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MHT CET 202623 AprilEvening Shift
Exam
MHT CET
Year
2026
Date
23 April
Shift
Evening Shift
Subject
Physics
Chapter
Capacitance

MHT CET 2026 · 23 April · Evening Shift · Physics · Capacitance

A parallel plate capacitor has a dielectric slab of dielectric...

A parallel plate capacitor has a dielectric slab of dielectric constant K between its plates that covers 1/31/3 of the area of its plates as shown in the figure. The total capacitance of the capacitor is C while that of the portion with dielectric in between is C1C_1. When the capacitor is charged, the plate area covered by the dielectric gets charge Q1Q_1 and the rest of the area gets charge Q2Q_2. The electric field in the dielectric is E1E_1 and that in the other portion is E2E_2. Choose the correct option.
A parallel plate capacitor has a dielectric slab of dielectric constant K between its plates that covers 1/3 of the

Options

  1. AE1E2=4\dfrac{E_1}{E_2}=4
  2. BE1E2=1K\dfrac{E_1}{E_2}=\dfrac{1}{K}
  3. CCC1=2+KK\dfrac{C}{C_1}=\dfrac{2+K}{K}
  4. DQ1Q2=3K\dfrac{Q_1}{Q_2}=\dfrac{3}{K}

Correct answer

C. CC1=2+KK\dfrac{C}{C_1}=\dfrac{2+K}{K}

Step-by-step solution

The given arrangement can be considered as two capacitors connected in parallel.

Let the total area of the plates be AA and the distance between them be dd.

The capacitance of the portion with the dielectric (covering 1/31/3 of the area) is:
C1=Kϵ0(A/3)d=Kϵ0A3dC_1 = \dfrac{K \epsilon_0 (A/3)}{d} = \dfrac{K \epsilon_0 A}{3d}

The capacitance of the remaining portion (covering 2/32/3 of the area) is:
C2=ϵ0(2A/3)d=2ϵ0A3dC_2 = \dfrac{\epsilon_0 (2A/3)}{d} = \dfrac{2 \epsilon_0 A}{3d}

The total capacitance CC is the sum of C1C_1 and C2C_2 since they are in parallel:
C=C1+C2=Kϵ0A3d+2ϵ0A3d=ϵ0A3d(K+2)C = C_1 + C_2 = \dfrac{K \epsilon_0 A}{3d} + \dfrac{2 \epsilon_0 A}{3d} = \dfrac{\epsilon_0 A}{3d}(K + 2)

Now, finding the ratio CC1\dfrac{C}{C_1}:
CC1=ϵ0A3d(K+2)Kϵ0A3d=K+2K\dfrac{C}{C_1} = \dfrac{\dfrac{\epsilon_0 A}{3d}(K + 2)}{\dfrac{K \epsilon_0 A}{3d}} = \dfrac{K + 2}{K}

Checking other parameters:
Since the two portions are in parallel, the potential difference VV across them is the same. The electric field in both regions is E=VdE = \dfrac{V}{d}. Therefore, E1=E2E_1 = E_2, which gives E1E2=1\dfrac{E_1}{E_2} = 1.

The charges on the two portions are Q1=C1VQ_1 = C_1 V and Q2=C2VQ_2 = C_2 V.
The ratio of charges is Q1Q2=C1C2=Kϵ0A3d2ϵ0A3d=K2\dfrac{Q_1}{Q_2} = \dfrac{C_1}{C_2} = \dfrac{\dfrac{K \epsilon_0 A}{3d}}{\dfrac{2 \epsilon_0 A}{3d}} = \dfrac{K}{2}.

Answer: CC1=2+KK\dfrac{C}{C_1}=\dfrac{2+K}{K}
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