We compare a silicon chip to a nerve membrane, with silicon having (about) twice the dielectric constant of the nerve membrane. Which of the following statements is true?

A) 1cm^2 silicon chip has a higher capacitance than 1cm^2 nerve membrane.
B) 1cm^2 silicon has the same capacitance as 1cm^2 nerve membrane.
C) 1cm^2 silicon has a smaller capacitance than 1cm^2 nerve membrane
D) Nerve membranes do not make very useful capacitors.
E) We need more information to choose either of the three statements.

Just because a material has a dielectric constant, doesn't mean it is a capacitor. One has to have some method of removing or adding charges to the end plates.

I would go with E. beer bottles have a nice dielectric constant, but that does not imply they are capacitors.

To determine which statement is true, we need to understand the relationship between dielectric constant and capacitance.

Capacitance is a measure of the ability of a material to store electrical energy in the form of an electric field. It is directly proportional to the surface area of the capacitor and the dielectric constant of the material, and inversely proportional to the distance between the capacitor plates.

The dielectric constant is a property of a material that describes how well it can store electric charge. A higher dielectric constant means the material can store more charge and, therefore, has a higher capacitance.

In this case, since silicon has a higher dielectric constant than the nerve membrane, we can conclude that a 1cm^2 silicon chip will have a higher capacitance than a 1cm^2 nerve membrane.

Therefore, the correct answer is:
A) 1cm^2 silicon chip has a higher capacitance than 1cm^2 nerve membrane.