In a circuit with multiple capacitors in parallel, the total capacitance increases which of the following?

• A. The total capacitance decreases.
• B. The total capacitance stays the same.
• C. The total capacitance increases.
• D. The total capacitance becomes unpredictable.

Answer: (C)

When capacitors are placed in parallel, their capacitances add together because the same voltage is across each capacitor and the total amount of charge stored scales with that voltage. The total capacitance is C_total = C1 + C2 + ... because Q = C V for each capacitor and V is the same for all of them, so the total charge Q_total = Q1 + Q2 + ... equals (C1 + C2 + ...) V. Therefore, adding more capacitors in parallel increases the total capacitance.

For example, two 10 µF capacitors in parallel yield 20 µF, both sharing the same voltage. The total doesn’t decrease or stay the same, and it isn’t unpredictable; it simply increases with each additional capacitor in parallel.