Most capacitors have numbers printed on their bodies to indicate their electrical characteristics. Larger capacitors like electrolytics usually display the actual capacitance together with the unit (for example, 220 μF). Smaller capacitors like ceramics, however, use a shorthand consisting of three numeric digits and a letter, where the digits indicate the capacitance in pF (calculated as XY × 10Z for digits XYZ) and the letter indicates the tolerance (J, K or M for ±5%, ±10% and ±20% respectively). COUNT 5
QSN1 How do larger capacitors present their electrical characteristics? ANS1 display the actual capacitance together with the unit (for example, 220 μF) QSN2 What does the abbreviated electrical characteristics of smaller capacitors consist of? ANS2 three numeric digits and a letter QSN3 What part of the electrical characteristics of smaller capacitors do the digits of the abbreviated notation represent ? ANS3 the digits indicate the capacitance QSN4 What does the letter of the abbreviated notation for the electrical characteristics of smaller capacitors represent? ANS4 the letter indicates the tolerance QSN5 In what SI unit is the capacitance reported on smaller capacitors? ANS5 in pF