48÷2(9+3) = ?

[smarteyeball]

48÷2(9+3) = ?

48÷2(9+3) = ?

Two answers: 2 or 288

I first saw this on another forum and then subsequently on others. The amount of threads arguing which answer is the correct one is hilarious.

So where does SF stand?

 

[mickey megabyte]

i got stuck at the 2(9+3) stage

do you mean 2 * (9+3)?

 

[fimble]

I'd go for what feels like my age this morning, but the correct answer is 2. Either side of the division (÷) symbol are separate entities.

 

[Bill2]

2.

For the answer to be 288, the problem should have been (48÷2)(9+3)

 

[rbeldua]

sol'n

=48÷2(9+3)

=48÷2(12)

=48÷24

=2

 

[oreo27]

sol'n

=48÷2(9+3)

=48÷2(12)

=48÷24

=2

Agreed. I've also voted.

 

[mickey megabyte]

2.

For the answer to be 288, the problem should have been (48÷2)(9+3)

i protest!

(48÷2)(9+3) is not valid syntax for arithmetic! - at least it wasn't when they were trying to educate me.

in algebra, with the numbers replaced by letters, it may work..but not in arithmetic...that's why we have the multiplication sign.

sorry to spoil your fun, but there it is.

 

[SledgeDG]

i protest!

(48÷2)(9+3) is not valid syntax for arithmetic! - at least it wasn't when they were trying to educate me.4

I don't see anything wrong with Bill's Syntax.
I learned that operations with Brackets (or are those parentheses?) are assumed Multiplications unless specified otherwise.
Letters in Algebra are only substitutes/placeholders for numbers, so it wouldn't make any sense at all to apply a different set of rules here

 

[rbeldua]

2.

For the answer to be 288, the problem should have been (48÷2)(9+3)

i protest!

(48÷2)(9+3) is not valid syntax for arithmetic! - at least it wasn't when they were trying to educate me.

in algebra, with the numbers replaced by letters, it may work..but not in arithmetic...that's why we have the multiplication sign.

sorry to spoil your fun, but there it is.

parenthesis is also a sign of multiplication so does an asterisk, but mostly in algebra parenthesis is used to replace the multiplication sign x so not to misunderstood x which is the unknown, 2x + 2x(x+1) find x, as for 2x1=2

in this case (48÷2)(9+3) involving more than one operation, a parenthesis is used which means 48÷2=24 and then 9+3=12...final operation is to multiply 24 and 12 which is 288

 

[Bill2]

He he Micky, you went to school a loooong time ago.

Ok, suppose we solve like this.

48÷2(9+3)
= 48÷2(12)

Now, as per BODMAS, the division operator takes precedence over the (implied) multiplication operator so:

=24(12)
=288.

Can I vote again?

 

[mickey megabyte]

i protest!

(48÷2)(9+3) is not valid syntax for arithmetic! - at least it wasn't when they were trying to educate me.4

I don't see anything wrong with Bill's Syntax.
I learned that operations with Brackets (or are those parentheses?) are assumed Multiplications unless specified otherwise.
Letters in Algebra are only substitutes/placeholders for numbers, so it wouldn't make any sense at all to apply a different set of rules here

maybe things have changed since i went to school, but back then different syntatical rules applied in arithmetic and algebra.

for instance, in arithmetic 52 = 52 (ie 5*10 + 2), however in algebra, it's different: for example, ab=a*b, so it does make sense to apply a different set of rules in the two separate fields of mathematics. at least, it makes sense to me

 

[SmurofNeves]

This goes both ways I'd say...

 

[rbeldua]

He he Micky, you went to school a loooong time ago.

Ok, suppose we solve like this.

48÷2(9+3)
= 48÷2(12)

Now, as per BODMAS, the division operator takes precedence over the (implied) multiplication operator so:

=24(12)
=288.

Can I vote again?

parenthesis is used to divide pertaining to an operation to be done in this case 48÷2(9+3), 2(9+3) note that parenthesis is used in (9+3) means do this first (9+3)=12, next 2(12) still parenthesis has not been removed so 2(12)=24, final operation is 48÷24=2

another method for 48÷2(9+3) is to distribute 2 inside (9+3), (18+6)=24, then 48÷24=2 ([FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Distributive Law) [/FONT]

 

[oreo27]

He he Micky, you went to school a loooong time ago.

Ok, suppose we solve like this.

48÷2(9+3)
= 48÷2(12)

Now, as per BODMAS, the division operator takes precedence over the (implied) multiplication operator so:

=24(12)
=288.

Can I vote again?

parenthesis is used to divide pertaining to an operation to be done in this case 48÷2(9+3), 2(9+3) note that parenthesis is used in (9+3) means do this first (9+3)=12, next 2(12) still parenthesis has not been removed so 2(12)=24, final operation is 48÷24=2 [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Distributive Law [/FONT]

Are you a professor of some sort?

 

[Bill2]

Distributive law says get rid of brackets, but does it say when?

 

[rbeldua]

where? who me? no...

 

[rbeldua]

Distributive law says get rid of brackets, but does it say when?

yes they did in some text books. mostly basics

 

[Bill2]

By adding the 9 + 3 in the brackets, the distributive law has been taken care of. After that BODMAS takes over.

 

[oreo27]

Here's the final verdict. It's 288. I stand corrected. I'll post my source if you guys would like me to.

 

[SmurofNeves]

I change my mind I should've gone 288...