When connected in series, how do you calculate total capacitance?

When capacitors are connected in series, the formula used to calculate total capacitance is based on how each capacitor contributes to the overall ability to store electrical energy in the circuit. The correct method for finding the total capacitance in a series configuration involves the reciprocal of the individual capacitances, leading to a different relationship than simply adding them together.

Each capacitor in a series configuration affects the total capacitance in such a way that the charge stored across each is the same, but the total voltage across the series arrangement is the sum of the voltages across each capacitor. The formula, which involves the inverses of the capacitances, reflects the fact that the total capacity to store charge is less than the capacity of any single capacitor in the series.

Therefore, the appropriate formula to calculate total capacitance in a series arrangement is 1/C_total = 1/C1 + 1/C2 + ... + 1/Cn, which means that the total capacitance is indeed calculated based on the inverse sum of the capacitances. The option that suggests to add all capacitances directly would lead to an incorrect understanding of how capacitors behave when arranged in series.