Yes you didoke: :giggle: So is the rule that if a number is next to parenthesis, it is not implied multiplication, but a variable is? I need to know rules ! lol e.g. 48÷ x(9+3) = 2 I believe x = 2
Rofl this is what happened on the other forum. A few guys near the start clearly stated the issue related to the question. It didn't seem like people read previous posts or decided they had to voice their own opinion just because they like to type. The guys who figured it out consulted references, had evidence from sources, and even got confirmations from the professor's at school. This thread should have never started lol. It's already caused enough problems on other forums with guys bickering about what they think is right and what isn't. The solution is already out there, "question is incomplete" /thread
Okay, so here's what I've done. I've made an illustration to show where the problem is. The only way to really give a correct answer is to know what is really being asked. And the only way to know what is being asked is if the person asking you rewrites the equation to tell you what he wants to know, by writing either one of the 2 lower equations I've listed. So, with this, I hope I've made you all understand that the equation written as it was originally cannot be answered. No one is write* if they give a numerically valued answer to the first equation. *pun intended.
48 (dev) 2 (mult) (sum of 9+3) = do parentheses first (9+3) then do operations left to right = 48 (dev) 2 (mult) 12 = 24 * 12 = 288 ; the "intention" of the writer of the problem does not matter at all...it is the operations and rules that should dictate what you do and in this case order of operations. 2(9+3) is the short hand of writing 2 multiplied by the sum of 9 and 3. Sloppy equation yes, but to say there is no answer is saying that simple math has become variable which is not the case. If you re-write the problem using no short hand it would be 48 ÷ 2 x (9 + 3) Calculators do know simple order of operations but still need good input or else is can be confused...human is still faster then a calculator...
Ok, now, to verify your work, you would use algebra, as in all other forms of math. x=1 48x ÷ 2(9 + 3)=?? 48x ÷ 2(9x + 3x)=?? 48x ÷ 2(12x)=?? 48x ÷ 24x=?? 2x = 2 See how your math doesn't work in this situation. It all depends on how you view the "2(9+3)" part and how you view the division sign. Do you view it as a problem or a number and as a simple division or a fraction? Neither answer is more right than the other, making both of them equal, ergo both answers possible when using the initial equation. This is where the intention of the asker is needed. To sort out which one he wants you to use. The biggest problem in all this, is that people absolutely want to be right and come to the conclusion that there is ONLY 1 answer and that theirs is right. When in fact, there is no answer because there is no concrete question. This has been discussed on Math boards, Physics boards and Engineering boards, all of which have come to the conclusion that this equation is incomplete. Basically, I can ask any question like this one was, watch: Which grass is greener? 1) yes 2) no 3) I like soup. My question doesn't make sense with the possible answers because I have not given you the necessary information, being which 2 grasses are being compared. In math, there are no assumptions, you only work with what is there, and because both "ways of going about it" are equally right, you need more information to complete. Here is a picture of 2 different calculator using the EXACT same equation giving both answers, the proof that neither way is more right than the other.
LOL at this. Yes, being the math freak I am I totally get it. But I can't help but chuckle a bit, how did this start off? Yes, its not a complete question, as technically division and multiplication shouldn't go ahead of before one another, it relies on needing the brackets.
This started off when a 10 year old boy came home from school and asked his father to help him with this problem. his father, unable to answer, posted it on face book, which his friends copied and reposted. In a matter of days, it went around the world and has been brought to pretty much every forum for discussion. EDIT: Anyone notice that Google didn't answer the question that was entered into it? Google, RE-WROTE the equation and answered the one it re-wrote.
I like detailing because I don't have to do any difficult math I paid this much for the product(s), charge this much for using it, and this much for how long it takes me..... doesn't hurt my brain much
