Poll: What is the answer to 48/2(9+3)?
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American math is no different from math done anywhere else around the world. People everywhere don't know what the division symbol means, it is not based upon which country you live in. Don't go jumping to conclusions that just because some people in a forum primarily populated by Americans got a math question wrong, that means that all Americans do basic equations incorrectly.Rarhnor said:
The thing is, our teacher told us that multiply and divide comes befor subtraction and addition, but not which comes first, but not which of multiplying or dividing is first... but now I know, and knowing is half the battle!
If you had read my previous posts you'd understand that i have never actually seen the "/"symbol used in a class room where i'm from... we used ":" instead (no tiny line in between either) and the underscore thing for fractions or suprascript and underscript with "/" .Joseph Webb said:
First time i saw it done like in the OP it was very confusing to me...
So regional variants do exist, even if they're more minute then in language etc.
And that's the problem, it's not a perfectly uniform system worldwide when it comes to how you read a formula, even if the math behind it is exactly the same.
If we knew exactly what was being calculated (someone posted an example with 48 days and half shifts that would result in 228) there would be no confusion at all.
It is not a matter of which you do first, it's a matter of understanding the question. Read the last 10 or so comments, and you'll see how to do the problem very neatly. Also, yes, I'm going to keep replying to this thread until people stop getting the answer wrong. I will apparently never be done responding.Pontus Hashis said:
Because neither does... 48/2 is the same as 48*0.5, if you know that you don't need to have any come first...Pontus Hashis said:
The issue here is that it's not clear if the fraction is 48/2 or 48/2(9+3). And obviously people have been taught both variations.
Regardless, when you understood that / meant :, you knew exactly how to answer the question. The thing is, people that learned our terminology don't know what it means. This is not the symbol's fault, it is the individual that failed to learn that when you divide, you're creating a fraction.mps4li3n said:
There is no variation, the question is very clear. The question states 48/2(9+3). The answer is 2. The question does not state (48/2)(9+3), which would equal 288. The problem here is that people don't understand fractions. 48 is the numerator, 2(9+3) is the denominator. Please do not provide answers when you don't actually know what it is.mps4li3n said:
Yes, saw it before on stuff from the US that was in the shops here...Joseph Webb said:
But the problem is that people see it with 48/2 being the fraction, and i for one have no knowledge that it can't be interpreted that way... that's the problem, as of right now we have no way of knowing if it's universally accepted, especially since as i pointed out before until computers the use of the "/" symbol (which is actually another symbol then the one on the keyboard, but we're using it because it's the only one we have) always involved superscript and subscript.... thus i have never encountered any official ruling on how the part after "/" works... if it matters that there's no * between the number and the "(" or not etc.
And to determine that we'd need a study of all teh aajor math publications on the issue from around the world.
But everyone understands (48/2)(x) and 48/(2x)... and i've always considered it better to just write it like that on the internet (not that it came up that much).
Alright, I'm done with this. The answer is 2, and to all of you who doubt it, read through the last 20 or so comments. Chances are, if you got the question wrong, you either don't know that division symbols signify fractions, or you don't understand the distributive property and how it works to simplify equations. Pro tip, the equation also looks like this 48/(9(2)+3(2)) = 48/2(9+3) - that's the distributive property in action (you can also now apply your beloved PEMDAS without any issues)!
No one's been saying you're wrong for almost a page now...Joseph Webb said:
I was simply pointing out that the lack of widespread use of "/" in a single line is the problem... as is our inability to see if everyone in the world uses it like that, if at all.
Over here the * symbol for multiplication is new too btw, but ive seen it used more consistently then /.
We're writing in a format that is for computers. If it were hand written the distinction between which answer is correct would be obvious.Joseph Webb said:
We are, I will state again, writing in a format used by computers and so the correct answer is the one that the computers, and the rules we have programmed them with, come to.
48/2(9+3)=(48/2)(9+3)=288
48/[2(9+3)]=2
You see, there's the flaw in your logic. We are not computers. It doesn't not matter how it is written for us, you should understand that (48/2)(9+3) =/= 48/2(9+3) The fact that you think that they are equal proves to me that you do not understand the distributive property. Stop arguing with your flawed logic, you will never be correct, because we will never be computers. Computers are provided with a flawed logic system in their programming, every math teacher (and decent math student) knows this. Math was designed before computers were. It doesn't matter how you phrase it, the question will always be the same if you phrase it correctly (which you aren't doing if you think the answer is 288).kurupt87 said: