Ham Radio General Class Practice Test

What happens to the overall capacitance when capacitors are connected in series?

1. It increases

2. It decreases

3. It remains the same

4. It doubles

The correct answer is: It decreases

When capacitors are connected in series, the overall capacitance decreases. This happens because the total capacitance (C_total) in a series configuration is given by the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of the individual capacitances. The formula for calculating the total capacitance of capacitors in series is: 1/C_total = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + ... + 1/Cn This means that as more capacitors are added in series, the total capacitance is effectively reduced because each additional capacitor increases the total effective distance across which charge must be stored. This behavior is different from connecting capacitors in parallel, where the capacitances add directly together, resulting in a higher total capacitance. In a series connection, the individual contributions of the capacitors to the total capacitance are diminished, leading to an overall decrease. Therefore, when capacitors are connected in series, the overall capacitance will indeed decrease.