6÷2(1+2) : Othor Games

» Sun May 29, 2011 2:20 am

I got 1.

Do the ones in the parenthesis first guys!

Third Eye = You pastor from a philosophical view point is right, mathematics are just a bunch of symbols that only mean what the vast majrity want or are learned to believe. In this case these four dots . . . . = 4

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:46 am

ITT:

iGuess pwning people.

But seriously, I got nine, and I know what iGuess was saying, and I've taken College Algebra twice for christ sakes!

» Sat May 28, 2011 8:39 pm

I don't really see why any of this matters.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:32 pm

I svck at maths and said 9, You always do the brackets first (one of the few things I remember from my poor attempt at maths...) hence the nine...

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:01 am

Aren't you supposed to get rid of the parentheses in the first place, not simply do what's inside them?

Not really, but even if you remove the parentheses, you still have

6 / 2 * 3 = 9

(process from left to right, not right to left)

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:25 pm

When you put the 6 over the 2 like that...

No, that is irrelevant. The only relevant thing here is that the division comes before the multiplication in the formula. Since they have the same priority, division should be done first.

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:42 am

I don't see where the problem is.
6/2*3 = 9
6/(2*3) = 1

I can't understand why mathematicians are debating about that.
There is only one solution, and no other mathematical interpretation is possible.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:24 pm

at first I got nine because of doing (1+2)= 3

then I went 6÷2= 3

then went 3 x 3= 9

but then I figured out that you add the parenthesis up, multiple then divide. then your answer is 1. very confusing

that shows you our math rules need to be changed around a tiny bit

I still think it is nine though...

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:51 pm

Not really, but even if you remove the parentheses, you still have

6 / 2 * 3 = 9

(process from left to right, not right to left)

He means "get rid of" as in multiply out each individual term in the brackets by 2, and then use PEMDAS or whatever was taught at your high schools/secondary schools.

@Veeno
I know that. I'm just saying that I found it more obvious when written with the 6 over the 2. While I have failed miserably at this problem, I am doing maths AS level: I know about the order of operations.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:51 pm

Am I the only one who got serious TES flashbacks after reading through the thread?

Answers people are getting are coming out as either 9 or 1.

The 9 and 1. Nine Divines. Anyone? No? Gah. :rolleyes:

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:42 pm

Third Eye = You pastor from a philosophical view point is right, mathematics are just a bunch of symbols that only mean what the vast majrity want or are learned to believe. In this case these four dots . . . . = 4

Plato disagrees.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:12 pm

Are you guys nuts? Why is this even "controversial"

I concur.

» Sun May 29, 2011 1:01 am

There's two possible answers depending on how you view it, which makes it a poor way of presenting the equation.

Some schools of thought value juxtaposition based multiplication over division, and some don't. So either the person posing the question has to adjust it to be clearer, or explain the syntax chosen more clearly.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:00 pm

Plato disagrees.

If any philosopher wants to get uppity with math it should be Pythagoras.

And how so?

» Sat May 28, 2011 5:20 pm

that shows you our math rules need to be changed around a tiny bit

There is no need for this.
It is defined that when you write 6/2*something then 6 should only be divided by 2. If you want to divide something by a term like 2*(1+2) then brackets are needed, else it's not mathematically correct.

» Sat May 28, 2011 1:24 pm

I can't understand why mathematicians are debating about that.

Mathematicians are not debating about this. Random people on the Internet (who apparently fail at maths) are.

» Sat May 28, 2011 7:03 pm

I usually do multiplication before division, so I got 1.

I think the correct answer is 9 because multiplication and division come at the same time in the order of operations, you just do whatever comes first, left to right.

Why is this so debatable? When it comes down to it. It's order of operations. Answer is 9

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:27 pm

I fail at math, so I am not debating. I like 9, so 9 it shall be.

» Sat May 28, 2011 9:38 pm

But I think the correct answer is 9 because multiplication and division come at the same time in the order of operations, you just do whatever comes first, left to right.

And you are correct.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:45 pm

I usually do multiplication before division, so I got 1.

But I think the correct answer is 9 because multiplication and division come at the same time in the order of operations, you just do whatever comes first, left to right.

What people are doing to get 1 is either ignoring left-to-right or are doing the problem 6÷(2(1+2)) but that's not the problem presented in the OP. It does not say do 2*3 first.

» Sat May 28, 2011 6:07 pm

Better to write it as a fraction. Fractions are far clearer.

» Sat May 28, 2011 3:29 pm

http://oi51.tinypic.com/2ur032o.jpg followed by my http://oi55.tinypic.com/14vgyz5.jpg.

:P

lol

Well for now I'm going to go with this:

I have seen this discussed to death, and someone on another forum actually contacted someone with knowledge on the subject. The answer is 1 or 9 because of how the question is written and how some of the rules are followed. I can't remember where it (the topic got really big), but one point he made is that a lot of people consider x(y+z) to be of higher priority than basic dividing, and do it before the basic division in the equation.

Edit: After trying to find the information on it, it's lost to the internet since every forum seems to be discussing this type of equation.

I looked into and he's right, it seems to be a pretty widely debated topic across the internet, a lot of people are saying 1 and a lot of people say 9. So it's not that anyone is wrong per se, but rather seems to be a break down and division in the mathematics community. I can see why people believe it's 9 if you make multiplication and division equal and interchangeable, but I also see why people (me included) say it's 1 if you follow PEMDAS down to the letter and set multiplication as a priority over division.

Very interesting debate.

» Sat May 28, 2011 11:57 pm

I svck at maths and said 9, You always do the brackets first (one of the few things I remember from my poor attempt at maths...) hence the nine...

Doesn't doing the brackets first make it 7? 6/2(1+2), 6/2+4, 3+4=7

I'm going with 9 now after seeing some examples through the thread, but my first answer was 1 'cause I messed up. You could do it like 6/2 + 12/2 and still get 9.

» Sat May 28, 2011 10:42 pm

Useless problem, most people just write 6/2 as a fraction so you do 6/2 first and then 1+2.

» Sat May 28, 2011 2:26 pm

If any philosopher wants to get uppity with math it should be Pythagoras.

And how so?

Theory of Forms.

Forms > Maths > The Physical > Shadows/reflections.