answer is 288.
if you don't believe me, just plug it into a calculator or a spreadsheet.
answer is 288.
if you don't believe me, just plug it into a calculator or a spreadsheet.
there are obviously stated rules to follow : order of operations :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations
The standard order of operations, or precedence, is expressed in the following chart.
terms inside brackets
exponents and roots
multiplication and division
addition and subtraction
How would it be written if someone meant:
48 divided by 2(9+3)
= 48 divided by 24 = 2
Does
48
------------------- = 2?
2(9+3)[/quote]
48/[2(9+3)]
http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9549/headasplode.jpgheyeheyehey wrote:
answer is 288.
if you don't believe me, just plug it into a calculator or a spreadsheet.
If the order you do the operations is ambiguous from the written form, then the answer you get depends on the convention you use to parse. Most mathematicians would parse that as 48 / (2 * (9 + 3)).
There's no "right answer" - it's just a question of agreeing a convention for disambiguating. Different groups of people might have different conventions.
If there's ambiguity then put the brackets in or make it clear what convention you intend.
pr100 wrote:
If the order you do the operations is ambiguous from the written form, then the answer you get depends on the convention you use to parse. Most mathematicians would parse that as 48 / (2 * (9 + 3)).
There's no "right answer" - it's just a question of agreeing a convention for disambiguating. Different groups of people might have different conventions.
If there's ambiguity then put the brackets in or make it clear what convention you intend.
The problem isn't our dumbing down, it is our idiocy to be subject to inane convention that few have any interest in knowing or remembering.
Crap, I got 2... I don't even know how someone gets 288.
I AM dumb.
I always thought multiplication came before division, so the 2 is multiplied by 12 and 48 is divided by the product last. To get 288 it should be written as (48/2)(9+3).
yes, but division and multiplication have the same precedence and you always go left to right.
48÷2(9+3)=288
48÷(2(9+3))=2
Start with parentheses then do multiplication or division starting left to right.
48÷2(9+3)=48÷2(12)=24(12)=288
48÷(2(9+3))=48÷(2(12))=48÷24=2
I was thinking "2" at first glance.
rolo wrote:
I always thought multiplication came before division, so the 2 is multiplied by 12 and 48 is divided by the product last. To get 288 it should be written as (48/2)(9+3).
I'm not a math person, but my thinking was the same as yours.
The order of operation is remembered with this phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" OR
P - Parenthesis
E - Exponents
M - Multiplication
D - Division
A - Addition
S - Subtraction
So, going by the order of operation, you should do the 9+3 first to get 12, then multiply that by 2 to get 24 and then take 48 divided by 24 to get 2.
BUT, if you enter it into Excel, it suggests a change to this - 48/2*(9+3) which to me still should result in an answer of 2 if you follow the order of operation, BUT, it gives the answer of 288.
Probably either a math thing or an Excel thing that I'm not aware of. Oh well, like I said, I'm not a math guy.
If it were written on a math test, the 48 would be on top of the line, with the rest below the line. That gets 2.
If it were written with the 48 on top of a line with the 2 below, and the (9*3) beside that, the answer would be 288.
Math teachers would not write test problems like that one, unless they wanted their students to fail, and thereby lose their own job.
Math professors could get away with it.
First of all, no. It's PE(MD)(AS). And yes, if the acronym doesn't even work then it's hardly useful.
As someone earlier said, it's an interpretation problem and open to debate.
My interpretation is that it is clearly equivalent to 48÷2(12) and that this is NOT equivalent to 48÷2x12.
More generally, I think that causing a controversy because someone can't write a math problem clearly is the real issue here.
this is a classic example of not using enough parentheses the problem should read
((48/2)(9+3))
This is a dumb question, as it is ambiguous. You need a set of parentheses to distinguish between (48/2)(9+3) and 48/(2(9+3))
the letter why wrote:
First of all, no. It's PE(MD)(AS). And yes, if the acronym doesn't even work then it's hardly useful.
As someone earlier said, it's an interpretation problem and open to debate.
My interpretation is that it is clearly equivalent to 48÷2(12) and that this is NOT equivalent to 48÷2x12.
More generally, I think that causing a controversy because someone can't write a math problem clearly is the real issue here.
Well, like I said, I'm not a math guy. I think what others have said is true...that to be clear, more parenthesis should have been used.
Oh. My.
I was an English Major in college and this was very easy for me. I almost basic failed math in college.
Guys, this is like 5th grade math. Come on.
No more parenthesis were needed. It is VERY clear.
First solve what is within the parenthesis (9+3). Next, we have only multiplication and division remaining, so we go left to right.
Am I missing something here?
The letter why, why is 48÷2(12) not equivalent to 48÷2x12?
You Guys Are Smart wrote:
I almost basic failed math in college.
Yes, I am Yoda.
the letter why wrote:
My interpretation is that it is clearly equivalent to 48÷2(12) and that this is NOT equivalent to 48÷2x12.
Your interpretation is wrong.
You don't interpret math, you follow rules.
2(12) is the same as 2X12.
So 48÷2(12) is equivalent to 48÷2x12.
288
The original problem would be written as
48/2 X(9+3) normally.
Phrasing it the way it was is a good exercise to teach order. Not a method to trick students.
Understanding this becomes helpful as equations get more complex. It is also helpful in understanding how to put it into excel which gives real world value.
toro wrote:
the letter why wrote:My interpretation is that it is clearly equivalent to 48÷2(12) and that this is NOT equivalent to 48÷2x12.
Your interpretation is wrong.
You don't interpret math, you follow rules.
2(12) is the same as 2X12.
So 48÷2(12) is equivalent to 48÷2x12.
288
The original problem would be written as
48/2 X(9+3) normally.
Phrasing it the way it was is a good exercise to teach order. Not a method to trick students.
Understanding this becomes helpful as equations get more complex. It is also helpful in understanding how to put it into excel which gives real world value.
toro ^ is correct. Everybody else just shut the hell up.
Math has very clear rules. If you do not understand them, that is your problem - a problem called ignorance. Please do the rest of us a favor and stop advertising your ignorance here.
Thanks.
