View Poll Results: 48÷2(9+3)=??

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  • 2

    52 71.23%
  • 288

    21 28.77%
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48÷2(9+3)=?

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  1. #21

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    I would have to say the answer is 2


  2. #22

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    >> BODMAS ...

    Don't remember that acronym. Was standard to learn rules of precedence.

    I like this one better....

    There is a new mnemonic featured in Danica McKellar's books Math Doesn't Suck[2] and Kiss My Math[3] that does address this very issue: "Pandas Eat: Mustard on Dumplings, and Apples with Spice." The intention being that Mustard and Dumplings is a "dinner course" and that Apples and Spice is a "dessert course." Then it becomes not a linear string of operations to do one after the other, but rather the "dinner course" operations are considered together and performed left to right, and then addition and subtraction are considered together, again performed again left to right.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations

    This whole debate could have been avoided with an extra pair of brackets.
    Last edited by shri; 14-04-2011 at 10:34 AM.

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    >> BODMAS ...

    Don't remember that acronym. Was standard to learn rules of precedence.

    This whole debate could have been avoided with an extra pair of brackets.
    Probably BODMAS was introduced after your time ...

    Yes, but then extra pair of brackets wouldn't have made it interesting.

  4. #24

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    I thought it was BIDMAS 288 lol 24x12

    Brackets Indices Division Multiplication Addition Subtraction

    Last edited by bryant.english; 14-04-2011 at 10:44 AM.

  5. #25

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    Sure, it's a deliberately badly written equation designed to generate precisely this discussion. A quick google suggests that it has previous form

    Here a bunch of physicists discuss the same problem: 48÷2(9+3)


  6. #26

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    I'm gonna have to sit on the fence and say it's both. The notation is quite ambiguous, because 48÷2(9+3) can be interpreted as:

    (48÷2)(9+3) = 288

    OR

    48
    ------ = 2
    2(9+3)

    Basically, 1/2x could mean either (1/2)x or 1/(2x).


  7. #27

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    Wow. I can't see how this is a trick question but amazing the divergence. I got 2 based on this guy's logic from the Physics link. My old math says you simply add the 9 and 3 and multiply by 2 making it 48 divided by 2.

    GbNash:

    Re: 48÷2(9+3)
    288? Following PEMDAS, I get 2:

    48÷2*(9+3) = 48÷2*(12) = 48÷24 = 2

    The reason why some people are getting 288 is that they're forgetting that there's an invisible multiply sign in the expression.

    Honestly though, if I ever saw this I would apply a facepalm. It's not good notation and like you're seeing, it's ambiguous without proper use of parentheses and will confuse people. It's better notation to say LaTeX Code: \\frac{48}{2(9+3)}


  8. #28

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    I like this link for a nice summary : 48÷2(9+3) = ? | Know Your Meme
    I'm not changing my answer (2).

    HC


  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by HowardCoombs:
    LEO the lion goes GER is for chemistry.
    LEO : Loss of electrons == Oxidation
    GER : Gain of electrons == Reduction
    (there is also the other version OIL RIG ; but Leo the Lion is cuter)

    HC
    I used OILRIG :-)

  10. #30

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    I'm going to have to show this to my son and see what he comes up with.

    Hopefully 2 ..

    Football16 and bryant.english like this.

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