If the area of the plates of a parallel plate capacitor is halved and the separation between the plates tripled, while the charge on the capacitor remains constant, then by what factor does the energy stored in the capacitor change?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The energy stored in a capacitor is given by U = (1/2)CV^2. If the area of the plates is halved, the capacitance will be halved. If the separation between the plates is tripled, the capacitance will be reduced by a factor of 3. Therefore, the energy stored in the capacitor will be reduced by a factor of 6.

If the Area of the Plates of a Parallel Plate