Determine the equivalent capacitance between the points A and B for the circuit labeled (a) in the assembly.

Step-by-step solution

The given circuit (a) is a Wheatstone bridge. Let the capacitors be C₁ = 1 F , C₂ = 2 F , C₃ = 3 F , C₄ = 6 F , and the central capacitor be C₅ = 5 F . Checking the balance condition of the Wheatstone bridge: C₁ C₂ = 1 2 C₃ C₄ = 3 6 = 1 2 Since C₁ C₂ = C₃ C₄ , the bridge is balanced. Therefore, no charge will flow through the central capacitor C₅ , and it can be removed from the circuit. The circuit now simplifies to two parallel branches. The top branch has C₁ and C₃ in series, and the bottom branch has C₂ and C₄