Pulling the plates of an isolated charged capacitor apart:
A) increases the capacitance
B) increases the potential difference
C) does not affect the potential difference
D) decreases the potential difference
E) does not affect the capacitance

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pulling the plates of an isolated charged capacitor apart increases the potential difference. This is because the work done to separate the plates against the attractive force between them increases the potential energy of the system, which is reflected as an increase in the potential difference across the capacitor. The capacitance of a capacitor is inversely proportional to the distance between its plates (C = εA/d), so increasing this distance by pulling the plates apart decreases the capacitance, not the potential difference.

Pulling the Plates of an Isolated Charged Capacitor Apart