Final answer:
The equivalent capacitance of two capacitors in series is found by the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of each capacitor's capacitance. For parallel connected capacitors, the equivalent capacitance is the sum of each capacitor's capacitance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The equation for the equivalent capacitance of two capacitors in series is given by the formula:
1/Ceq = 1/C1 + 1/C2,
where Ceq is the equivalent capacitance, and C1 and C2 are the capacitances of the individual capacitors. To find the equivalent capacitance of capacitors in series, you take the reciprocal of the sum of the reciprocals of each capacitor's capacitance.
For capacitors connected in parallel, the equation for the equivalent capacitance is much simpler:
Ceq = C1 + C2,
where you simply add the capacitance values of each individual capacitor to get the total equivalent capacitance.