40% of College Students get this question wrong. AND IT MAKES ME ANGRY!

[child of lileth]

I got it right. It's pretty basic. I learned to FOIL in 6th grade, so I think the students that failed probably just haven't done it in so long they messed up a step.

 

[akiata]

I'm a creative writing major, but I still got it right. My last math class was in 2 or 3 years, so I don't know if that supports or contests any argument.

 

[Grand_Arcana]

x^2+6x+9

EDIT:

Yay, I was right! I almost said x^2+9, but I caught myself. I think you'd have to keep in mind that a lot of us are upperclassmen (I'm a freshmen) so math isn't fresh in their minds if they don't have a science or math related major. It's kinda like me being abhorred at people not knowing some basic component of biology that isn't important to an artist.

 

[E_nchanted]

are you kidding me? this is stuff they teach you at a fancy College.
dude, even in most lower eduction in our country you get this shit..

 

[firemark]

College is supposed to be a place of higher learning. To get into college you must also pass high school and a number of exams. Yet, based on a recent campus wide survey conducted at my school 40% of college students cannot FOIL. I am a math major and this saddens and angers me. So Escapist, I ask you:

FOIL: (x+3)^2
EDIT: FOIL also means Expand...

Please put your answers in spoiler tags so people can't cheat without actively looking. To do a spoiler tag you place [mathspoiler]{content}[/mathspoiler] but remove the "math" part.

Remember, 40 freakin' percent fail at this. Try not to be one of them.

The correct answer is

Spoiler

{x^2+6x+9}

Really, if you're a math major, back up that statistic. In addition to that, consider the majority of majors. Personally, I am a mechanical engineer and I wouldn't expect an individual with an M.D. to be able to answer that. Most people I know haven't taken a math course in over 3 years. It's sad that people don't take math! But it's a little much to expect this from a society that expects their calculators to do it all for them. The mathematician and engineering sciences have gone down hill. I wouldn't trust half of my classmates to design a chair, but they'll graduate this May. In my senior design class I had an art student going around presuming he knew enough to tell us how to do all of our projects. It pissed me off what he did with such little knowledge, but it's the society we live in and maybe we should do more to promote math rather than degrade those that can't do it.

 

[Bobzer77]

(x+3)^2

X^2+6x+9

I'm 17 doing my last year in secondary school, if I didn't know that I'd be screwed in Junes = P

 

[Aurora219]

I remember this from my maths classes.

*wanders off*

 

[fogmike]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

Is that times 2x or to the power of 2x?

It has to be to the power of 2x, or it makes no sense.

Nah. Simple Year 10 maths plus tiredness has failed me. I assume it's not meant to be worked out on paper by a 15-yr old?

 

[XT inc]

Calling Art and Music fake Is one of the most laughable things I have ever heard. Everything you see, hear and touch has had an artist of some kind work on it. This website, the computer being used, the desk you rest your hands on, the chair you sit on, every article of clothing you are wearing and the list never stops.

 

[The Bandit]

Of course 40% of your college's students got the question wrong. About 40% of college students in the USA don't belong in college to begin with.

Colleges make more money when a lot more freshmen drop out than move on to sophomore year. But you can blame high schools for not teaching anything adequately, too.

Unless you're in some other country, in which case...that sucks :/

How do colleges make more money if freshman drop out? I've never heard that before. It's not like you pay for the whole four years at once or something.

 

[Lukeje]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

Is that times 2x or to the power of 2x?

It has to be to the power of 2x, or it makes no sense.

Nah. Simple Year 10 maths plus tiredness has failed me. I assume it's not meant to be worked out on paper by a 15-yr old?

You could always use Wolfram Alpha [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Expand(%28%28i+%2B+6+x%29%2F3%29^%282x%29)].

 

[Enigmers]

My answer was the same as the spoiler, but without the Braces " {} "

Are they necessary?

 

[mercenator3000]

Lots of people in my high school algebra 2 class do this the wrong way. It drives our teacher crazy.

 

[Danpascooch]

Spoiler

x^2 + 6x + 9. I can't prove it, but I really didn't look at anyone else's solution, as soon as you're told a lot of people get it wrong, you give it the attention it deserves and get it right, the only reason people get it wrong is because they think it's so simple they don't pay attention.
Example: (1 + 3)^2 = 16 | (1^2) + (3^2) = 10 | 10 != 16 (!= is the programming statement for "not equal" for most major programming languages, in case you didn't know)

 

[Zero-Vash]

Umm.. Wow? I am also a math major (well majoring in math, finishing my second year). But for those asking "FOIL" is the same as expand. FOIL is an acronym for the method used to expand: First, Outside, Inside, Last.

Sorry if this has already been posted, doing this before class starts.

And the answer is

Spoiler

{x^2+6x+9}

 

[Nothankyou]

People can't do this? But..but I learnt this in year 7 or 8 D:

This frightens me.

 

[Danpascooch]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

Is that times 2x or to the power of 2x?

It has to be to the power of 2x, or it makes no sense.

Nah. Simple Year 10 maths plus tiredness has failed me. I assume it's not meant to be worked out on paper by a 15-yr old?

You could always use Wolfram Alpha [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Expand(%28%28i+%2B+6+x%29%2F3%29^%282x%29)].

it's x with an exponent of two over it, seriously guys? (I don't mean that's the answer, but that is what the problem shows, I'm saying that the ^ means the next number is an exponent)

The actual answer is:

Spoiler

x^2 + 6x + 9

"I don't supposed it's to be worked out on paper by a 15 year old"
^
No crap, it's supposed to be worked out by a 13 year old in THEIR HEAD.

 

[fogmike]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

Is that times 2x or to the power of 2x?

It has to be to the power of 2x, or it makes no sense.

Nah. Simple Year 10 maths plus tiredness has failed me. I assume it's not meant to be worked out on paper by a 15-yr old?

You could always use Wolfram Alpha [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Expand(%28%28i+%2B+6+x%29%2F3%29^%282x%29)].

I...urgh. Many, many numbers.

 

[fogmike]

Those of us who:

a) have a clue
b) don't have any use for advanced maths in our occupations

simply refer to any of the THOUSANDS of applications, websites, and calculators that exist to solve these problems, in the rare case that they come up. Faster than you.

My answer? http://twitpic.com/1brqqr

BS. Took me five seconds in my head.

Yes, because you *already know* what the answer is. As did the vast majority of us. Try an equation you haven't already stored the answer for.

Here, let me help you.

Expand:

Is that times 2x or to the power of 2x?

It has to be to the power of 2x, or it makes no sense.

Nah. Simple Year 10 maths plus tiredness has failed me. I assume it's not meant to be worked out on paper by a 15-yr old?

You could always use Wolfram Alpha [http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=Expand(%28%28i+%2B+6+x%29%2F3%29^%282x%29)].

it's x with an exponent of two over it, seriously guys? (I don't mean that's the answer, but that is what the problem shows, I'm saying that the ^ means the next number is an exponent)

The actual answer is:

Spoiler

x^2 + 6x + 9

"I don't supposed it's to be worked out on paper by a 15 year old"
^
No crap, it's supposed to be worked out by a 13 year old in THEIR HEAD.

Screw you, I did that one in 5sec. We were talking bout [(i+6x)/3][sup]2x[/sup]