 2007 · Capacitance of a conductor and a capacitor

• (1) To decrease the potential difference between the plates
• (2) To decrease the capacitance of the capacitor
• (3) To increase the capacitance of the capacitor
• (4) To increase the potential difference between the plates

Step-by-step solution

Why the other options are wrong

• (1) For a given capacitor Q = CV with C fixed, so lowering V lowers Q, the opposite of what is asked.
• (2) Capacitance is fixed by the area of the plates, their separation and the medium; putting charge on the plates does not change it. A smaller C would, if anything, hold less charge at the same V.
• (3) Capacitance is a property of the capacitor's geometry and medium, not of how much charge it holds; charging it further leaves C unchanged. The extra charge shows up as a larger V.

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