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05-21-2011, 11:44 PM
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14,139 posts, read 6,893,328 times
Reputation: 5891
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran
Where does that extra parenthesis come from?
It is not in the original question.
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Exactly! There are no extra parenthesis.
Since the original equation is NOT 48/(2(9+3)), it cannot mean
48
2(9+3)
The original equation is 48/2(9+3), which means
48 *(9+3)
2 |
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05-21-2011, 11:55 PM
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585 posts, read 410,850 times
Reputation: 172
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJBest
Exactly! There are no extra parenthesis.
Since the original equation is NOT 48/(2(9+3)), it cannot mean
48
2(9+3)
The original equation is 48/2(9+3), which means
48 *(9+3)
2
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Correct...
Alacran u keep thinking the answer is 2, that means u r putting the extra parenthesis on the equation, but since the equation doesn't have the parenthesis the this means is 288.
Just go to the link that I provided, the calculator, and do it...
Or any calculator. |
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05-22-2011, 12:26 AM
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Location: Chicago
2,897 posts, read 1,994,316 times
Reputation: 1612
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05-22-2011, 05:53 AM
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585 posts, read 410,850 times
Reputation: 172
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the calculator on the right is right...
The calculator on the left is wrong.. just put it on excel or on the online calculator, also you should check the settings on the one on the left..
I have the same calculator on the left and it gives me 288, go figure.
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05-22-2011, 07:55 AM
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Location: Chicago
2,897 posts, read 1,994,316 times
Reputation: 1612
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Exactly.
Depending on how you set the calculator.
Both ways are correct. It can be interpreted in either of the ways you showed up there.
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05-22-2011, 07:58 AM
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Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
25,695 posts, read 40,175,602 times
Reputation: 14504
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran
Both ways are correct.
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Both answers are not correct. There can't be different answers for the same problem.
If the answers are different then the equations are different. |
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05-22-2011, 08:00 AM
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Location: Chicago
2,897 posts, read 1,994,316 times
Reputation: 1612
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles
Both answers are not correct. There can't be different answers for the same problem.
If the answers are different then the equations are different.
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The way the problem is written can be re arranged in different ways. |
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05-22-2011, 08:04 AM
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Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
25,695 posts, read 40,175,602 times
Reputation: 14504
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alacran
The way the problem is written can be re arranged in different ways.
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Then they are different problems, otherwise the equalities would be the same. There is only one correct process. |
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05-22-2011, 08:21 AM
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Location: Victoria TX
32,718 posts, read 23,085,028 times
Reputation: 21229
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It's a faulty expression, probably composed by somebody intending to create an enigma. Any proper algebraist would have expressed it in one of the following two ways:
(48/2)(9+3) = 288
Or
48/[2(9+3)]=2
That's what parentheses are for, and are an integral part of algebraic expression. Leaving out the necessary parentheses is as fatal as leaving out the + sign.
If the person who wrote the expression doesn't know how to properly use algebraic terms, he has no business demanding that others guess what he means. The symbol " ÷ " is inappropriate in an algebraic expression anyway, it should have been " / ", and that itself is proof that the problem was composed by someone who didn't know anything about algebra. But nevertheless, it is badly and ambiguously parenthesized, and it is the responsibility of the person writing the equation to do it correctly and unambiguously, and whoever that was, failed. Proof of that is the mere fact that we are having this discussion.
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05-22-2011, 08:47 AM
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830 posts, read 505,333 times
Reputation: 803
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jtur88 is right, the problem is written in poor fashion. It is intentionally written to be vague and cause confusion. Nobody with a strong background in math would have ever written the expression that way. That is what parentheses, brackets and braces are used for...to provide clarity on how the problem was intended to be interpreted.
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