Final answer:
To calculate the pottery shop's clay usage for 36 weeks, multiply the weekly usage of 493 pounds by 36, resulting in 17,748 pounds.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find out how many pounds of clay the pottery shop will use in 36 weeks, we simply multiply the weekly usage by the number of weeks. The shop uses 493 pounds of clay each week. Therefore, to calculate the total usage for 36 weeks, the operation we need to perform is:
493 pounds/week × 36 weeks = 17,748 pounds
So, the pottery shop will use approximately 17,748 pounds of clay in 36 weeks. This gives us a clear indication of the shop's demand for clay over that period, allowing for necessary preparations and acquisitions to meet the shop's production requirements.