Capacitance is increased by increasing plate area and decreasing by increasing plate separation. Which statement is correct?

Capacitance is increased by increasing plate area and decreasing by increasing plate separation. Which statement is correct?

• A. Capacitance increases with larger plate area and decreases with greater plate separation.
• B. Capacitance decreases as plate area increases.
• C. Capacitance is independent of plate separation.
• D. Capacitance increases with distance between plates.

Answer: (A)

Capacitance depends on the geometry of the plates and the medium between them. For a parallel-plate capacitor, the relationship is C = ε A / d, where ε is the permittivity of the medium, A is the plate area, and d is the separation between the plates. This means that increasing plate area provides more surface to store charge at the same voltage, so C increases. Increasing the distance between plates reduces the coupling and lowers the charge that can be stored for the same voltage, so C decreases. The statement aligns with this: capacitance grows with larger area and shrinks with greater separation. The other ideas contradict C ∝ A/d, so they don’t fit.

Capacitance depends on the geometry of the plates and the medium between them. For a parallel-plate capacitor, the relationship is C = ε A / d, where ε is the permittivity of the medium, A is the plate area, and d is the separation between the plates. This means that increasing plate area provides more surface to store charge at the same voltage, so C increases. Increasing the distance between plates reduces the coupling and lowers the charge that can be stored for the same voltage, so C decreases. The statement aligns with this: capacitance grows with larger area and shrinks with greater separation. The other ideas contradict C ∝ A/d, so they don’t fit.