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.

Question

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.

(2 points)

Answer 1

Student B is correct. Student A's answer is incorrect because it simply multiplied 12 by 3 without considering the number of hours and days. Student B's answer correctly uses exponents to represent the 12 hours for 12 days, resulting in the correct calculation of 12⋅12⋅12 = 1,728 nuts collected by the squirrel.