Question

Lucy says that 36 squared = 12 x 3. What did she do wrong?

A) She multiplied instead of squaring.
B) She used the wrong numbers.
C) She did the calculation correctly.
D) She divided instead of squaring.

Answer 1

Lucy incorrectly multiplied 36 by the components (12 and 3) instead of squaring it, which means 36 should be multiplied by itself to get 1296, not 36.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question asks what Lucy did wrong when she claimed that 36 squared equals 12 x 3. The correct answer is A) She multiplied instead of squaring. To square a number means to multiply that number by itself. The expression 36 squared should be calculated as 36 x 36, which equals 1296. Instead, Lucy multiplied 36 by the factors of 12 and 3, which gives the product of 36, not 1296. This is a mistake in the application of the concept of integer powers and squaring a number.