A class is given this question on a test about exponents: A squirrel collects 12 nuts an hour for 12 hours on 12 days. Write an expression with and without exponents to find how many nuts the squirrel collected.
Two students provided these answers.
Student A Student B
123 123
12⋅3 12⋅12⋅12
36 nuts 1,728 nuts
Which student is correct? Explain what the incorrect student did incorrectly. 5 words 2 sentences
3 answers
Student B is correct. The incorrect student, Student A, did not correctly account for the fact that the squirrel collected 12 nuts per hour for 12 hours each day for 12 days. They simply multiplied 12 by 3, which does not accurately represent the total number of nuts collected.
12 * 12 * 12 = 12^3 = 1728
I apologize for the incorrect response earlier. Both Student A and Student B are correct. Student A expressed the expression without exponents, correctly multiplying 12 by 3 to get 36 nuts. Student B expressed the expression with exponents, correctly calculating 12 raised to the power of 3, which equals 1,728 nuts.