Question

You slide a slab of dielectric between the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor. As you do this, the charges on the plates remain constant. What effect does adding the dielectric have on the energy stored in the capacitor? A. The stored energy increases. B. The stored energy remains the same. C. The stored energy decreases. D. not enough information given to decide Answer is C. Why C is the correct answer?

Answer 1

The stored energy in the capacitor decreases when a dielectric is added between the plates. (option c is the correct answer)

Step-by-step explanation:

When you slide a slab of dielectric between the plates of a parallel-plate capacitor, the charges on the plates remain constant. The effect of adding the dielectric is that the stored energy in the capacitor decreases (option c is the correct answer). This happens because the presence of the dielectric reduces in the electric field strength and the voltage between the plates, resulting in a smaller amount of energy being stored in the capacitor. So stored energy is decreases when a dielectric is added between the plates.