How does a double affect the score in tenpin bowling?

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bowling Tommy Jones competing in the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions final in Uncasville, Conn., April 1, 2007.

In tenpin bowling, a double occurs when a player bowls two consecutive strikes. This achievement significantly boosts the score for the first of those two frames.1

Specifically, a double is scored as follows:
* The player receives 10 pins for the first strike plus the 10 pins earned from the second strike, totaling 20 pins for the first frame.1
* To complete the score for that first frame, the player adds the number of pins knocked down on their very next delivery (the first ball of the third frame).1
* If the player bowls a third consecutive strike in that third frame, the total for the first frame becomes 30 pins.1

This cumulative scoring system is why a perfect game, consisting of 12 consecutive strikes, results in a maximum score of 300.1