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Are C1, C2 and C3 connected in parallel, or C2, C3 in parallel and C1 in series

ID: 1377327 • Letter: A

Question

Are C1, C2 and C3 connected in parallel, or C2, C3 in parallel and C1 in series with C23?

Btw it appeared as a question in the basic physics Albanian A-levels yesterday. You had to find the equivalent capacitance, given C1 , C2 and C3.

Recently some users are saying the three capacitors are in parallel, which opposes the official answer issued by the test makers (that is C1 in series with C23). Since I don't know the exact answer, please be more specific in your explanations on why it should be as you think it is. And this wasn't my test by the way, I'm just curious to see what its general difficulty is. :D

Explanation / Answer

The three capacitors are connected in parallel. There are only two nodes in this circuit. A series connection requires at least three. The equivalent capacitance is just the sum of the three capacitances.

The circuit can be redrawn such that the parallel connection is manifest.

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