6÷2(1+2) : Othor Games

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:38 am

Doesn't doing the brackets first make it 7? 6/2(1+2), 6/2+4, 3+4=7

I'm going with 9 now after seeing some examples through the thread, but my first answer was 1 'cause I messed up. You could do it like 6/2 + 12/2 and still get 9.

you can't remove the brackets just because you distribute the 2 so your 6/2+4 would still end up being 6/(2+4)

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:59 am

write it as 6/(2*3), not (6/2)*3, people. There is 0 indication that it should be the latter.

No. Its written as 6/2(3). You can't go placing parenthesis where you please.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:32 pm

Changed it to 9, as that's how it's supposed to be literally interpreted: (6/2)*(1+2)

However, I blame that this problem was written crappily. This is why equations need clarity, or we run into crap like this. If this were to be written correctly, it should have been (6÷2)x(1+2)

BoSStealthAgent, I ran it again, but I'm used to writing equations that have clarity, as a small incorrect assumption could royally screw up a chemical equation.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:31 pm

Because only Americans post here.

Mostly it seems to me the US and northern Europe is what dominates this forum.

» Sat May 28, 2011 4:48 pm

Seriously? 12 votes?
(I would have hoped it was only the http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww who were experiencing difficulty with this problem)

Wow. That video. Doesn't make you look good at all.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:46 pm

Mostly it seems to me the US and northern Europe is what dominated this forum.

Yeah but he didn't mention northern Europe now did he?

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:27 pm

From what I can understand it really depends on how you write the question. When i put it into my calculator program i get: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/146/maththing.jpg/

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:38 pm

Yeah but he didn't mention northern Europe now did he?

Everything has to be just SO doesn't it?

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:11 pm

Wow. That video. Doesn't make you look good at all.

Oh, hey, that's not representative of all of us! I don't look anywhere near that good.

» Sun May 29, 2011 12:23 am

Everything has to be just SO doesn't it?

That is what this topic is about.

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:58 am

From what I can understand it really depends on how you write the question. When i put it into my calculator program i get: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/146/maththing.jpg/

Yup and its written 6/2(1+2) so its = 9

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:23 pm

I will do this step by step, by the strictly and unambiguously defined algorithm by which these expressions are supposed to be interpreted and calculated.

6÷2(1+2)
Are there parentheses? Yes. ? Calculate the expression within them.
6÷2*3
Are there parentheses? No.
Is there exponentiation*? No.
Is there multiplication or division? Yes. ? Do the one of those which comes first from the left.
3*3
Are there parentheses? No.
Is there exponentiation? No.
Is there multiplication or division? Yes. ? Do the one of those which comes first from the left.
9

If this is still unclear to you, then... well, my condolences.

* - Exponentiation includes roots, because every root operation can be expressed as an exponentiation.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:47 am

That is what this topic is about.

It sure is, and why I do not hold math in my favorite subjects.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:19 pm

Je

Sus

Christ.

YES. Someone IS wrong per se, and it's the people who think the solution is 1. The rules in mathematics about stuff like this are quite strictly and completely unambiguously defined. Like I said already, division and multiplication have the same priority and if it is not specified by parenthesis which should be done first, they are always done in left-to-right order, without exception. Therefore the people who think multiplication has the priority over division are wrong. PER SE.

And by the way, "PEMDAS" is the mnemonic for "terms inside parenthesis, exponents and roots, multiplication and division, addition and subtraction". Do you see the "and" there, in-between "multiplication" and "division"? It means that the two have the same priority. Had it been "then" instead of "the", it would mean that multiplication has priority over division. But it isn't, so it does not.

Veeno, calm down... This is (or at least was) a civil conversation until people start coming in here and throwing hissy fits. Regardless of who is wright or wrong.... per se. Because the fact of the matter is there are a lot of people out there that think you're wrong (per se) and a lot of people who think you're right (per se).

Per se

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:55 pm

voted: 9

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:22 am

snip

He changed his answer a while ago.

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:18 pm

It has to be 1 because multiplication comes before division so you solve (1+2) first, which equals 3. Then multiply 3 with 2, which is 6. And then its just division leftover.

» Sat May 28, 2011 12:40 pm

It has to be 1 because multiplication comes before division so you solve (1+2) first, which equals 3. Then multiply 3 with 2, which is 6. And then its just division leftover.

Nope. Apparently multiplication/division aren't "set in stone". You do whichever comes first left to right.

It's strange because, like I said earlier, in my school we were always taught it's multiplication first regardless of the order.

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:09 pm

Regardless of who is wright or wrong.... per se. Because the fact of the matter is there are a lot of people out there that think you're wrong

Seriously? Veeno has painstakingly and patiently clarified in great detail the solution to a first or second grade arithmetic problem we should have all learned how to solve in elementary school. This is not algebra, trigonometry or calculus, just basic arithmetic.

Are there really still people on here who believe the answer is 1?

Yeah but he didn't mention northern Europe now did he?

I tried to give you guys some credit. I was only aware of the horrible state of the US education system. I wrongly assumed that it was only Americans who could not solve this problem.

However, I stand corrected. your education system is just as screwed as ours. Does that make you feel better?

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:30 pm

Veeno, calm down... This is (or at least was) a civil conversation until people start coming in here and throwing hissy fits. Regardless of who is wright or wrong.... per se. Because the fact of the matter is there are a lot of people out there that think you're wrong (per se) and a lot of people who think you're right (per se).

Per se

And the people who think I am wrong per se are wrong per se. :shrug:

I don't approach lawyers and say things like "perhaps that law was never actually written in the first place and should just be ignored, I mean, can you prove that it was indeed written when they claim it was and that they didn't just add it in because they thought it was fun, huh?" By extension, if people say stuff like this when I am around and consistently don't listen to people who know what they're talking about, expect nothing less of me but to get upset.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:25 am

It has to be 1 because multiplication comes before division

But....It doesn't.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:10 am

I got a transliminal morpholith that shot a hole through reality.

And 9.

Ican see why people are making this mistake though, since in high school, if my memory serves correctly, you usually don't see something like x(y+x) with a multiplication sign in front. The more common equation to be solved in high school was usually something like z+x(y+x). That probably instilled a parenthesis bias in the ones answering 1.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:53 pm

snip

I [censored] corrected myself, gawl :banghead:

LOOK A LITTLE FARTHER PEOPLE!!!! I CHANGE IT TO 9 WITH AN EXPLANATION WHY!

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:45 am

I [censored] corrected myself, gawl :banghead:

Oy, ok, sorry, I didn't see your edit. I removed the quote from my post.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:28 pm

6 divided by 2 equals 3.

3 times 3 is 9.

Or am I doing something wrong?