Poll: What is the answer to 48/2(9+3)?
- Thread starter Brawndo
- Start date
I edited it while you were posting. Pardon the fail, I'm blaming it on lack of sleep. >_<Chapel1185 said:
Depends.
If it's fractional, typed jacked up, it looks like this.
48
---
2(9+3)
Which equals 2.
If how its typed is proper, then its 288.
If it's fractional, typed jacked up, it looks like this.
48
---
2(9+3)
Which equals 2.
If how its typed is proper, then its 288.
If the (9+3) was intended to also be in the denominator, it should have been written as:
48/(2(9+3))
As it is written, 48/2(9+3) , the answer should be 288 as the bracketed expression is a multiplier.
The disagreements stemming from this wouldn't be because the math is challenging, but because the way it is written is not ideal.
48/(2(9+3))
As it is written, 48/2(9+3) , the answer should be 288 as the bracketed expression is a multiplier.
The disagreements stemming from this wouldn't be because the math is challenging, but because the way it is written is not ideal.
No.Theron Julius said:
You multiply into the paranthesis, as such:
2*(9+3) = (2*9)+(2*3) = 18+6 = 24
Dude, wat? You'd do that if the question was (42/2)*(9+3). You can't divide by a single number in the denominator and leave out the rest. Everything "above" the division and everything "below" the division.
I hope this is not an indication of American math. Honestly, I suck at math, and this just seems like elementary school stuff to me. Whatever PEMDAS is, this is a clear and easy matter of calculating it using your brain, not a standard formula.
48/2(9+3) = 48/(2*9)+(2*3) = 48/18+6 = 48/24 = 2
Anything else is incorrect.
Reading some other posts I think I've discovered the source of the conflict: the fact that this question is very, very poorly written.Kiroy said:
Some people (myself included) are taking it literally, seeing it as:
48 * (9+3)
2
With this layout, the answer is 288. However, the other side of the argument are perceiving the brackets as part of the denominator of 48/2. This is what they see:
___48__
2 * (9+3)
With this layout, the answer is 2.
I originally thought that it was 2 but, after thinking it through, by how it is worded it must be 288. For the answer to equal 2 it would need to be written as follows:
48/[2(9+3)]
Otherwise, following BEDMAS, you would add the numbers in brackets to get 12 and then work from left to right like so:
48/2 = 24
24*12 = 288
Therefore, the answer is 288.
48/[2(9+3)]
Otherwise, following BEDMAS, you would add the numbers in brackets to get 12 and then work from left to right like so:
48/2 = 24
24*12 = 288
Therefore, the answer is 288.
This is one of those rare times that I wish this forum was more like SA, so we could get a fabulous mod challenge.
Doesn't happen often, but sometimes.
Doesn't happen often, but sometimes.
Protip: When someone writes 48/2, what they're saying is "Multiply 48 by the multiplicative inverse of 2." Therefore, the problem, as written, is equivalent to writing
48*(1/2)*(9+3).
This evaluates to 288.
48*(1/2)*(9+3).
This evaluates to 288.