Answer:
Francisco turned 3 into 3^2. I know this because 10^2 = 100 and Francisco multiplied 10^2 by 3.
10^2 = 100
100 * 3 = 300
In order for 300 to get to 900, the 3 would have had to have been squared.
3^2 = 9
3^2 * 10^2 = 900
In other words, he got the exponent for 3 wrong.