Connecting capacitors in parallel causes the plate area to:

When capacitors are connected in parallel, the total capacitance is the sum of the individual capacitances. In this configuration, each capacitor's plate area effectively contributes to the overall plate area of the parallel arrangement. Since capacitance is directly proportional to the plate area, as the combined plate area of the capacitors increases, the total capacitance also increases.

This relationship can be understood through the formula for capacitance, which is defined as (C = \frac{\epsilon A}{d}), where (C) is capacitance, (\epsilon) is the permittivity of the dielectric material between the plates, (A) is the plate area, and (d) is the separation between the plates. By connecting capacitors in parallel, the plate area (A) effectively increases, resulting in higher capacitance. Hence, the correct answer reflects that both the plate area and total capacitance increase when capacitors are connected in parallel.