Chapter 21, AC Circuits Answers

Answers to Even Numbered Problems

Note: You must have the symbol fonts installed to view Greek letters properly. You can download the file SYMBOL.TTF to your WINDOWS/FONTS folder if you do not have it already.

All answers have been checked against the answer key, and should be presumed to be correct. You should ask for help in the recitations if you are unable to obtain these results.

62. 69.2 Hz

68. (a) 6.4%, (b) 98.5%
These answers neglect a relative phase in the total current, which causes the amplitude of the total current through the resistor and capacitor to be slightly less than the sum of the amplitudes of the current through the resistor and the capacitor. This is similar to the situation discussed for voltages in section 13, which we skipped. In fact, since the impedence through one branch is much greater than through the other in either part of the question, the phase of the total current is close to the phase of the current through the branch with the least impedence. So to a reasonable approximation, you really do not have to consider the phases in this question.

The rest of the Chapter 21 answers can be found in the Chapter 21 page.


Answers to Questions

25. (a) The time to reach a given fraction of the maximum current is determined only by the time constant L/R, not the battery emf. (b) The time to reach a given value of the current does depend on what the maximum current would be, which depends on the battery emf.

26. We skipped section 13, so you can skip this question.

27. This is also on section 13, so you can skip it.

28. The stored energy oscillates back and forth between the resistor and capacitor.

29. In a spring, energy oscillates back and forth between kinetic energy and potential energy. The potential energy is kx2/2, and the kinetic energy is mv2/2. In the LC system, energy oscillates between the energy of the stored charge in electric field in the capacitor, Q2/(2C), and the energy stored in the magnetic field in the inductor, LI2/2. Taking Q as the analog of the position x of the mass on the spring, its time variation v is the analog of the current I. Then k is analogous to 1/C and m is analogous to L. This implies that the inductance plays the role of inertia, which is appropriate since it resists change in the current in much the same way that mass resists change in the velocity in mechanics.

The rest of the Chapter 21 answers can be found in the Chapter 21 page.


Physics 222 Department of Physics University of Tennessee