When Two or More Different Capacitors Are Connected in Series

question 163

Multiple Choice

When two or more different capacitors are connected in series across a potential source, which of the following statements must be true? (There could be more than one correct choice.)

• A) The total voltage across the combination is the algebraic sum of the voltages across the individual capacitors.
• B) The capacitor with the largest capacitance has the most charge.
• C) Each capacitor carries the same amount of charge.
• D) The equivalent capacitance of the combination is less than the capacitance of any of the capacitors.
• E) The potential difference across each capacitor is the same.

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Definitions:

Consumption

The consumption of products and services by individuals in a household.

Impossibility Theorem

A proposition demonstrated by Kenneth Arrow showing that no system of aggregating individual preferences into social decisions will always yield consistent, nonarbitrary results.

Voting Paradox

A simple demonstration of how majority-rule voting can lead to seemingly contradictory and inconsistent results. A commonly cited illustration of the kind of inconsistency described in the impossibility theorem.

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