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Old 07-29-2013, 06:53 PM
 
2,349 posts, read 5,433,874 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luckynumber4 View Post
I'm sure most of them would. I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. I'll be the first to admit that I suck at math and I hate it. I'm definitely no engineer or mathematician...I did that problem in my head in about 5 seconds.
What's the answer?
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Old 07-29-2013, 07:43 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plmokn View Post
What's the answer?
2

And?
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Old 07-29-2013, 07:45 PM
 
Location: League City
3,842 posts, read 8,266,130 times
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There is a way to approximate roots with calculus. But honestly dividing big numbers like that would kick my @#$! I wonder what a 'vulgar' fraction is in #5...
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Old 07-29-2013, 08:34 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luckynumber4 View Post
2

And?

That is incorrect.

The correct answer is 288.
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Old 07-29-2013, 08:40 PM
 
770 posts, read 1,177,254 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plmokn View Post
That is incorrect.

The correct answer is 288.
On what planet?

Quote:
Originally Posted by plmokn View Post
I wonder how many engineers or mathematicians or Harvard students today would get this correct:


48÷2(9+3) = ?

a) 2
b) 288
PEMDAS

Perenthesis: 48/2(12)
Exponents: n/a
Multiplication: 48/24
Division: 2

Last edited by luckynumber4; 07-29-2013 at 08:53 PM..
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Old 07-29-2013, 09:01 PM
 
2,349 posts, read 5,433,874 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by luckynumber4 View Post
On what planet?



PEMDAS

Perenthesis: 48/2(12)
Exponents: n/a
Multiplication: 48/24
Division: 2

All planets.

Your error is after the exponents step above. The correct order of operations is 48/2 = 24 then multiply by 12 = 288.

Try it in Mathcad, google, or excel. All will provide 288 as the answer. You could also ask the 7th grader down the street from whom you'd get 288 also.
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Old 07-29-2013, 09:37 PM
 
770 posts, read 1,177,254 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by plmokn View Post
All planets.

Yeah all of them except Earth.

Your error is after the exponents step above. The correct order of operations is 48/2 = 24 then multiply by 12 = 288.

That would be PEDMAS

Try it in Mathcad, google, or excel. All will provide 288 as the answer. You could also ask the 7th grader down the street from whom you'd get 288 also.
Wait...how would a 7th grader know when apparently most Harvard mathematicians and engineers (or you) don't?

^^^Those calculators don't follow PEMDAS. Using google to solve math problems is like using those online translators to do your Spanish homework. Computers don't do everything.


"The reason different calculators offer different answers to the equation depends on how the machine interprets the order of operations. Most calculators follow the traditional order, completing expressions within brackets before anything else, resulting in an answer of 288, as determined by WolframAlpha[17] and Google.[18] In this case, the problem is solved as follows:
48 ÷ 2(9+3)=
48 ÷ 2(12)=
(48 ÷ 2)(12)=
24 * 12=
288

However, others will follow PEMDAS, a mnemonic term that stands for Parentheses, Exponentiation, Multiplication, Division, Addition and Subtraction. By this logic, multiplication must take place before division, resulting in solving the problem as follows:
48 ÷ 2(9+3)=
48 ÷ 2(12)=
48 ÷ 24=
2


48÷2(9+3) = ? | Know Your Meme

Last edited by luckynumber4; 07-29-2013 at 10:58 PM..
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Old 07-29-2013, 10:25 PM
 
7,005 posts, read 12,472,326 times
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I'm a social science person, but I took honors math in middle school, so I'm not completely math illiterate. We learned that division and multiplication are on the same level. When you have both, you work from left to right. People are misunderstanding PEMDAS. It means that multiplication OR division come before addition and subtraction. It doesn't mean that multiplication comes before division.

Quote:
P
Parentheses first
E
Exponents (ie Powers and Square Roots, etc.)
MD
Multiplication and Division (left-to-right)
AS
Addition and Subtraction (left-to-right)
Order of Operations - PEMDAS

Quote:
A common technique for remembering the order of operations is the abbreviation "PEMDAS", which is turned into the phrase "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally". It stands for "Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, and Addition and Subtraction". This tells you the ranks of the operations: Parentheses outrank exponents, which outrank multiplication and division (but multiplication and division are at the same rank), and these two outrank addition and subtraction (which are together on the bottom rank).
The Order of Operations: PEMDAS
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Old 07-29-2013, 10:30 PM
 
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ok, so apparently lot of folks never learned "please(paranthesis) excuse(exponents)my(multiplication) dear(division) aunt(addition) sallie(subtraction"

so the answer is 2. and in math you work right to left, not left to right.

so in this case you add (9+3) and since there is no exponent, you times it by 2, and then divide 48 by the result. answer is 2.
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Old 07-29-2013, 10:35 PM
 
2,369 posts, read 2,911,524 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by L210 View Post
I'm a social science person, but I took honors math in middle school, so I'm not completely math illiterate. We learned that division and multiplication are on the same level. When you have both, you work from left to right. People are misunderstanding PEMDAS. It means that multiplication OR division come before addition and subtraction. It doesn't mean that multiplication comes before division.



Order of Operations - PEMDAS


The Order of Operations: PEMDAS
you generally do the multiplication first then divide even if they are on the same level. i think its easier to multiply then divide, but if the problem has multiple parts to multiply, dont half ass one part (multiply) then divide the other part.

ie: 48/2(9+3)+2(7-4)^2
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