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.
1 answer
Student A is correct. The incorrect student, Student B, incorrectly multiplied 12 by 12 three times to get an answer of 1,728 nuts. This is wrong because the squirrel collects 12 nuts an hour for 12 hours on 12 days, not 12 to the power of 3. The correct expression to find how many nuts the squirrel collected is 12 x 12 x 12, which equals 1,728.