Question

Two capacitors are connected to a battery. The battery voltage is V = 60 V, and the capacitances are C1 = 2.00 μF and C2 = 4.00 μF. Determine the total energy stored by the two capacitors when they are wired (a) in parallel and (b) in series.

Answer 1

In parallel, C adds,
energy=1/2 CV^2 = 1/2 (6micro)V^2

in series, Ctotal= 8/6=1.333micro
energy= 1/2 (1.33)V^2

where Ctotal is the equivalent capacitor.