How do you solve this math word problem? PLEASE HELP ME AND EXPLAIN STEP BY STEP!!!?

The better answer would be closer to $4, if they have a bigger saw. Cut it in half, stack the halves, cut those in half, stack the quarters and cut them all into 3 pieces, giving you 12 pieces with 4 cuts.  I do this with firewood on a regular basis.

The 12-ft board can be cut into 11 pieces of

smaller boards of 1-ft in length. So Bob will

be charged $1*11=$11.

See the diagram below:

_ is 1-ft smaller board.

_1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_10_11_

totally 11 cuts.

Bob has 1 piece of wood. He wants 12 pieces.

Each cut turns 1 piece into 2, therefore each cut adds 1 to the total number of boards.

Therefore Bob wants 11 cuts.

Draw a diagram...

[ and ] for the ends, | for the cuts, ... for 1ft

[...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...]

count the ... (12)

count the | (11)

11* $1 = $11

Yes, cutting a 12 ft board into 1 ft pieces requires 11 cuts.

A lumberyard charges $ 1 per cut to trim boards. 

Bob buys a 12-ft board and wants it 

cut into twelve 1-ft pieces. 

11cuts will give 12 pieces.

Hence he will be charged $11 for the cutting.

The correct answer is $11

It takes 11 cuts to cut a 12 foot board into 12 pieces.

It always takes 1 less cut than the number of pieces wanted.  If you want 2 pieces, you cut once.  If you want 3 pieces, you cut twice. Etc.

Your first cut leaves 11 inches.  The second leaves 10 inches

Third: 9

Fourth: 8

Fifth: 7

sixth: 6

Seventh: 5

Eighth 4

Ninth 3

tenth 2

Eleventh leaves just 1 foot so you don't need any more cuts.