How much charge passes through a part of a circuit?

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SUMMARY

When two capacitors are fully charged and a switch is closed, the total charge that passes through the switch can be determined by analyzing the equivalent capacitance of the circuit. Initially, the capacitors behave as a single capacitor until the switch is closed, allowing charge to redistribute. To find the charge that passes through the switch, one must calculate the initial charge on the capacitors using the formula Q = C * V, where Q is the charge, C is the capacitance, and V is the voltage across the capacitors.

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Boxcutter
Suppose the the two capacitors are charged fully before the switch is closed, how much charge will pass through the switch when we close it?

http://home.student.uu.se/daja8643/elec2.JPG

I've been trying for a long time but I'm lost. All help I could get would be appreciated.

/Daniel
 
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I would start by considering that the two capacitors really only form one without the switch closed. Can you determine the initial charge?
 
The book claims the answer is that all the magnitudes are the same because "the gravitational force on the penguin is the same". I'm having trouble understanding this. I thought the buoyant force was equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. Weight depends on mass which depends on density. Therefore, due to the differing densities the buoyant force will be different in each case? Is this incorrect?

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