Final answer:
The total number of chocolate chips is represented by the expression 12^3, as there are three dozen counts multiplied together: dozen boxes, dozen donuts per box, and dozen chocolate chips per donut.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks how to use an exponent to write an expression for the total number of chocolate chips if you have a dozen boxes of a dozen donuts each, with each donut containing a dozen chocolate chips. To calculate this, you'd multiply the number of boxes by the number of donuts per box, and then by the number of chocolate chips per donut:
12 boxes × 12 donuts/box × 12 chips/donut = 123 chips
The exponent 3 indicates that the number 12 is being multiplied by itself three times, which is 12 x 12 x 12. Therefore, the expression representing the total number of chocolate chips is 123, or 1,728 chocolate chips.