Physics

When capacitors are in parallel, they all experience the same voltage across their terminals—in this case, the full $12\,\text{V}$ from the supply. The key insight is that you find the charge on each capacitor separately using $Q = CV$, then add them together. The smaller capacitor stores much less charge than the larger one, but both contributions matter for the total.

When capacitors are in parallel, they all experience the same voltage across their terminals—in this case, the full $12\,\text{V}$ from the supply. The key insight is that you find the charge on each capacitor separately using $Q = CV$, then add them together. The smaller capacitor stores much less charge than the larger one, but both contributions matter for the total.