What role do capacitors and inductors play in impedance?

Capacitors and inductors have distinct behaviors in response to varying frequencies, which is crucial for understanding their role in impedance. As frequency changes, the impedance offered by capacitors and inductors is not constant.

Capacitors, for example, provide lower impedance at higher frequencies because their reactance decreases as frequency increases. Conversely, inductors present higher impedance at higher frequencies since their reactance increases with frequency. This frequency-dependent behavior enables these components to influence the overall impedance of a circuit, effectively allowing them to filter signals.

By affecting the impedance in this frequency-dependent manner, capacitors and inductors are essential for tuning circuits, such as those in hearing aids, to respond optimally to sound signals across different frequencies. Hence, the correct understanding is that they impede sound differently based on frequency.