Question

The total capacitance of capacitors connected in parallel is given by _____

(a) product of the individual capacitors in parallel

(b) sum of all the individual capacitors in parallel

(c) sum of their reciprocals

(d) product of their reciprocals

I had been asked this question in examination.

This intriguing question comes from Capacitors and Capacitance in section Electrostatic Potential and Capacitance of Physics – Class 12

Answer 1

Right choice is (b) sum of all the individual capacitors in parallel

To explain I would say: The equivalent capacitance of the capacitors connected in parallel is given by sum of their individual capacitances, that is if there are n capacitors in parallel the total capacitance is given by, C=C1+C2+C3+C4+…..+Cn.