Poll: Solve a simple math problem

[madwarper]

Wait, what? Where is everyone getting 14 from?

Try this; What's 3 + 4 * 5? Ok, now what's 5 * 4 + 3?

Did you get different answers? Then, you're doing it wrong.

Order of Operations [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_operations]: Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Why bother?

Because, that IS the tool to be able to comprehend a mathematical equation.

The only important thing is that brackets are first, everything else is self-explanatory.

If that were true, then everyone would have arrived at the Correct answer; 14.

 

[locoartero]

Ah I see how it came out to 14. I had to use PEMDAS to get it right.

Parentheses, Exponent , Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction last.

So you almost had me until I used the right order.
So Multiplying 1 by 0 first then adding the rest of the ones and finally subtracting that 1 would indeed result in 14. Almost got me there me ol China. Well played

This. Thing is, people say "It's sad to see so many fail" like it's going to bring doomsaday or something. Sucking at math, or a at this, does not make one an idiot, and specially if it the "simple math problem" was designed to catch you off... It's like falling for a trick question. Yes, a lot fo those who do are dumb; but most are distracted, didn't care about it enough to give it a second thought, or just plain suck at mathemathics. Being good at maths is not so fucking important. Being intelligent, educated and good at artistic endeavours, on the other hand, is.

 

[Maze1125]

Well i'm not sure but my maths text book says 1/0 is infinity so no ofense but i'll trust that over you.

Are you sure it doesn't just say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity? Infinity is a tricky concept...

Pretty sure as some questions in the book required you to use 'infinity = 1/0' in order to get to the correct answer.

Example please?

Riemann Sphere [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sphere]

AAH WHY DO THE ANALYSTS HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING
THE EXTENDED COMPLEX NUMBERS AREN'T EVEN A GROUP UNDER ADDITION

Also, it's not technically correct to say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity. The series diverges, so it's not even really true that the limit exists.

If you're using a set where -infinity = infinity (such as the Riemann Sphere), then 1/x in fact converges as x->0, as the limits from both sides are equal.

Well i'm not sure but my maths text book says 1/0 is infinity so no ofense but i'll trust that over you.

Are you sure it doesn't just say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity? Infinity is a tricky concept...

Pretty sure as some questions in the book required you to use 'infinity = 1/0' in order to get to the correct answer.

Example please?

Riemann Sphere [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sphere]

That's a set with infinity as an element. That is different from the generally used set of real numbers that one would come across.

So?
The real numbers are a set without infinity as an element. Neither is a "truer" set than the other.
3 - 4 is undefined in the Natural Numbers, but perfectly valid in the Integers.
1/0 is undefined in the Real Numbers, but perfectly valid in the Riemann Sphere.

Different sets have different actions that work. That doesn't make any of the actions wrong intrinsically, just wrong in that set.

 

[OldRat]

THIS IS THE STATE OF SCHOOLS.

When people won't remember simple order of operations, and half answer wrong to what amounts to a trick question in mathematics, I will weep.

The answer is 14, and the only reason you got it wrong should be because you managed to count the 1's wrong or didn't notice the minus there.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

This mostly for the people who answered 0.

BEDMAS people! BEDMAS! Brackets (there are none), Exponents (none of those), Division/Multiplication (just 1*0. No division what so ever), Addition/Subtraction (1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1).

Put simply, your first step is to multiply 1 by 0, giving you zero, making the problem simply 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1+0.

I wish you'd flown through the window and Falcon Punched my useless Maths teacher through space and time during GCSE. Where were you when I needed you Maths God!

Aw shucks!
I feel your pain though. My year 11 maths teacher was utterly useless.

 

[akfg666]

The answer is zero because the * mean times by and anything times by zero is...zero!

 

[Lukeje]

Well i'm not sure but my maths text book says 1/0 is infinity so no ofense but i'll trust that over you.

Are you sure it doesn't just say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity? Infinity is a tricky concept...

Pretty sure as some questions in the book required you to use 'infinity = 1/0' in order to get to the correct answer.

Example please?

Riemann Sphere [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sphere]

That's a set with infinity as an element. That is different from the generally used set of real numbers that one would come across.

So?
The real numbers are a set without infinity as an element. Neither is a "truer" set than the other.
3 - 4 is undefined in the Natural Numbers, but perfectly valid in the Integers.
1/0 is undefined in the Real Numbers, but perfectly valid in the Riemann Sphere.

Different sets have different actions that work. That doesn't make any of the actions wrong intrinsically, just wrong in that set.

I'm not entirely sure what your argument is: I never claimed that 1/0 wasn't defined in a set where 1/0 is defined (a tautology if ever there was one) which you only come across in areas involving complex analysis, but rather that it has no definition within the reals. I made no claim about either set being `truer', just the claim that one was more familiar.

 

[ADeskofRichMahogany]

That was kinda fun. Though this is more of a math riddle than a math problem, what with sneaking that minus into the equation.

 

[Lukeje]

Well i'm not sure but my maths text book says 1/0 is infinity so no ofense but i'll trust that over you.

Are you sure it doesn't just say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity? Infinity is a tricky concept...

Pretty sure as some questions in the book required you to use 'infinity = 1/0' in order to get to the correct answer.

Example please?

Riemann Sphere [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riemann_sphere]

AAH WHY DO THE ANALYSTS HAVE TO RUIN EVERYTHING
THE EXTENDED COMPLEX NUMBERS AREN'T EVEN A GROUP UNDER ADDITION

Also, it's not technically correct to say that the limit of 1/x as x->0 is infinity. The series diverges, so it's not even really true that the limit exists.

Fine:
$\lim_{x\to0^+}1/x=\infty.$

 

[OldRat]

The answer is zero because the * mean times by and anything times by zero is...zero!

It would if everything but times zero was in parenthesis. Sadly, it isn't, and thus, amazingly enough, you ONLY MULTIPLY THE NUMBER THAT IS BEING MULTIPLIED. As in, the last 1. Order of operations, people.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

...I thought the '*' was a '^' and I answered 15...

 

[BloodSquirrel]

I was always taught it was both. Imagine it on a numberline and you'll understand. 5/6 is smaller than 5/3, because the denominator (The 6 and 3, respectively) was smaller in the second fraction. Now, as the denominator gets closer to zero, the bigger the actual final answer will be. 1/2 becomes .5, but 1/.5 is 2, and so the numbers get bigger and bigger...

But then you reach zero. Because zero is the smallest number there is (considering negative numbers work in basically the same way as their absolute value counterparts), the final product stretches on into infinity, which humans cannot count to. Hell, a human will die before reaching one billion! Because of this, we use the zero with a line through it, the sign for undefined/divide by zero, clear mathmatical language saying "Whoever made this problem really fucked up."

The probem with x/0 = infinity is that infinity isn't a number, and doesn't act like one, so letting somebody stick infinity in their equation when they need to divide by zero will just result in weird, useless answers. What's infinity + 1? Well, it's still infinity, so...

1 = 1

1 + infinity = 1 + infinity
/add infinity to both sides

infinity = 1 + infinity
/infinity + 1 is still infinity

0 = 1
/subtract infinity from both sides

Since you can't treat infinity like a number, defining a number being divided by zero as infinity doesn't do anything useful for you. You still can't get any meaningful answer from your equation.

 

[jamesmax]

im going with 15 tho i dont know why thers so many 14s

 

[madwarper]

its 1 i dont know how so many got it rong

No, it's not. And, I'm not sure how you got it, and spelled the word, Wrong.

 

[jamesmax]

its 1 i dont know how so many got it rong

No, it's not. And, I'm not sure how you got it, and spelled the word, Wrong.

dam claim down also ya i forgot BEDMAS so nvm on the 1 thing I think its 15 now

 

[madwarper]

its 1 i dont know how so many got it rong

No, it's not. And, I'm not sure how you got it, and spelled the word, Wrong.

dam claim down

Ummm... What?

also ya i forgot BEDMAS so nvm on the 1 thing I think its 15 now

That answer is still wrong. The correct answer is 14.

 

[Lukeje]

I was always taught it was both. Imagine it on a numberline and you'll understand. 5/6 is smaller than 5/3, because the denominator (The 6 and 3, respectively) was smaller in the second fraction. Now, as the denominator gets closer to zero, the bigger the actual final answer will be. 1/2 becomes .5, but 1/.5 is 2, and so the numbers get bigger and bigger...

But then you reach zero. Because zero is the smallest number there is (considering negative numbers work in basically the same way as their absolute value counterparts), the final product stretches on into infinity, which humans cannot count to. Hell, a human will die before reaching one billion! Because of this, we use the zero with a line through it, the sign for undefined/divide by zero, clear mathmatical language saying "Whoever made this problem really fucked up."

The probem with x/0 = infinity is that infinity isn't a number, and doesn't act like one, so letting somebody stick infinity in their equation when they need to divide by zero will just result in weird, useless answers. What's infinity + 1? Well, it's still infinity, so...

1 = 1

1 + infinity = 1 + infinity
/add infinity to both sides

infinity = 1 + infinity
/infinity + 1 is still infinity

0 = 1
/subtract infinity from both sides

Since you can't treat infinity like a number, defining a number being divided by zero as infinity doesn't do anything useful for you. You still can't get any meaningful answer from your equation.

You've made the assumption that infinity-infinity = 0...

 

[jamesmax]

its 1 i dont know how so many got it rong

No, it's not. And, I'm not sure how you got it, and spelled the word, Wrong.

dam claim down

Ummm... What?

also ya i forgot BEDMAS so nvm on the 1 thing I think its 15 now

That answer is still wrong. The correct answer is 14.

how so?

1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1-1+1+1+1+1+1+1*0=?

1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1 = 10

10-1 = 9

9+1+1+1+1+1=14

1*0 = 1

14+1 = 15

 

[Jumplion]

Oh no, not one of these threads! Every single time there is a "seemingly easy" mathematical equation posted here, it goes into dozens of pages of people bickering back and forth between what the correct answer when it is so simple.

Answer's 14, by the by.

 

[madwarper]

1*0 = 1

Wrong.

1*0 = 0. 1^0 = 1.