Topic outline

  • Capacitance in Electrical Circuits

    Credits: 4 PDH

    PDH Course Description:

    This four hour course covers the basics of capacitance in electrical circuits.

    Topics:

    Upon completion of this course the student will be able to:
    • Define the terms "capacitor" and "capacitance."
    • State four characteristics of electrostatic lines of force.
    • State the effect that an electrostatic field has on a charged particle.
    • State the basic parts of a capacitor.
    • Define the term "farad".
    • State the mathematical relationship between a farad, a microfarad, and a picofarad.
    • State three factors that affect the value of capacitance.
    • Given the dielectric constant and the area of and the distance between the plates of a capacitor, solve for capacitance.
    • State two types of power losses associated with capacitors.
    • Define the term "working voltage" of a capacitor, and compute the working voltage of a capacitor.
    • State what happens to the electrons in a capacitor when the capacitor is charging and when it is discharging.
    • State the relationship between voltage and time in an RC circuit when the circuit is charging and discharging.
    • State the relationship between the voltage drop across a resistor and the source voltage in an RC circuit.
    • Given the component values of an RC circuit, compute the RC time constant.
    • Use the universal time constant chart to determine the value of an unknown capacitor in an RC circuit.
    • Calculate the value of total capacitance in a circuit containing capacitors of known value in series.
    • Calculate the value of total capacitance in a circuit containing capacitors of known value in parallel.
    • State the difference between different types of capacitors.
    • Determine the electrical values of capacitors using the color code.

    To take this course:

    1.) Enroll in Course: Click below to enroll:
    (must be logged into your user account)

    Enroll in this course

    2.) Study: Once enrolled, click below to begin the course:

    Download the Study Guide

    3.) Test: Once you've thoroughly read the course materials, please click below to take the final examination.

    Take the final exam

    4.) Certificate: A passing grade of 70% or higher on the exam, is required to receive the certificate of completion for this PDH course.
         NOTE: After the exam is completed, you will need to return to this page, in order to print (download) the certificate of completion.

    Print the Certificate of Completion

    Publication Source: US Dept. of Energy


    Donald Parnell, PE

    • Topic 1