Lab 1-8 Testing Capacitors

1. Get yourself an Electronic Playground.

2. Locate the capacitors on the kit and draw each of them below:

3. Get three long wires and one short wire from me.

4. Connect one wire between 3 and 42

5. Connect one wire between 4 and 26, and another between 26 and 37 (note, put wires on either side of 26, try not to let them touch)

6. Take another long wire and attach it ONLY to 36, leave the other end unattached.

7. Now let’s “charge” that capacitor.

8. Take the loose wire and touch it to 27, the other battery spring.

9. BAM your capacitor just charged. Since there is no resistance, it’s immediate.

10. Now touch the loose wire to the other side of the 3.3kΩ resistor and watch the LED.

11. What just happened?

12. Do it again…touch 27 then 43.

13. So what is the purpose of a capacitor on a motherboard?

14. Is it a very effective battery?

15. So why even have it?

16. Try the other resistors and tell me what happens:

17. Test the different capacitors, and tell me what happens.

Capacitor rating	What happens	Rate from 1-3 for effectiveness at holding a charge

18. What would the lower charge capacitors be used for?