For capacitors connected in parallel, which statement is true?

• A. The total capacitance increases and equals the sum of the individual capacitances.
• B. Total capacitance equals the reciprocal of the sum of reciprocals.
• C. Total capacitance decreases with additional capacitors.
• D. Total capacitance equals the product of the capacitances divided by the sum.

Answer: (A)

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the same voltage is across every capacitor, and their stored charges add up. Each capacitor stores Q_i = C_i V, so the total charge is Q_total = (C1 + C2 + ... ) V. Defining the total capacitance as C_total = Q_total / V gives C_total = C1 + C2 + ... . So the total capacitance increases with additional capacitors and equals the sum of the individual capacitances.

This matches the statement that the total capacitance increases and equals the sum of the individual capacitances.

Other options describe the behavior for different configurations or misstate the parallel case: the reciprocal of the sum of reciprocals is the formula for capacitors in series, not parallel; saying total capacitance decreases with more capacitors contradicts parallel behavior; and the product divided by the sum is the series formula for two capacitors, not parallel.