Equipment List:
     Fluke Oscilloscope
     HP function generator
     Breadboard
     one resistor
     one capacitor
     2 BNC-to-BNC cable (one long, one short)
     1 BNC-probe
     One capacitance meter for the entire class (to verify your calculated cap's value)
     One HP-DMM for the entire class (to measure the exact value of the resistor)

Introduction:  The idea of this lab is to calculate the capacitance of a capacitor using an oscilloscope measuring the voltage across a capacitor in a series RC circuit. You will use the discharge cycle and the equation that gives the voltage across the cap as a function of time. Your instructor will supply the details.
 
 

Procedure: Drive your circuit with a square signal (it acts as a switch to discharge and charge the capacitor). The optimal driving frequency to get the classic discharge/charge trace is:

On the scope, you will measure the time it takes for the voltage to fall to half of its initial value. You will measure the
the resistor's value with the HP-DMM and then using the discharge equation for a capacitor, calculate the value of the capacitor.
 

Analysis: Compare your calculated value with the cap meter's value. If you get less than 10 percent, that's pretty good. Less than twenty percent is acceptable.