Cracking the SAT Physics Subject Test

so

CP = C 1 + C 2

which can be extended to more than 2 capacitors. So the equivalent capacitance of
a collection of capacitors in parallel is found by adding the individual
capacitances.

A collection of capacitors are said to be in series if they all share the same charge
magnitude. The following diagram shows two capacitors wired in series.

When a potential difference is applied, as shown, negative charge will be
deposited on the bottom plate of the bottom capacitor; this will push an equal
amount of negative charge away from the top plate of the bottom capacitor toward
the bottom plate of the top capacitor. When the system has reached equilibrium, the