MCQEasyJEE 2026Capacitors & Dielectrics

JEE Physics 2026 Question with Solution

Identify the correct statements:

[A.] Effective capacitance of a series combination of capacitors is always smaller than the smallest capacitance of the combination. [B.] When a dielectric medium is placed between charged plates of a capacitor, displacement of charges cannot occur due to insulation property of dielectric. [C.] Increasing area of a capacitor plate or decreasing thickness of dielectric is an alternate method to increase the capacitance. [D.] For a point charge, concentric spherical shells centered at the location of the charge are equipotential surfaces.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

  • A

    C and D Only

  • B

    A, B and C Only

  • C

    B and D Only

  • D

    A, C and D Only

Answer

Correct answer:D

Step-by-step solution

Standard Method

Given: Four statements about capacitance, dielectric behavior, and equipotential surfaces are to be checked.

Find: Which statements are correct, and hence the correct option.

Statement-wise analysis:

For capacitors in series,

1Ceq=1C1+1C2+\frac{1}{C_{\text{eq}}} = \frac{1}{C_1} + \frac{1}{C_2} + \cdots

Therefore,

Ceq<min(C1,C2,)C_{\text{eq}} < \min(C_1, C_2, \dots)

So statement A is true.

Statement B is false. In a dielectric, free charge does not flow, but bound charges do get displaced slightly due to polarization.

For a parallel plate capacitor,

C=εAdC = \frac{\varepsilon A}{d}

Thus, increasing plate area AA or decreasing separation/thickness dd increases capacitance. So statement C is true.

For a point charge, electric potential depends only on distance rr:

V=kqrV = \frac{kq}{r}

Hence, all points at the same distance from the charge form concentric spherical equipotential surfaces. So statement D is true.

Therefore, the correct statements are A, C and D.

The correct option is D.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming that an insulating dielectric means no charge displacement at all. This is wrong because free charge flow is absent, but polarization still causes slight displacement of bound charges. Distinguish between conduction and polarization.

  • Confusing series combination with parallel combination of capacitors. In series, the effective capacitance is less than the smallest individual capacitance; it does not increase on combining capacitors this way.

  • Using the capacitance formula incorrectly by reversing the role of plate area and separation. Since C=εAdC = \frac{\varepsilon A}{d}, increasing AA increases capacitance, while increasing dd decreases it.

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