Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-2/section-a/3/solution
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 2 Section A 3 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Choose positive electric current in the initial discharge direction, since the source diagram does not label the initial plate polarity or a current arrow. Let be the charge remaining on the initially positive plate, so . Kirchhoff's voltage law for the series RLC circuit givesThe natural angular frequency, damping coefficient and quality factor areSince (equivalently ), this is an underdamped RLC response. With , satisfying the initial conditions givesand differentiating givesThe electric current starts at zero with . Its wave period is , its zeros occur every , and its positive and negative wave envelopes decay with time constant . The first maximum obeys and is at . The electric current tends to zero as the initial capacitor energy is dissipated in the resistor.
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