For N identical capacitors connected in parallel, what is the equivalent capacitance Ceq?

For N identical capacitors connected in parallel, what is the equivalent capacitance Ceq?

• A. C/N
• B. N C
• C. N/C
• D. C

Answer: (B)

When capacitors are connected in parallel, their capacitances simply add up. This happens because the same voltage is across each capacitor, while the total stored charge is the sum of the charges on each capacitor. If there are N identical capacitors, each with capacitance C, the charge on one at voltage V is Q_i = C V. The total charge stored is Q_total = N C V. The equivalent capacitance Ceq is defined by Q_total = Ceq V, so Ceq = Q_total / V = N C. So the network behaves like a single capacitor whose value is N times the individual capacitance. (If they were in series, the result would be C divided by N.)

When capacitors are connected in parallel, their capacitances simply add up. This happens because the same voltage is across each capacitor, while the total stored charge is the sum of the charges on each capacitor.

If there are N identical capacitors, each with capacitance C, the charge on one at voltage V is Q_i = C V. The total charge stored is Q_total = N C V. The equivalent capacitance Ceq is defined by Q_total = Ceq V, so Ceq = Q_total / V = N C.

So the network behaves like a single capacitor whose value is N times the individual capacitance. (If they were in series, the result would be C divided by N.)