General Discussion

wryter2000

(46,116 posts)

79. How it's written is misleading

Thu Aug 8, 2019, 01:35 PM

Aug 2019

If everything to the right of the slash is the denominator, the answer is 1. If there's an asterisk like so--2*(2+2)-the answer is 16. Written out by hand, there would be no confusion about what is meant.

Never mind. My way is also ambiguous. Better explanations of why this is misleading can be found upthread.

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8/2(2+2) what do you come up with? [View all] kimbutgar Aug 2019 OP

16. nt Atticus Aug 2019 #1

+1 indeed 16 is the correct answer nt mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #2

uh huh.. Maxheader Aug 2019 #155

Not following you ... I said 16 is the correct answer ... mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #158

It was my understanding that there would be no math TeamPooka Aug 2019 #92

hahahaha. n/t OneGrassRoot Aug 2019 #120

You win the internet today KentuckyWoman Aug 2019 #131

I was right the other day my SO brought this up from FB... Anon-C Aug 2019 #3

Nothing, 16 is absolutely the correct answer ... someone else is missing something ;) mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #4

16 Dr. Strange Aug 2019 #5

Ok I'm a substitute teacher who is learning common core kimbutgar Aug 2019 #6

That is silly. Drahthaardogs Aug 2019 #8

4x1/4 is 1 kimbutgar Aug 2019 #20

Correct, but it is not the same problem. n/t Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #23

Yeah. But that has nothing to do with the equation in question. GulfCoast66 Aug 2019 #34

wut? jcgoldie Aug 2019 #10

I would appreciate a link to an explanation of that method missingthebigdog Aug 2019 #24

Seconded! FiveGoodMen Aug 2019 #98

As someone with two math degrees - Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #37

If that is what they are teaching children those children are going to be seriously math challenged. honest.abe Aug 2019 #60

It is 8 divided by 2, not 2 divided by 8 LeftInTX Aug 2019 #152

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally jcgoldie Aug 2019 #7

That's right! customerserviceguy Aug 2019 #28

1 SlogginThroughIt Aug 2019 #9

Pemdas SlogginThroughIt Aug 2019 #11

No jcgoldie Aug 2019 #12

oh really? SlogginThroughIt Aug 2019 #15

I promise jcgoldie Aug 2019 #18

Yeah, same with addition and subtraction. Dr. Strange Aug 2019 #30

Yup. (Former math teacher) Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #22

Perhaps more accurately (PE(MD)(AS)) mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #35

A hole in your argument. KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2019 #137

Exactly. tinrobot Aug 2019 #16

You only do 4 passes, not 6 Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #19

That was a great explanation! jcgoldie Aug 2019 #26

Shaking 30 year old cobwebs out of my math teaching brain . . . Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #39

I came up with 16. Polly Hennessey Aug 2019 #13

No one who knows anything about calculations would write a formula like that because they'd Hoyt Aug 2019 #14

My point exactly wryter2000 Aug 2019 #80

Yup... SidDithers Aug 2019 #86

In the old days we used Reverse Polish Notation and we liked it. hunter Aug 2019 #133

My initial solution was 16 based on what I know it's 16 kimbutgar Aug 2019 #17

I mastered the equation from an former Nazi rocket fuel scientist while I was in the Army Brother Buzz Aug 2019 #25

Here is how you get to 1: missingthebigdog Aug 2019 #21

1 applegrove Aug 2019 #27

1 Turbineguy Aug 2019 #29

This was covered in the above discussion jcgoldie Aug 2019 #33

Goodness. I learned this in 8th grade! GulfCoast66 Aug 2019 #31

1. Nt BootinUp Aug 2019 #32

It's actually 16 my good friend ... mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #36

Weed relaxed error, that's my story, lol. BootinUp Aug 2019 #42

I get stoned as I pray ... check this one out brother ... from last year ... mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #44

You got good taste in music jcgoldie Aug 2019 #91

I like fishwax's answer, #45 best. hunter Aug 2019 #48

Fake math. The answer is what i say it is. dem4decades Aug 2019 #38

Ah yes! Mossfern Aug 2019 #84

Well, you're the president Clash City Rocker Aug 2019 #101

My high school algebra teacher got fired the year after I was in her class. 3catwoman3 Aug 2019 #40

6.693 x 10 to the power 25 sarisataka Aug 2019 #41

I come up with .... rufus dog Aug 2019 #43

fraction bars function the same as brackets/parens, which is how people are getting the answer 1 fishwax Aug 2019 #45

It occurred to me that people are taking the / to refer to a fraction bar jcgoldie Aug 2019 #49

You're right about the keyboard, but the same principle applies w/ an elementary division symbol fishwax Aug 2019 #68

Arbitrary jcgoldie Aug 2019 #75

I agree with you, though do appreciate the exposition by fishwax mr_lebowski Aug 2019 #82

Yes I agree jcgoldie Aug 2019 #89

yeah, looking back I wound up being more confusing than I intended with my initial post fishwax Aug 2019 #122

but it is arbitrary, as your own final few sentences show fishwax Aug 2019 #93

Just to cherry pick one sentence... jcgoldie Aug 2019 #97

that's cool about the calculators fishwax Aug 2019 #100

No; putting it into my scientific calculator, using in place of / muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #134

That's exactly what I did to get 1. The bar is a division bar, and Nay Aug 2019 #153

The good old fraction bar! LeftInTX Aug 2019 #150

Shunting-yard algorithm? hunter Aug 2019 #46

A big yawn! struggle4progress Aug 2019 #47

1 treestar Aug 2019 #50

Did'nt we haves this test a few weeks back? Hotler Aug 2019 #51

166.6666% Incorrect blugbox Aug 2019 #64

8/2(2+2) 8/2(4) 8/8 1 Afromania Aug 2019 #52

multiplication and division have the same precedence so go left to right... Joe941 Aug 2019 #102

It's newer notation LeftInTX Aug 2019 #159

88 FBaggins Aug 2019 #53

Lounge??? Nt USALiberal Aug 2019 #54

Typed into MS Excel Trumpocalypse Aug 2019 #55

People rember PEMDAS, but forget the rest of the rules of operation. Hotler Aug 2019 #56

Calm down everybody kimbutgar Aug 2019 #57

Its a math problem jcgoldie Aug 2019 #66

8/2 means 8 divided by 2. Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #72

It's 16. Getting to 1 is possible but not accurate. Claritie Pixie Aug 2019 #58

An equation should never be written that way. honest.abe Aug 2019 #59

we should ALL demand non-ambiguous math!!! not_the_one Aug 2019 #69

(8/2) is redundant. Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #70

A necessary minor redundancy to eliminate confusion like we see in this thread. honest.abe Aug 2019 #73

I'm a programmer, as well, Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #104

I suppose you could get away with it.. honest.abe Aug 2019 #105

Any programmer Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #106

Well we certainly see things differently. honest.abe Aug 2019 #110

We do. Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #112

So those confused by this arbitrary math rule have less than 7th grade math skills?? honest.abe Aug 2019 #113

You seem to be confusing the level at which math skills are taught Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #116

FWIW, if you enter the equation into Google search it formats the equation exactly I wrote it. honest.abe Aug 2019 #123

It's still redundant, Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #124

I think the Google search engineers and I are more correct. honest.abe Aug 2019 #125

I had a degree in math from 1978 and I wrote programs as part of that degree LeftInTX Aug 2019 #162

Considerably different computing power in those days. Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #163

It's a grotesque thing. hunter Aug 2019 #108

True. n/t Ms. Toad Aug 2019 #109

Exactly. The point of writing equations (or anything) is to make the meaning clear to the reader. DanTex Aug 2019 #94

1 Proud Liberal Dem Aug 2019 #61

... jcgoldie Aug 2019 #63

16. jmg257 Aug 2019 #62

One FakeNoose Aug 2019 #65

I hope the original problem looked more like this: Rstrstx Aug 2019 #67

1 nini Aug 2019 #71

You Tube explains it: both are, or were, correct jimmy the one Aug 2019 #74

The Distributive Property gives me 1 LeftInTX Aug 2019 #156

This is boring. There are rules of sequence which are arbitrary. Who cares if you don't know it? Cicada Aug 2019 #76

A billion C_U_L8R Aug 2019 #77

Don't be fragile Midnightwalk Aug 2019 #78

How it's written is misleading wryter2000 Aug 2019 #79

White and gold. If you think it's blue and black, you're wrong. JustABozoOnThisBus Aug 2019 #81

My guess was 1 Tommy_Carcetti Aug 2019 #83

If it's ambiguous, then it's not a good mathematical question... SidDithers Aug 2019 #85

Eight halves is 4 Mossfern Aug 2019 #87

Ah shit pwb Aug 2019 #88

42. Douglas Adams said it, I believe it, and that settles it. Buns_of_Fire Aug 2019 #90

Parentheses first which is 4 ismnotwasm Aug 2019 #95

A poorly written mathematical expression. DanTex Aug 2019 #96

Reminds me of this classical Chinese poem 2020Junker Aug 2019 #99

yeah the problem with this is... Takket Aug 2019 #103

It's an ambiguous question, and depends on leftmost or rightmost binding rules Recursion Aug 2019 #107

Mr Cash would be proud. lpbk2713 Aug 2019 #111

PEMDAS tells me it's 16. DangerousRhythm Aug 2019 #114

Technically it could be either as multiplication and division are equal. NutmegYankee Aug 2019 #129

1 mfcorey1 Aug 2019 #115

Potatoe. LuckyCharms Aug 2019 #117

Tomatoe MadLinguist Aug 2019 #127

1 GeorgeGist Aug 2019 #118

This Is an exercise in ambiguity Silver Swan Aug 2019 #119

At least it got us off politics ! kimbutgar Aug 2019 #121

16 wendyb-NC Aug 2019 #126

8 divided by 2 multiplied by 4 equals 16 aikoaiko Aug 2019 #128

In the 50's they taught me 16 KentuckyWoman Aug 2019 #130

16 denbot Aug 2019 #132

What is the following: muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #135

20,000. KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2019 #138

One KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2019 #136

No that would be Trumpocalypse Aug 2019 #139

A counter-example to your interpretation comes from the Feynman lectures muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #140

Type it into excel Trumpocalypse Aug 2019 #141

Hmm, what do I consider more authoritative, Richard Feynman, or Excel? muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #142

Excel. Trumpocalypse Aug 2019 #143

Nobel. muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #145

No Excel it the standard Trumpocalypse Aug 2019 #147

As punchlines go, that's an unexpected one, but pretty funny (nt) muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #148

Except writing it with a fraction bar as you did... jcgoldie Aug 2019 #144

No, implicit multiplication is conventional muriel_volestrangler Aug 2019 #146

You hit the nail on the head. Conventions have changed..... KY_EnviroGuy Aug 2019 #149

So in modern math what is LeftInTX Aug 2019 #161

Interesting. honest.abe Aug 2019 #164

1 5X Aug 2019 #151

1 Throck Aug 2019 #154

I shall go for a beer. Throck Aug 2019 #160

Poorly written equation zipplewrath Aug 2019 #157