Three capacitors are connected in parallel. The total capacitance is
- A. the sum of the individual capacitances
- B. less than the smallest of them
- C. the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals
- D. always equal to one of them
Explanation
Parallel capacitors share the same voltage and their plate areas effectively add, so the capacitances add directly. In series the reciprocals add, giving a total smaller than the smallest capacitor. This is exactly the opposite of how resistors behave, which is why the two are so often confused.