if i simplify 48/2 i get 24... 24 * 12 is not 2Brawndo said:
But you are not wrong, 2 is a possible answer.
Poll: What is the answer to 48/2(9+3)?
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But you are not wrong, 2 is a possible answer.
I was taught that the / represented a fraction, and that there was ultimately no difference between fractions and division. Under those rules, if we were expected to see
48
----(9+3)
2
as opposed to
48
-----
2(9+3)
the problem would be written as
(48/2)(9+3)
However, the problem is written as 48/2(9+3), which makes it a fraction with 48 in the numerator, and 2(9+3) in the denominator. Any math people want to take a look at this interpretation?
48
----(9+3)
2
as opposed to
48
-----
2(9+3)
the problem would be written as
(48/2)(9+3)
However, the problem is written as 48/2(9+3), which makes it a fraction with 48 in the numerator, and 2(9+3) in the denominator. Any math people want to take a look at this interpretation?
What if you look at s simple question like 5-3+2? Do you not read this left to right? So according to "BEDMAS" or whatever we have to do all addition before subraction? Its the same princible with muliplication and division. One doesnt take priority over the other. The equation is solved left to right unless an operation is included inside parenthesis or brackets to indicate that they should be completed before other operations in the question. The acronym BEDMAS or PEMDAS or whatever helps us to remember the priority of brackets over exponents over multiplication and division over addition and subtraction. Hell, in new canadian curriculum "subraction" isn't even considered a proper term anymore, its "adding a negative" to deter students from making mistakes just like the ones you are making.Woem said:
I should know, I am right in the middle of my 5 week practicum teaching algebra to grade 8 and 9 students to finish up my 3rd year of a mathematical education degree at the university of alberta. I know what I am talking about. Multiplication and Division never inherently get division over one another, so reading the equations left to right is nessessary.
hmm, i see your point. i guess the first poster really is right in that the way the problem is written allows it to be easily taken either way, and so unless the writer had a specific way in mind, this is a debate that will never have a clear winner or right answer.flippedthebitch said:
and which university? im just curious.
C++ throws a hissy fit, thinking that I'm trying to call a function named 2 with the argument 12.
Without being more specific there it has to be interpreted left to right rather than implicating the 12 into the denominator - if you were to add a * between the 2 and the bracket then I would see it as the two being separate - that is, the 12 is multiplying the fraction rather than being part of the denominator.
Better ways of phrasing it to make it a hell of a lot less confusing would be 48(9+3)/2 or 48/(2(9+3)). Though I guess the ambiguity was what you were going for anyway.
Without being more specific there it has to be interpreted left to right rather than implicating the 12 into the denominator - if you were to add a * between the 2 and the bracket then I would see it as the two being separate - that is, the 12 is multiplying the fraction rather than being part of the denominator.
Better ways of phrasing it to make it a hell of a lot less confusing would be 48(9+3)/2 or 48/(2(9+3)). Though I guess the ambiguity was what you were going for anyway.
So a bunch of forums and reddit are blowing up, because somebody doesn't failed at proper notation?Brawndo said:
I could equally ask the question, whether 19+2$4/9 equals 91 or 77.
Mmmyeah, I've never had much faith in the average man being intelligent, but this is just disappointing.
Since a fraction works like two brackets divided so the only right ways to write it without a fraction are "*without solving or leaving out any brackets*" (48)÷(2*(9+3)) or (48)
2*(9+3)) or (48)/(2*(9+3)) that is why it can only be 2
when it's not written as a fraction and there are no addition or subtraction operators then it's like (a)÷(b) and since they are here in brackets
( "*(9+3)" is the same as writing "*12" ) and the bracket is preceded by a multiplication operator
that is why the division operator is so special^^
just sad that almost noone seems to have learned that at school.
seems google hasn't set the right parameters for divisions
2*(9+3)) or (48)/(2*(9+3)) that is why it can only be 2when it's not written as a fraction and there are no addition or subtraction operators then it's like (a)÷(b) and since they are here in brackets
( "*(9+3)" is the same as writing "*12" ) and the bracket is preceded by a multiplication operator
that is why the division operator is so special^^
just sad that almost noone seems to have learned that at school.
seems google hasn't set the right parameters for divisions
Ok lets use PEMDAS (and yes you use left to right first when dealing with operators on the same level).Owyn_Merrilin said:
You first solve(simplify) what is in the parenthesis. So...
48/2(9+3)=48/2(12)
Now realize when something is in a parenthesis next to another number or variable or w/e, it means the same thing as x or *. so...
48/2*12
Since division and multiplication are on the same level you solve the first one on the left side then keep going right till it is finished. so..
48/2*12=24*12 then 24*12=288
Yeah, i don't remember that rule from school (or tutoring) either...Woem said:
I'm guessing it must be because of computers and how they're programmed.
But multiplication and division do have the same precedence, so the formula is written in a confusing manner. Especially if like me you never actually encountered "/" being used as division in school (we used ":", which is so much better, but it's already used in programming for other things)...
I think this is more of a problem like using "," or "." for decimals... lack of actual long term consensus or at least wide spread knowledge of any official stance on how it's written is the problem.
There's a lot of people saying 'both are correct because the problem is ambiguous', but when you are faced with an ambiguous problem, you are supposed to refer to the order of operations, which guarantees only one correct answer for a simple evaluation problem like this. Now, I never needed any stupid, misleading acronyms to remember this. I just memorized it properly, and Wikipedia agrees with my memory.
terms inside brackets
exponents and roots
multiplication and division
addition and subtraction
Start with the obvious:
48/2(9+3)
48/2(12)
The key thing to notice from the order of operations is that multiplication and division have the same priority. Now, since our knowledge of math comes from cultures where written language is left-to-right, this is also how we solve the problem.
48/2(12)
24(12)
288
Why is this still being debated?
terms inside brackets
exponents and roots
multiplication and division
addition and subtraction
Start with the obvious:
48/2(9+3)
48/2(12)
The key thing to notice from the order of operations is that multiplication and division have the same priority. Now, since our knowledge of math comes from cultures where written language is left-to-right, this is also how we solve the problem.
48/2(12)
24(12)
288
Why is this still being debated?
You need another grouping symbol to indicate whether everything after the / is the denominator. If that's the case, then it's two. If that isn't the case, it's written very poorly, and the answer is 288.
Seems to be a bit of a culture break.
I think both parties are tight, it just depends on the way there instructors wrote stuff out. In my experience the 2(9+3) is in the denominator, as it is written without a multiplication sign which implies it is (2(9+3)). This is just badly written, as it should be clarified as the following: (48/2)(9+3), 48/(2(9+30)), or 48/2*(9+3)
Edit: Or better yet: 48 48
_____ or ___ * (9+3)
2(9+3) 2
I think both parties are tight, it just depends on the way there instructors wrote stuff out. In my experience the 2(9+3) is in the denominator, as it is written without a multiplication sign which implies it is (2(9+3)). This is just badly written, as it should be clarified as the following: (48/2)(9+3), 48/(2(9+30)), or 48/2*(9+3)
Edit: Or better yet: 48 48
_____ or ___ * (9+3)
2(9+3) 2
I got 288, but what has really amused me is how many variations of BODMAS there are:
1. BODMAS
2. BIDMAS
3. BEDMAS
3. PODMAS
4. PIDMAS
5. PEDMAS
I find it funny how we all have slightly different terms for it. Dose anyone know any more variations?
1. BODMAS
2. BIDMAS
3. BEDMAS
3. PODMAS
4. PIDMAS
5. PEDMAS
I find it funny how we all have slightly different terms for it. Dose anyone know any more variations?
That's 2. If I knew all the fancy vocabulary for math in english I could tell you why, but for convenience I will just try to write it in a way that shows what I mean:
(48)/[2*(9+3)]
Sure, writing it like this makes it more complicated but shows what I mean, using the simple rule of "What to solve first": () before /* before +-
(48)/[2*(9+3)]
Sure, writing it like this makes it more complicated but shows what I mean, using the simple rule of "What to solve first": () before /* before +-
yeah this is the way i was taught. but there is equally good logic for both ways to approach the problem (left to right, as opposed to making it a fraction). so, unless we ask the creator of the problem whether it was intended as a fraction or regular problem, there is no real way to find the intended solution.Owyn_Merrilin said:
and i am hardly a math person, (freshman in high school pre-calc and getting a solid B is not much in the way of credentials), but i see no flaw in the way you interpreted it. because there does not seem to be a function on most (if any) keyboards which allows for writing of fractions as we do on paper. so your approach makes as much sense as the other approach which gets 288.