CAPACITORS

IN SERIES
AND
PARALLEL
CIRCUITS
 CAPACITORS
are components that store
electricity and electrical
energy (potential energy),
and play an important role
in circuits such as tuning,
bypassing, coupling, and
filtering.
 CAPACITORS
are connected in parallel
to increase capacity, and
capacitors are connected
in series to decrease
capacity.
 CAPACITORS
Multiple connections of
capacitors act like a single
equivalent capacitor. The
total capacitance of this
equivalent single
capacitor depends both on
the individual capacitors
and how they are
1. Capacitors
in Series

2. Parallel
Circuits
 1. Series Connection of
Capacitors
￭When capacitors are connected one after
another, they are said to be in series.

￭The equivalent capacitance after series

connection is equal to the sum of the
reciprocal of each capacitance;
￭The withstand voltage after series connection is
equal to the sum of each capacitor voltage

￭After the capacitor is connected in series, it is

equivalent to increase the distance between the
two poles.

￭The more the number in series, the smaller

the capacitance, but the higher the
withstand voltage.
We can find an expression for the total
capacitance by considering the voltage across
the individual capacitors shown in Figure 1.
Solving.
 Q= CeqV
Where:

Ceq is the total capacitance of a capacitor

Q is the charge stored in the capacitor
V is the voltage applied to a capacitor
 The voltage across the inidivdual capacitors are
thus,
V = Q/
1 1 , V = Q/
2 2 AN
D
Where:
C C
V = Q/
3 3

C
Vn= is the voltage across the capacitor
Qn= the amount of charge on every capacitor in the
series connection
Cn= the capacitance of the capacitor
The total voltage is the sum of the individual
voltages:
V=V
1 +2 V +
3 V
WHERE:

V= is the total voltage across the

capacitor
Vn= is the voltage across the capacitor
To find the potential energy stored of each capacitors in

series circuits use the formula;

U=1/2QV
Where:
U is the potential energy stored
½ is the constant value
Q is the charge in each capacitors
V is the voltage in each capacitor
 NOTE:
Charge (Q) in series is equal across each

capacitor in a series circuit while Voltage (V)

is not the same.

Given three capacitors, and a total electric potential
of 150V, find the capacitance, voltage, and charge of
the circuit. 2.0
F

150 5.0
V F

3.0
CT= C1= C2=
F C3=
QT= Q1= Q2=
Q3=
Given three capacitors, and a total electric potential
of 150V, find the capacitance, voltage, and charge of
the circuit. 2.0
F

150 5.0
V F

3.0 CT= 0.97F C1= 2F C2= 5F

F C3= 145.
QT= 3F 5C Q1= 145.5C Q2=145.5C
Q3= 145.5
VT= 150V V1= 72.75V V2= 29.1V
V3= 48.5V
 2. Parallel Connection
of Capacitors

￭Capacitors in parallel refer to the capacitors

that are connected together in parallel when
the connection of both of its terminals takes
place to each terminal of another capacitor.
2. Parallel Connection of Capacitors

￭The equivalent capacitance after parallel

connection is equal to the sum of the capacitance
of each capacitance;
￭the voltage's ( Vc ) connected across all the
capacitors, whose connection is in parallel, is the
same.
The withstand
voltage after
parallel connection
is equal to the
smallest capacitor
voltage, and the
equivalent
capacitance is C1
C2, as shown in the
figure besides.
 CAPACITORS IN PARALLEL
Figure 2a shows a parallel connection of three
capacitors with a voltage applied.

Here the total capacitance is easier to find than in the

series case. To find the equivalent total capacitance
Cp, we first note that the voltage across each
capacitor is V, the same as that of the source, since
they are connected directly to it through a conductor.
The capacitors have the
same charges on them
as they would have if
connected individually
to the voltage source.
The total charge Q is the
sum of the individual
charges: Q = Q1 + Q2 +
Q3.
To find the total capacitance of the capacitors in

parallel circuits use the formula;

Ceq= C₁+C₂ + C3+

Cn….
To find the total charge of the capacitors in

parallel circuits use the formula;

Q=CeqV
Where:
Ceq is the total capacitance of a capacitor
Q is the charge stored in the capacitor
V is the voltage applied to a capacitor
To find the individual charges of each capacitors in

parallel circuits use the formula;

Qn=Qt(Cn/CT)
Where:
Qn is the individual charge of a capacitor
Qt is the total charge stored in the capacitor
Cn is the capacitance of individual capacitor
Ct is the total capacitance of a capacitor
To find the potential energy stored of each capacitors in

parallel circuits use the formula;

U=1/2CV^2
Where:
U is the potential energy stored
½ is the constant value
C is the total capacitance of capacitors
V is the voltage in each capacitor
 NOTE:
Charge (Q) in series is not equal across each

capacitor in a series circuit while Voltage (V)

is the same.
Given three capacitors, and a total electric potential of 180V,
find the capacitance, voltage, and charge of the circuit.

180 2 3 5
V F F F

CT= C1= C2=

C3=
QT= Q1= Q2=
Q3=
Given three capacitors, and a total electric potential of 180V,
find the capacitance, voltage, and charge of the circuit.

180 2 3 5
V F F F

CT= 10F C1= 2F C2= 3F

QT= 1800C C3=360C
Q1= 5F Q2= 540C
VT= 180V Q3=180V
V1= 900C V2= 180V
V3= 180V
SUMMARY:
SERIES
-the components are connected end to end one after the
other, they make a simple loop for the current to flow
around

PARALLEL
- connected side by side so the current divides, some
going one way and the rest are the other way
VOLTAGE
-is a measure of the electrical push that the battery gives
for the electrons
-measure of the energy in joules give to each pocket of
electrons per coulombs

CURRENT
-is a flow of negatively charged electrons
- flow of electric charge which is measured in coulombs
Capacitors in Series and Parallel Circuits

Series Circuit Parallel Circuit

In a series circuit, all components In a parallel circuit, all components are
are connected end-to-end, forming connected across each other, forming
a path for current flow. exactly two sets of electrically common
points.
PROBLEMS AND EXAMPLES IN CAPACITORS
IN SERIES AND PARALLEL CIRCUITS
Problem:
Three capacitors, ( C1) ( C2 ) (C3) and ( C4), are connected in
series to a battery with a voltage of (V=24) volts. The
capacitors have capacitances of ( C1 = 32) microfarads, ( C2
= 96) microfarads, ( C3 =16 ) microfarads, and( C_4 = 48)
microfarads respectively.

Calculate:
a) The equivalent capacitance of the system.
b) The charge stored in each capacitor.
c) The voltage drop across each capacitor.
Problem:
Three capacitors, ( C1) ( C2 ), and ( C3), are connected in series
to a battery with a voltage of (V=12) volts. The capacitors have
capacitances of ( C_1 = 3) microfarads, ( C2 = 6) microfarads,
and( C3 = 4) microfarads, respectively.

Calculate:
a) The equivalent capacitance of the system.
b) The charge stored in each capacitor.
c) The voltage drop across each capacitor.
1.Find the equivalent capacitance of the three capacitors
connected in parallel with a 24-V battery.

1.2 Find the total charge QT and charge across each

capacitor
Calculate the combined capacitance in micro-Farads (µF) of
the following capacitors when they are connected together in
a parallel combination:

a.) two capacitors each with a capacitance of 47nF

b.) one capacitor of 470nF connected in a parallel to a
capacitor of 1µF
Calculate the total equivalent circuit capacitance CT
as being:
EXAMPLES:

1. Consider the following circuit with four fully charged

parallel-plate capacitors.

(a) Find the equivalent capacitance of this circuit.

(b) Find the charge on and potential difference across
each capacitor.
(c) Find the energy stored in each capacitor.
Five capacitors, C1= 2 µF, C2= 4 µF, C3= 6 µF, C4= 5 µF, C5=
10 µF, are connected in series and parallel. Determine the
capacitance of a single capacitor that will have the same
effect as the combination.

Given:
C1= 2 µf C2= 4 µF C3= 6 µF C4= 5 µF C5= 10
µF
Three capacitors, C1=2 µF, C2= 4 µF, C3= 4 µF, are
connected in series and parallel. Determine the
capacitance of a single capacitor that will have the same
effect as the combination.

C1=2 µF
C2= 4 µF
C3= 4 µF