NAME: Abdul-Hamid Opeoluwa Arowona

MATRIC NUMBER: 23120211035

GROUP NUMBER: 9
INSTRUCTOR’S NAME: DR. NORBERT EDOMAH
DATE: Monday, March 11th, 2024.

Parallel Connection of Capacitors

Introduction
In a parallel connection of capacitors, each capacitor is connected across the same voltage
source, providing multiple paths for charge flow. The total capacitance of capacitors in
parallel is the sum of individual capacitances. The total capacitance can be found with the
formula:
C T =C 1 +C2 +C 3 +…

In parallel connection, the voltage across each capacitor is the same as the source voltage.
The total charge stored is the sum of the charges stored in individual capacitors. The
effective capacitance increases because there are more plates available to store charge,
making it easier to store more charge.
Parallel capacitors are used in circuits where a higher overall capacitance is required, such as
in power supply filtering or energy storage applications.
Understanding how capacitors behave in parallel connections is crucial for designing circuits
and calculating their overall electrical properties.

Aim
The aim of this experiment was to investigate the behaviour of capacitors connected in
parallel within an electrical circuit using a breadboard setup. It also aimed to measure the
total capacitance in the configuration and compare the theoretical and experimental values.

Materials:
 A set of Capacitors – 47nF, 100µF, 10nF, 100nF, 820pF, 33nF, 220µF, 47µF
 Digital LCR meter
 Bread board
Procedure
To get the theoretical values of the resistors, the capacitors were carefully examined with
the aid of a magnifying glass to identify the readings on them. The probes between each
plate of the capacitor and the terminals of the digital LCR multimeter were connected. The
meter was placed in the corresponding mode to measure the capacitance.
The capacitors were connected in parallel on the breadboard as shown in figure 1.0 where C1
is a capacitor of value 47nF and C2 is of value 100nF. The equivalent capacitance was
measured using the digital LCR meter. The procedure was repeated with C 1 and C2 values of
33nF and 10nF, 47µF and 100µF respectively.

Figure 1.0: Parallel combination of capacitors.

Results

Table 1. Parallel connection of 47nF and 100nF capacitors.

C1 C2 C1 + C2 in parallel
Theoretical value 47nF 100nF 147nF
Experimental 48.30nF 107.60nF 155.9nF
Error (tolerance) 0.03 0.08 0.06

Table 2. Parallel connection of 33nF and 10nF capacitors.

C1 C2 C1 + C2 in parallel
Theoretical value 33nF 10nF 43nF
Experimental 37.50nF 10.20nF 47.7nF
Error (tolerance) 0.14 0.02 0.11

Table 3. Parallel connection of 47µF and 100µF capacitors.

C1 C2 C1 + C2 in parallel
Theoretical value 47µF 100µF 147µF
Experimental 44.2µ 91.4µF 135.6µF
F
 Error (tolerance) 0.06 0.09 0.08
Discussion
The primary aim of this experiment was to investigate the behaviour of capacitors connected
in parallel within an electrical circuit using a breadboard setup. Capacitors connected in
parallel exhibit additive behaviour as anticipated, the total capacitance is the sum of the
individual capacitances. This behaviour can be observed through the total voltage
measurement across the parallel capacitors. The observed behaviour of capacitors in parallel
aligns with theoretical expectations as seen in Tables 1,2 & 3. The equivalent capacitance of
the parallel-connected capacitors is calculated by summing the individual capacitances.
Comparing the calculated and experimental values validates the theoretical concept. As seen
in the tables the tolerance ranges from 0.02 – 0.14. From table 1, it is seen that the total
capacitance equals the sum of the individual capacitances.
48.3+ 107.9=155.9 ≡155.9
From the capacitors made available, the 820pF and 10nF capacitors combined in parallel will
produce an effective capacitance of 10.82nF.

Conclusion
The experiment successfully demonstrated the behaviour of capacitors connected in parallel
and verified the additive nature of their capacitance, achieving its primary objectives. The
comparison between theoretical calculations and experimental measurements confirmed
the validity of the analysis approach. Understanding the behaviour of capacitors in parallel is
crucial for designing and analysing complex electrical circuits.

References

A. (2023, May 8). Capacitor and Capacitance - Formula, Uses, Factors Affecting
Capacitance, FAQs. BYJUS. https://byjus.com/physics/capacitor-and-capacitance/

Bird, J. (n.d.). Electrical and electronic principles and technology. Routledge.

Fundamentals of Electric Circuits, Charles K. Alexander and Matthew N.O. Sadiku