• When capacitors are connected in series, the inverse of the total capacitance equals the sum of the
inverses of the individual capacitances. When they are connected in parallel, the total capacitance just
equals the sum of the individual capacitances.
• A capacitor’s purpose in a circuit is to store charge. After it has been connected to a circuit for a long
time, the capacitor becomes fully charged and prevents the flow of current.
• A capacitor gains or loses charge exponentially. The “time constant” of an RC circuit is equal to the
resistance times the capacitance, and gives a characteristic time for the charging or discharging to
occur.
• An inductor resists the change of current in a circuit. In an RL circuit, when the battery is first
connected, the current increases asymptotically from zero up to a final value of V/R . When the battery
is disconnected, the current decreases asymptotically to zero with a time constant of . In an LC
circuit, the charge on the capacitor oscillates from maximum to minimum sinusoidally with period